Great article, however...

January 23, 2026

The IHRA definition of antisemitism will cause a lot of angst for those offering opinions to and then the conclusions of the Royal Commission. Opinions offered to the Royal Commission will be judged in accordance with levels of education and understanding of the histories of Zionism, Israel, Palestine, Balfour Declaration, Sykes-Picot Agreement, different religious perspectives together with the actions of the Israeli Parliament, the Likud Party and the Israeli IDF and settlers whose primary objective, a Palestine free of ALL Palestinians, and any action carried out by them to achieve this objective is acceptable, no matter how inhumane or ethically unacceptable.

Kenneth Stern, the lead drafter of this IHRA definition has confirmed that this definition was not designed to be used as the definition of antisemitism. It was originally purposed as a non-legally binding tool for researchers and data collectors specifically the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.

Stern opposed its use in ways that might undermine academic freedom or stifle political speech and has opposed its use in ways that might undermine academic freedom or stifle political speech.

PM Albanese was correct in giving himself time to give full consideration to the value of a Royal Commission.