Royal commission: SBS under the microscope over anti-Semitism definition
SBS has defended its decision not to adopt a controversial but widely used definition of antisemitism as it announced it was dedicating more resources to its Hebrew language service in the wake of terrorist attacks in 2023.
Defining antisemitism as prejudice or discrimination against Jewish people, SBS’s director of news and current affairs, Amanda Wicks, said the broadcaster’s role was to shine a light on racism, discrimination and prejudice of all kinds.
Ms Wicks’ comments were made at the royal commission into anti-Semitism, which is investigating the role of public broadcasters such as SBS and the ABC in promoting social cohesion.
Questioned repeatedly, Ms Wicks said the broadcaster did not need a concrete definition because it relied on the police, Australia’s legal system and wider society to determine whether an incident was anti-Semitic.
“We’re attributing it to someone else. We’re never in a position where something is going to happen and we’re going to need a definition,” he said.
Some Jewish groups criticized SBS and ABC for not adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism.
Although the definition is widely used, including by the royal commission, some critics argue that it could classify legitimate criticism of Israel as antisemitism.
Anti-Semitism Ambassador Jillian Segal previously said she had “great difficulty” understanding why publishers did not use this definition.
“It doesn’t stop criticism of Israel, it doesn’t stop debate, it just shows the way,” he said on Thursday.
Ms Wicks said SBS had never had to decide whether something was anti-Semitic, so it did not have to accept or reject the IHRA definition.
“But we definitely need knowledge and understanding of what antisemitism is,” he said.
ABC news director Gavin Fang said his organization did not embrace the definition due to its controversial nature.
SBS, which has a mandate to provide content to multicultural Australia, also said it was increasing resources for its Hebrew language service following Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israel on 7 October.
Director of audio and language content David Thanh Man Tue Hua told the inquiry that funding for streaming services is determined by the number of people who speak the language, with around 11,000 people speaking Hebrew in Australia.
Mr. Hua said that the current part-time executive producer was given the equivalent of another full-time employee after the attack.
He said that after the Bondi Beach terrorist attack on December 14, 2025, the part-time executive producer was promoted to full-time.
The final witnesses from social and mass media providers will appear before the royal commission on Friday before universities are questioned next week.
Officials from LinkedIn and the Australian Communications and Media Authority are expected to give evidence.
