Media Report 2025.07.16
FPM Media Report Wednesday 16 July 2025
Why Israel is conducting strikes in Syria as sectarian violence rages
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07-16/why-israel-is-conducting-air-strikes-in-syria/105536098
Just over six months since the downfall of Syria’s long-time leader, Bashar al-Assad, the country’s fragile post-war order is on the brink.
The country is deeply divided as it tries to emerge from decades of dictatorship and nearly 14 years of civil war.
In recent days, Israel has carried out strikes within Syria amid clashes between various factions.
The strikes came in response to clashes between a religious minority sect, the Druze, another group known as the Bedouin tribes, and Syrian government forces.
Dozens of people have so far been killed.
Here’s what you need to know about the conflict and what it means for the survival of Syria’s new government.
Downfall of a dictator
Syria is currently led by a transitional government, established after the Assad family’s decades-long rule over the country collapsed in December last year.
Before then, the country had been torn apart by 14 years of civil war between forces loyal to president Bashar al-Assad and those who wanted to oust him.
Foreign Correspondent looks inside the new Syria.
But under the Assad family’s tight rule, religious freedom was guaranteed as the country then boasted about its secular and Arab nationalist system.
However, the new transitional government is more Islamist in nature, with President Ahmad al-Sharaa himself a former member of Al Qaeda.
Minority group in the middle
Among the groups now navigating a vastly changed landscape in Syria is the Druze religious sect.
The Druze began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam, and more than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria.
Syrian government forces are accused of fighting against the Druze, a minority sect based near the country’s border with Israel. (AP: Omar Sanadiki)
In Syria, they largely live in the southern Sweida province and some suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south.
The transitional government has promised protections and to include the Druze in decision-making, but so far, only one of the 23 members of the government is Druze.
The Druze have been divided over how to deal with their issues with the new status quo in the country.
Many Druze support a dialogue with the government, while others want a more confrontational approach.
Fragile Syria fraying
The latest violence began when members of another group, the Bedouin tribe in Sweida province, set up a checkpoint and then attacked and robbed a Druze man.
This led to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the two sides.
Government security forces deployed to the area to restore order, but were seen as taking the side of the Bedouin tribes against Druze factions.
The skyline of a Syrian city showing smoke rising from streets.
Smoke can be seen rising from the city of Sweida after clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze militias. (AP: Omar Sanadiki)
The clashes raise fears of another spiral of sectarian violence that has flared already since the ejection of Assad.
In March, sectarian and revenge attacks between Assad loyalists and government security forces killed hundreds of civilians.
There have also been rising tensions between authorities in Damascus and Kurdish-led authorities controlling the country’s north-east.
Emboldened Israel conducts strikes
The most recent clashes between the Druze and Bedouin have captured the attention of neighbouring Israel.
Israel does not want Islamic militants near the country’s northern border.
Since Assad’s fall, Israeli forces have seized control of a United Nations-patrolled buffer zone in Syria near the border with the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and have carried out hundreds of air strikes on military sites.
Israel has periodically intervened in support of the Druze, who are seen within Israel as a loyal minority.
The Israel Defense Forces on Monday announced it had struck military tanks in southern Syria on Monday to help the Druze.
That was followed by further Israeli strikes on Syrian government forces on Tuesday.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is ordering strikes against Syria’s military in Druze-majority areas. (Reuters: Jack Guez)
Dozens killed in clashes
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz said the strikes hit “regime forces” and weaponry brought to Sweida to be used against the Druze.
“Israel is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherhood alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel,” the pair said in a statement.
“We are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them and to ensure the demilitarisation of the area adjacent to our border with Syria.”
Syrian Defence Minister Murhaf Abu Qasra says a ceasefire between the government, the Bedouin and the Druze remains in place.
The Druze spiritual leadership said in a written statement on Tuesday morning that it would allow Syrian forces to enter Sweida city to stop the bloodshed, calling on armed groups to surrender their weapons and cooperate with incoming troops.
But hours later, influential Druze Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, a vocal opponent of the new Syrian leadership, said the statement had been “imposed” on them by Damascus and that Syrian troops had breached the arrangement by continuing to fire on residents.
Dozens of people have been killed in fighting in the region since Sunday.
ABC/AP
Netanyahu’s governing coalition is fracturing. Here’s what it means for Israel and Gaza
By Tia Goldenberg
Tel Aviv: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government suffered a serious blow when an ultra-Orthodox party announced it was bolting the coalition.
While this doesn’t immediately threaten Netanyahu’s rule, it could set in motion his government’s demise, although that could still be months away. It also could complicate efforts to halt the war in Gaza.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, surrounded by ministers from the government attends a session of the Knesset – Israel’s parliament – in Jerusalem, on Monday.Credit: AP
United Torah Judaism’s two factions on Tuesday, Jerusalem time, said they were leaving the government because of disagreements over a proposed law that would end broad exemptions for religious students from enlistment into the military.
Military service is compulsory for most Jewish Israelis, and the issue of exemptions has long divided the country. Those rifts have only widened since the start of the war in Gaza as demand for military manpower has grown and hundreds of soldiers have been killed.
The threat to the government “looks more serious than ever”, said Shuki Friedman, vice president of the Jewish People Policy Institute, a Jerusalem think tank.
Netanyahu is on trial for alleged corruption, and critics say he wants to hang on to power so that he can use his office as a bully pulpit to rally supporters and lash out against prosecutors and judges. That makes him all the more vulnerable to the whims of his coalition allies.
If the exit goes ahead, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be left with a razor-thin majority in parliament.Credit: Bloomberg
Here is a look at Netanyahu’s political predicament and some potential scenarios:
The ultra-Orthodox are key partners
Netanyahu, Israel’s longest serving leader, has long relied on the ultra-Orthodox parties to prop up his governments.
Related Article
Relatives carry the body of 13-year-old Seraje Ebrahim, who was killed in an Israeli strike on a drinking water distribution point on Sunday.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli missile kills six children collecting water in Gaza
Without UTJ, his coalition holds just 61 out of parliament’s 120 seats. That means Netanyahu will be more susceptible to pressure from other elements within his government, especially far-right parties who strongly oppose ending the war in Gaza.
The political shake up isn’t likely to completely derail ceasefire talks, but it could complicate how flexible Netanyahu can be in his concessions to Hamas.
A second ultra-Orthodox party is also considering bolting the government over the draft issue. That would give Netanyahu a minority in parliament and make governing almost impossible.
The ultra-Orthodox military exemptions have divided Israel
A decades-old arrangement by Israel’s first prime minister granted hundreds of ultra-Orthodox men exemptions from compulsory Israeli service. Over the years, those exemptions ballooned into the thousands and created deep divisions in Israel.
The ultra-Orthodox say their men are serving the country by studying sacred Jewish texts and preserving centuries’ old tradition. They fear that mandatory enlistment will dilute adherents’ connection to the faith.
Israel’s prime minister has wrapped up his visit to the United States, saying there is a “good chance” of a ceasefire in Gaza.
But most Jewish Israelis see the exemption as unfair, as well as the generous government stipends granted to many ultra-Orthodox men who study instead of work throughout adulthood. That bitterness has only worsened during nearly two years of war.
The politically powerful ultra-Orthodox parties have long had outsized influence in Israel’s fragmented political system and used that status to extract major concessions for their constituents.
But a court last year ruled Netanyahu’s government must enlist the ultra-Orthodox so long as there is no new law codifying the exemptions.
Netanyahu’s coalition has been trying to find a path forward on a new law. But his base is largely opposed to granting sweeping draft exemptions and a key lawmaker has stood in the way of giving the ultra-Orthodox a law they can get behind, prompting their exit.
The political shake up comes during Gaza ceasefire talks
The resignations don’t take effect for 48 hours, so Netanyahu will likely spend that time seeking a compromise. But that won’t be easy because the Supreme Court has said the old system of exemptions amounts to discrimination against the secular majority.
That does not mean the government will collapse.
Netanyahu’s opponents cannot submit a motion to dissolve parliament until the end of the year because of procedural reasons. And with parliament’s summer recess beginning later this month, the parties could use that time to find a compromise and return to the government.
Cabinet Minister Miki Zohar, from Netanyahu’s Likud party, said he was hopeful the religious party could be coaxed back to the coalition. “God willing, everything will be fine,” he said. A Likud spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Once the departures become official, Netanyahu will have a razor-thin majority. The far-right parties within it could threaten to leave the coalition, further weakening him, if he gives in to too many of Hamas’ demands.
Hamas wants a permanent end to the war as part of any ceasefire deal. Netanyahu’s hard-line partners are open to a temporary truce, but say the war cannot end until Hamas is destroyed.
If they or any other party leave the coalition, Netanyahu will have a minority government, and that will make it almost impossible to govern and likely lead to its collapse. But he could still find ways to approve a ceasefire deal, including with support from the political opposition.
Israel may be on the path toward early elections
Netanyahu could seek to shore up his coalition by appeasing the far-right and agreeing for now to just a partial, 60-day ceasefire with Hamas, promising his governing partners that he can still resume the war once it expires.
But Netanyahu is balancing those political constraints with pressure from the Trump administration, which is pressing Israel to wrap up the war.
Gayil Talshir, a political scientist at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said she expected Netanyahu to work during any ceasefire to shift the narrative away from the draft exemptions and the war in Gaza, toward something that could potentially give him an electoral boost – such as an expansion of US-led normalisation deals between Israel and Arab or Muslim countries.
Once any 60-day ceasefire is up, Netanyahu could bend to US pressure to end the war and bring home the remaining hostages in Gaza – a move most Israelis would support.
Elections are currently scheduled for October 2026. But if Netanyahu feels like he has improved his political standing, he may want to call elections before then.
The latest in the war in Gaza
Israeli strikes overnight and into Tuesday killed more than 90 Palestinians across the Gaza Strip, including dozens of women and children, health officials said.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said in a daily report Tuesday afternoon that the bodies of 93 people killed by Israeli strikes had been brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, along with 278 wounded.
One strike in the northern Shati refugee camp killed a 68-year-old Hamas member of the Palestinian legislature. Mohammed Faraj al-Ghoul, was a member of the bloc of representatives from the group that won seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council in the last election held among Palestinians, in 2006.
One of the deadliest strikes hit a house in Gaza City’s Tel al-Hawa district on Monday evening and killed 19 members of the family living inside, according to Shifa Hospital. The dead included eight women and six children. A strike on a tent housing displaced people in the same district killed a man and a woman and their two children.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strikes.
Israel has killed more than 58,400 Palestinians and wounded more than 139,000 others in its retaliation campaign since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. Just over half the dead are women and children, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally.
Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its attack 20 month ago, in which militants stormed into southern Israel and killed some 1200 people, mostly civilians. They abducted 251 others, and the militants are still holding 50 hostages, fewer than half of them believed to be alive.
AP
What is the controversial definition of antisemitism that institutions are being told to adopt?
Nick Newling
Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal released a plan last week with 49 steps to tackle rising discrimination against Jewish Australians. At the core of the report is a definition of antisemitism by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, which has become a lightning rod for criticism.
Segal’s recommendation to embed the alliance’s definition in all public institutions last week came after a host of antisemitic attacks across Australia this year, including the doors of the East Melbourne synagogue being set alight earlier this month, and children at Jewish schools in Sydney being harassed with calls of “Heil Hitler”.
However, pro-Palestinian and some human rights organisations fear the definition may stifle legitimate criticism of Israel and its government by tying antisemitism to anti-Zionism, limiting free speech.
So what is the definition? How widely used is it? And why has it become controversial?
What is the IHRA, and its definition of antisemitism?
The alliance was established by the Stockholm International Forum, a series of conferences held between 2000 and 2004, and convened by then-Swedish prime minister Göran Persson.
The conferences were held to combat “the growth of extreme right-wing groups” that were spreading propaganda in schools, and to address a survey of Swedish young people that found knowledge of the Holocaust “was deficient and that a large number of teenagers were not even certain that it had taken place”, according to the Swedish government.
There are now 35 member states of IHRA, including Australia, Israel, the UK and the US, all of which adopted a “non-legally binding working definition” of antisemitism in May 2016.
The definition adopted by the alliance states:
“Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
While the definition itself has largely been viewed as uncontroversial, subsequent “examples of antisemitism in public life” published alongside the definition have been criticised as limiting freedom of speech.
Among the 11 examples provided by IHRA are “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination … by claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavour”, “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis”, and “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel”.
Where is the definition already used?
In February, following recommendations from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, 39 universities represented by Universities Australia “unanimously endorsed” a definition of antisemitism that, while different, drew heavily from the IHRA definition. However, some universities have not yet adopted the definition.
The Universities Australia definition states that criticism of Israel is not “in and of itself antisemitic”, but that “criticism of Israel can be antisemitic when it is grounded in harmful tropes”.
‘Now we can all exhale’: Synagogue replaces darkness of hate with light
Almost every nation in Europe has adopted the definition, with the UK taking it on as a non-legally binding “tool” in 2016. They were followed by France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Switzerland. The United States has also adopted the definition in a similar capacity.
What is the government’s definition of antisemitism?
Australia does not have a codified definition of antisemitism. However, in 2021, the Morrison government and Labor, under then-opposition leader Anthony Albanese, endorsed the definition.
During a Zoom meeting hosted by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry in 2021, Albanese said the IHRA definition “is one that we have reaffirmed”.
“The Labor Party has [endorsed the definition] and that is our view. It is critical that there be leadership on those issues. Leadership against any form of racism,” he said.
Defence industry minister Pat Conroy, speaking on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday, reaffirmed the government’s support for the definition.
But the government has largely avoided questions about how it would apply the definition to examples. Conroy said he “wouldn’t get into” conversations regarding whether it was racist to call for a one-state solution.
A one-state solution would see the unification of Israel and Palestinian territories into a single nation. What form that would take is contested by various groups.
Calls for a one-state solution could be seen to be antisemitic through an interpretation of the examples provided in the IHRA definition, which include “denying the Jewish people their right to self-determination.”
Who supports and opposes the definition?
Both the Zionist Federation of Australia and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry support Segal’s recommendations, with the co-CEO of the latter, Alex Ryvchin, saying the IHRA definition was “a very useful guide”.
“The definition recognises the fact that antisemitism comes in various forms, that historically it’s been directed to Jews as a people or a religious group, and that the same sort of conspiracies and stereotypes can now be redirected towards Israel, and the way that the Jewish people as a collective are spoken about,” Ryvchin said.
Ryvchin called framing of the definition as one that stifles free speech “a nonsense”, pointing to an example provided alongside the definition which says that “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic”.
“It’s protecting people who want to legitimately criticise a government, government policies, politicians, and it says that cannot be considered antisemitic,” said Ryvchin. “But it also recognises the fact that things are said, when it comes to Israel, that are said about no other country on Earth.”
He claimed pushback against the definition’s adoption was part of a “deliberate campaign” to undermine the “fight against antisemitism”.
The Jewish Council of Australia released a statement rejecting Segal’s plan, with specific reference to IHRA’s definition, which it described as “widely discredited” and said “has been used to silence legitimate criticism of Israel and Zionism”.
Amnesty International Australia released a statement last week calling the IHRA definition “deeply flawed”, while condemning recent attacks on the Jewish community.
The human rights organisation said the definition’s adoption would embolden governments to “stifle growing opposition to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza” and that the broader plan could be “weaponised to censor protest and dissent”.
Why are people concerned about the weaponisation of the definition?
Kenneth Stern, the lead drafter of the definition, who has subsequently become a vocal critic of its formalised adoption, described the Australian government’s perceived adoption of the definition as a “disaster”.
“When you make things a free-speech fight, that’s a problem. What I started seeing, back around 2010 in the United States, is the definition was being weaponised to go after pro-Palestinian speech,” Stern said on ABC’s RN Breakfast on Monday morning.
Jewish groups back antisemitism report, while critics warn of curbs on free speech
“When you start having official definitions of what is a particular type of hatred that leads to, you know, problems that are, in my country at least, the United States, reminiscent of McCarthyism.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said that Stern was “probably right that any definition will be weaponised”.
“But I think it’s also true that in the current climate, even if there were no definition, it would be weaponised in different ways.”
Speaking on ABC’s 7.30 on Monday, Burke said that he found the definition helpful as a tool to ensure decisions taken by his department were “in no way involving antisemitism”, particularly when it came to the application of double standards.
Responding to earlier criticism from Stern, Segal told ABC RN Breakfast last week that “Kenneth Stern has been left behind”.
“That definition is the globally accepted definition of antisemitism. Of course, there are always criticisms, but there are criticisms of everything,” Segal said, adding that she had not sought views from Stern on adopting the definition.
Letters SMH
We certainly should oppose all forms of bigotry and so Minister Tony Burke’s mention of misogyny, an evil as persistent as antisemitism, was welcome. Despite regrettable instances of antisemitism making Jews feel unsafe, it is women who are being killed in Australia at an average of one a week. Yet, there is no special envoy to combat misogyny, and if such an office were created, imagine the furious outcry about “wokeness” and “political correctness”.
Caroline Graham, Cromer
Letters The Age
Muslim and Jewish communities need own envoy
Your correspondent does not have her facts correct, (Letters ″Another envoy needed″ 15/7. Indigenous Australians have a federal minister representing them in cabinet. This minister has a huge budget and a department of 1200 public servants receiving and seeking and providing advice to the government on the needs for the Indigenous community. The Muslim and Jewish communities now have special separate envoys giving recommendations to the government on how to stop hate speech, incitement and terrorist acts against their respective communities.
Ian Fayman, Malvern East
~~~~
Israel does not get special treatment
All those who oppose antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal’s recommendation to apply the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism claim the definition prevents or unduly restricts criticism of Israel.
However, the definition itself specifically states that “criticism of Israel similar to that levelled against any other country cannot be regarded as antisemitic”.
Those complaining about the definition want to criticise Israel in a way they wouldn’t criticise any other country. Perhaps they should explain why they want to apply such double standards to the Jewish state.
Mark Kessel, Caulfield North
Free speech concerns over defining anti-Semitism
https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/9016296/free-speech-concerns-over-defining-anti-semitism/
By Tess Ikonomou
A “problematic” definition of anti-Semitism would have ramifications for free speech and likely affect workplaces and university campuses, a legal expert says.
Anti-Semitism envoy Jillian Segal on Thursday handed down her report on combating hatred against Jewish people, recommending Australia adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of prejudice.
But Palestinian advocacy groups, in addition to the definition’s lead drafter Kenneth Stern, have questioned it being used to suppress free speech by conflating criticism of Israel with hatred.
The report also urges the government to cut funding to universities, programs or academics that enable or fail to act against anti-Semitism.
All public funding agreements with festivals or cultural institutions should include terms to allow for the termination of the agreement when they promote or facilitate hatred, it says.
Bill Swannie, a senior lecturer at ACU’s law school, said the IHRA’s definition was “problematic” and there wasn’t a need for any specific prohibition on anti-Semitism.
“If we’ve got a more expanded definition of anti-Semitism, for example, under university codes of conduct, it could mean that people were disciplined in the workplace, or students were disciplined in a university context for conduct which wouldn’t be prohibited under the national racial discrimination laws that we have,” he told AAP.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is mulling over Ms Segal’s findings, and is yet to commit to implementing the recommendations.
The General Delegation of Palestine to Australia said the call for adoption of the IHRA’s definition of anti-Semitism was “deeply concerning”.
“All people of conscience must have the right to openly and legitimately criticise injustices and violations committed by any state, including Israel’s ongoing policies and practices of settler-colonial expansionism,” the delegation said in a statement.
“Speaking out against these violations is not an act of anti-Semitism, it is a duty and a moral obligation.”
Liberal Senator James Paterson said the IHRA definition was important, because what constituted anti-Semitism was highly contested.
“It has been a very helpful tool and helpful guideline. No one in Australia, though, is proposing that (it) should be legislated or that there should be consequences under the law for transgressing IHRA,” he told ABC radio.
Ms Segal has been called on to resign in recent days after revelations a trust linked to her husband made a donation to a right-wing lobby group.
Her husband, John Roth, is a director of Henroth Discretionary Trust, which gave $50,000 to Advance Australia in the 2023/24 financial year.
The envoy is not listed as a director or shareholder of the company, Henroth Investments Pty Ltd, which made the payment.
Ms Segal said she had no involvement with her husband’s donations.
Australian Associated Press
Anti-Israel ‘cell’ claims responsibility for Lovitt Technologies arson attack, issues threat to workers
An alarming video has emerged of a masked anti-Israel terrorist claiming to be part of a “cell” behind a firebombing attack on a Melbourne business and threatening its staff. But the Allan government and police are yet to brand it terrorism.
Carly Douglas
The Allan government and police are yet to brand a shocking video in which a masked terrorist calls for people to firebomb cars and threatens Victorian workers as terrorism.
In the alarming video, which has been compared to footage released by al-Qaeda, the terrorist encourages attacks, threatens to release personal information about Victorian workers to “underground networks” and warns them the “cell” will “decide your fate”.
But the state government on Tuesday was yet to label the material or the associated firebombing of three cars outside Lovitt Technologies Australia in Greensborough as terrorism,
Disturbing footage shows a person dressed in all black claiming to be part of a “cell” responsible for the firebombing of a Victorian weapons manufacturer and directly threatening its workers, saying they had their addresses.
The person, who wears blacked out glasses and uses an altered voice, accuses “every worker” at Lovitt Technologies Australia of being “complicit” in the “genocide” occurring in Gaza.
“We will decide your fate, as you have decided the fate of millions,” the masked figure says.
“For the past few months we have been closely watching you.
“We have your addresses.
“All the information we have about you will be distributed to our underground networks.
“Stop arming Israel or else.”
Three cars were graffitied with pro-Palestine messages and set on fire outside Lovitt in Greensborough earlier this month.
In the video, the masked terrorist provides detailed instructions on how to use fire starters to torch cars.
“If you are watching this you can do what we have done,” the terrorist says.
“Be mindful of fingerprints and DNA.”
The July 5 attack at Lovitt came just hours after a mob of pro-Palestine activists ambushed staff and patrons at Israeli restaurant Miznon in Melbourne’s CBD and after the East Melbourne Synagogue was set alight, forcing 20 people to flee.
Towards the end of the video, the anonymous person then calls for “death to Israel, death to Australia, death to America”.
“Every colony will burn,” they say.
“We are behind the enemy lines of this genocide.
“And it is our duty to attack the belly of this colonialist imperialist beast at every opportunity.”
Acting premier, police minister didn’t watch video
At a press conference on Monday afternoon, acting Premier Jaclyn Symes and Police Minister Anthony Carbines claimed that they had not yet watched the video.
Mr Carbines said he had spent Monday morning in meetings with senior police, but would not confirm whether the video was discussed in those meetings.
Ms Symes said she would “condemn any disturbing, racially motivated or hateful conduct” but said it was up to Victoria Police to take appropriate action.
She defended the government’s actions to stamp out extremism.
“When it comes to acting on hate and inappropriate conduct in this state we have acted,” she said.
“We have brought in anti-vilification legislation which will come into effect in September.”
Despite spending years crafting the laws in her previous role as the state’s attorney-general, Ms Symes, could not say whether “Death to the IDF” chants would constitute an offence.
“It is difficult for me to give you a definitive view, nor is it appropriate to be giving you a definitive review in relation to the applications of the laws,” she said.
“There is also constitutional protection for implied right to political freedom.”
She suggested that the death chants could fall under different federal or state laws.
“There are a range of offences, both at the federal level and the state level, that can apply independently of anti-vilification law, which was designed to deal with a lot of situations, but not all situations,” she said.
“If you’re inciting, if you’re asking people to commit violence, there are a range of other offences that also might be appropriate.”
Counter terror detectives probing video
A spokesperson for the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police confirmed the video and firebombings were being investigated by counter terrorism detectives.
“The matter is now being investigated by the Victorian Joint Counter Terrorism Team, which includes personnel from Victoria Police, the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation.
“This video is being reviewed as part of the ongoing investigation.”
The spokesperson said no links had yet established between the firebombings and the other incidents.
The activist in the video warns it should be taken as a serious threat.
“This was not an accident or thoughtless act of vandalism,” he says.
“If you continue making weapons components of any kind there will be consequences.
“Consider this a warning.”
The attack on Lovitt happened on the same weekend anti-Israel activists stormed a restaurant in Melbourne’s CBD. Picture: Supplied
Australian Jewish Association chief executive Robert Gregory said the video was a “clear incitement to domestic terrorism”.
“This is a deeply troubling escalation,” he said.
“Australian businesses and their employees are being threatened. Authorities must act urgently — before someone is seriously harmed or killed.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the footage resembled material released by terrorist organisations as he called for those responsible to be met with the law.
“Seeing a group resembling an al-Qaeda terror cell openly pledging to carry out criminal acts is chilling and disturbing,” he said.
“It doesn’t matter that they think they’re doing something just and righteous – Islamist terrorists and neo-Nazis think that too.
“What matters is that we remain a country of laws and not allow bands of zealots to decide what is a legitimate target for violence and criminal acts.
“If we fail to confront this threat we risk becoming a nation of competing violent extremists and not a society under the rule of law.”
STARVING GAZANS REACH FOR FOOD
GAZA CITY: Desperately hungry Palestinians continue to scramble for food at community kitchens in Gaza as experts warn of famine and peace talks go nowhere.
Thousands come to the kitchens every day armed with pots and pans hoping for a serve of steaming broth or a morsel from the stacks of food containers. The Red Cross says its six kitchens in Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis serve hot meals to over 19,200 people each day.
While Palestinians starve, the latest stuttering truce talks entered a second week and Israeli strikes continued on the territory, with reports of at least 20 people killed yesterday.
The negotiations in Qatar appear deadlocked after Israel and Hamas blamed the other for blocking a deal for the release of hostages and a 60-day ceasefire after 21 months of fighting.
An official with knowledge of the talks said they were “ongoing” in Doha yesterday, focused on the proposed areas for the deployment of Israeli forces in Gaza.
Israel strikes Syrian forces to protect Druze militias
OMAR SANADIKI, GHAITH ALSAYED and ABBY SEWELL
Clashes between Druze militia and Sunni Bedouin clans backed by Syrian government forces have killed at least 30 people in the southern province of Sweida. Picture: Getty
Israel’s army said on Monday (local time) it struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clashed with Druze militias in the latest escalation in the Middle East country struggling for stability after a 13-year civil war.
Dozens of people have been killed in the fighting between local militias and clans in Syria’s Sweida province. Government security forces sent to restore order on Monday also clashed with local armed groups.
Syria’s Interior Ministry has said more than 30 people died and nearly 100 others have been injured. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported at least 99 dead, including two children, two women and 14 members of the security forces.
The clashes in Syria initially broke out between armed groups from the Druze and Sunni Bedouin clans, the observatory said, with some members of the government security forces “actively participating” in support of the Bedouins.
Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said government forces entered Sweida in the early morning to restore order.
“Some clashes occurred with outlawed armed groups, but our forces are doing their best to prevent any civilian casualties,” he told the state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV.
Mr Al-Baba told The Associated Press the “clashes are fundamentally not sectarian in nature”.
“The real conflict is between the state and bandits and criminals, not between the state and any Syrian community,” he said. “On the contrary, the state views the Druze community in Sweida as a partner in advancing the national unity project.”
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the observatory, said the conflict started with the kidnapping and robbery of a Druze vegetable seller by members of a Bedouin tribe who set up a checkpoint, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings.
The Interior Ministry described the situation as a dangerous escalation that “comes in the absence of the relevant official institutions, which has led to an exacerbation of the state of chaos, the deterioration of the security situation and the inability of the local community to contain the situation”.
UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Najat Rochdi expressed “deep concern” over the violence and urged the government and local groups to “take immediate steps to protect civilians, restore calm, and prevent incitement”.
She said in a statement the clashes underscored the “urgent need for genuine inclusion, trust-building and meaningful dialogue to advance a credible and inclusive political transition in Syria”.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that the Israeli military “attacked targets in Syria as a message and a clear warning to the Syrian regime – we will not allow harm to the Druze in Syria”.
In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces.
While many Druze in Syria have said they do not want Israel to intervene on their behalf, factions from the Druze minority have also been suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus after former president Bashar Assad fled the country in December during a rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups. On several occasions, Druze groups have clashed with security forces from the new government or allied factions.
In May, Israeli forces struck a site near the presidential palace in Damascus, in what was seen as a warning to Syrian interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa. The strike came after dozens were killed in fighting between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters in the town of Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
Over half of the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
A group led by Sheik Hikmat Al-Hijri, a Druze spiritual leader who has been opposed to the new government in Damascus, on Monday issued a statement calling for “international protection”, and accused government forces and the General Security agency of “supporting takfiri gangs” – using a term for extremist Sunni militants.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry called for “all countries and organisations to respect the authority of the Syrian Arab Republic and refrain from supporting any separatist rebel movements”.
In a statement, it called for Syrians to “cease acts of violence, surrender illegal weapons and thwart those seeking to dismantle the Syrian social fabric and sow discord and division”.
The Druze religious sect is a minority group that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. In Syria, they largely live in the southern Sweida province and some suburbs of Damascus, mainly in Jaramana and Ashrafiyat Sahnaya to the south.
Deadly gun battles erupt in mainly Druze city in Syria
Dozens of people have been killed after gun battles between Bedouin tribes and local fighters in
The Druze developed their own militias during Syria’s civil war, during which they sometimes faced attacks by Islamic State and other militant groups.
Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria’s new leaders since Assad’s fall, saying it does not want Islamic militants near its borders. Israeli forces earlier seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights, and have launched hundreds of air strikes on military sites in Syria.
The Trump administration has been pushing for the new Syrian government to move toward normalisation with Israel. Syrian officials have acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel to attempt to defuse tensions, but have not responded to reports that the two sides have also held direct talks.
US envoy to Syria Tom Barrack told The Associated Press last week he believes normalising ties will happen “like unwrapping an onion, slowly”.
SECOND CHILLING LOVITT ATTACK VIDEO ONLINE
Brendan Kearns
A chilling video has emerged on social media claiming to show footage from the attack on a Melbourne business by activists.
The same social media page that posted a video on Monday from a person claiming credit for the attack posted the footage.
“TOP ARMING ‘ISRAEL’ OR ELSE,” the caption reads.
“Footage from the cell that hit imperialist weapons firm Lovitt Technologies in Greensborough on the 5th of July.”
The video appears to have been filmed by a body-worn camera and shows a fire being lit under the front wheel of a car.
The person in the footage then spray-paints a message on a car before running away. At least two others also run away.
Throughout the clip, the contentious protest chant “Death, death to the IDF” is played.
The previous video, still unverified, shows a person speaking with a digitally altered voice and dressed head to toe in black. It was posted by the same account as the new video as a “Communique from torching of three vehicles at Lovitt technologies”.
CCTV of the incident shows five people entering the businesses just before 4am on July 5 and setting fire to three cars.
“This is a clear and serious threat,” the person said in the video. “If you continue making weapons or components of any kind, there will be consequences. Consider this a warning.” The person then said their motives were anti-Israel, anti-American and anti-Australian sentiment.
The group claimed it was targeting Lovitt because the firm supplies components to weapons companies, including Lockheed Martin, BAE and Boeing. The company received a grant for work on the supply chain for F-35 fighter jets, a version of which is used by Israel.
The video threatened the Melbourne workers.
NEWSWIRE
ISRAELI ATTACKS TAKE OUT SYRIAN TANKS
OMAR SANADIKI – GHAITH ALSAYED – ABBY SEWELL
Israel’s army said on Tuesday (AEST) it struck military tanks in southern Syria, where government forces and Bedouin tribes clashed with Druze militias in the latest escalation in the Middle East country struggling for stability after a 13-year civil war.
Nearly 100 people have been killed in the fighting between local militias and clans in Syria’s Sweida province. Syrian government forces entered the majority Druze city of Sweida on Tuesday, the interior ministry said.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor reported 99 people killed since the fighting erupted on Sunday – 60 Druze, including four civilians, 18 Bedouin fighters, 14 security personnel and seven unidentified people in military uniforms. The defence ministry reported 18 deaths among the ranks of the armed forces.
The clashes in Syria initially broke out between armed groups from the Druze and Sunni Bedouin clans, the observatory said, with some members of the government security forces “actively participating” in support of the Bedouins.
Syrian Interior Ministry spokesman Noureddine al-Baba said government forces entered Sweida to restore order. “Some clashes occurred with outlawed armed groups, but our forces are doing their best to prevent any civilian casualties,” he told the state-run Al-Ikhbariya TV.
Mr Baba told Associated Press the “clashes are fundamentally not sectarian in nature”.
“The real conflict is between the state and bandits and criminals, not between the state and any Syrian community,” he said. “On the contrary, the state views the Druze community in Sweida as a partner in advancing the national unity project.”
Rami Abdurrahman, who heads the observatory, said the conflict started with the kidnapping and robbery of a Druze vegetable seller by members of a Bedouin tribe who set up a checkpoint, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings.
The Interior Ministry described the situation as a dangerous escalation that “comes in the absence of the relevant official institutions, which has led to an exacerbation of the state of chaos, the deterioration of the security situation and the inability of the local community to contain the situation”.
UN Deputy Special Envoy for Syria Najat Rochdi expressed “deep concern” over the violence and urged the government and local groups to “take immediate steps to protect civilians, restore calm, and prevent incitement”.
She said in a statement the clashes underscored the “urgent need for genuine inclusion, trust-building and meaningful dialogue to advance a credible and inclusive political transition in Syria”.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a statement the Israeli military “attacked targets in Syria as a message and a clear warning to the Syrian regime – we will not allow harm to the Druze in Syria”.
In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the armed forces. While many Druze in Syria have said they do not want Israel to intervene on their behalf, factions from the Druze minority have also been suspicious of the new authorities in Damascus after former president Bashar Assad fled the country in December during a rebel offensive led by Sunni Islamist insurgent groups. On several occasions, Druze groups have clashed with security forces from the new government or allied factions.
In May, Israeli forces struck a site near the presidential palace in Damascus, in what was seen as a warning to Syrian interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa. The strike came after dozens were killed in fighting between pro-government gunmen and Druze fighters in Sahnaya and the Druze-majority Damascus suburb of Jaramana.
More than half of the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981.
A group led by Sheik Hikmat al-Hijri, a Druze spiritual leader who has been opposed to the new government in Damascus, on Monday issued a statement calling for “international protection”, and accused government forces and the General Security agency of “supporting takfiri gangs” – using a term for extremist Sunni militants. The Druze developed their own militias during Syria’s civil war, during which they sometimes faced attacks by Islamic State and other militant groups.
AP
Letters the Australian
In name only
Nick Dyrenfurth’s expose of the Jewish Council of Australia was powerful (“Why the Jewish Council doesn’t care about Australian Jews”, 15/7). The JCA is clearly a misrepresentation. Its continued use of the name Jewish Council of Australia is misleading. A more honest name – such as Anti-Jewish Council of Australia – would reflect its true activities with at least some integrity.
Lee Smith, Kenmore, Qld
Ed Husic says Australia shouldn’t necessarily get ‘hung up’ on definition of antisemitism
Ed Husic says Australia shouldn’t “necessarily get hung up on definitions” amid a report from the federal antisemitism envoy calling on the government to adopt a working definition of it. Husic spoke to RN Breakfast about envoy Jillian Segal’s plan to address anti-Jewish hatred, saying he’d much prefer an effort to “bring people together without necessarily having to use sticks and threats of funding”.
‘I just think the issue of definition instantly brings into question whether or not people will be able to raise their concerns’, Ed Husic said. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP
Segal has proposed universities and artists could have funding withheld if they fail to act against antisemitism, among other recommendations in a wide-ranging plan released this month. Husic said this morning:
I would much prefer us finding ways to bring people together rather than being heavy-handed in response. We should always be focusing on what brings us together. …
We shouldn’t necessarily get hung up on definitions. I understand the government will go through and take on board the recommendation that’s in the special envoy’s report. I just think the issue of definition instantly brings into question whether or not people will be able to raise their concerns about the actions, for example, of what the Netanyahu government is doing in Gaza and how that would be treated under a definition.
The controversy over Jillian Segal’s antisemitism plan – Full Story podcast
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