The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) has criticised the Australian Government’s appointment of a special envoy for Islamophobia, arguing it perpetuates a harmful narrative of a hierarchy of racism while neglecting the systemic nature of discrimination.
The announcement follows the appointment of a federal antisemitism envoy two months ago, which also sparked criticism from APAN and the Jewish Council of Australia.
These envoys, which single out particular experiences of racism for special government investment and attention, fail to address the increasingly frequent and severe forms of racism experienced by Palestinians – not all of whom are Muslim – First Nations people and other marginalised communities.
For many of these communities, this racism is rooted in ongoing colonialism, rather than religious identity.
Such appointments also undermine the vital work of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Race Discrimination Commissioner, which seeks to take a broader, systemic and evidence-based approach to dismantle all forms of racism.
APAN calls on the federal government to dissolve both special envoy roles and instead engage in evidence-based, systemic anti-racism efforts that support the entire Australian community in eliminating racism and bigotry.
Comments attributed to APAN President Nasser Mashni:
“Both these special envoy roles risk inflaming community tensions by suggesting that the experiences of some racialised groups are more significant than others.
“There is no form of racism more extreme than genocide, and Israel has been granted carte blanche by its western allies to pursue this in Gaza during the past year. Meanwhile, the Palestinian community and its supporters have faced severe anti-Palestinian racism from the political and media establishment, workplaces and other organisations, aimed at silencing their legitimate criticism of this violence.
“This hints at the institutionalised biases that persist in our society – biases that are reflected in these envoy roles, yet won’t be captured or addressed by these roles because anti-Palestinian racism is not about religion, but about colonialism and the systemic oppression of Palestinians as an indigenous people whose lands have been stolen and illegally occupied.
“The government must commit to a world free from racism, oppression and discrimination for all, not special treatment for a select few, according to its own political agenda.
“This work starts by truly listening to marginalised voices, even when it’s uncomfortable for the government. It’s essential to acknowledge that different communities share similar struggles, many of them rooted in colonialism, and to create policies that promote equality and justice for everyone.”