Fears doctors criticising Israel may be silenced as health watchdog adopts contested antisemitism definition

Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to use International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition for ‘regulatory work’ Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia’s health watchdog has adopted a contested definition of antisemitism to guide its regulatory work. The move has been welcomed by the nation’s peak Jewish body while the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (Apan) has warned it could silence health professionals from criticising Israel’s human rights record. In a joint statement with the federal government’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (Ahpra) on Wednesday announced it had adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism for its “regulatory work.” The IHRA definition says antisemitism is “a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews.” It is accompanied by illustrative examples, which opponents have argued means it can be used to conflate antisemitism with legitimate criticism of Israel. The definition has been endorsed by the federal government and the antisemitism royal comm