Published: 9 November 2021
Last updated: 4 March 2024
OSCAR KASPI-CRUTCHETT: Jewish leaders claim the ABC is biased against Israel and the Jewish community. ABC complaints figures show it has offended the Israeli and Palestinian sides fairly equally
AUSTRALIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY organisations have sounded the alarm over anti-Israel bias in the ABC for over a decade. These accusations have reached new heights this year following the airing of a controversial Q+A episode on the Israel-Gaza conflict in May 2021.
Citing a lack of pro-Israel voices in the program, community leaders issued widespread condemnation of the discussion, with the Zionist Federation of Australia, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry and AIJAC each submitting complaints to the ABC about the broadcast.
In their public statements, the groups made clear that their grievances with the ABC extend far beyond the episode itself and concern the broadcaster at large - its culture, complaints handling process and regulatory procedures:
“This episode yet again demonstrates something is clearly deeply wrong at the ABC.” – AIJAC President, Colin Rubenstein
“[This] was merely the latest unfortunate example of a long history of exclusion of an authentic Jewish community viewpoint on Q + A and elsewhere by the ABC on matters of vital concern to our community … We emphasise that the culture of bias and exclusion against our community is not limited to the Q+A program - ECAJ letter to the ABC
In August, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) announced an investigation into the Q+A episode and its compliance with ABC editorial standards. While the ZFA, AIJAC and ECAJ welcomed the move, they made clear that it did not satisfy their overarching concerns.
Upon the announcement of the investigation, the ZFA maintained that ‘the ABC needs a properly-independent, external complaints mechanism” – a demand echoed by AIJAC and ECAJ respectively.
