Pro-Israel lobby attacking Australia’s freedoms: Louise Adler

ANTHONY KLAN

The pro-Israel lobby is a “well-oiled machine” fighting to “outlaw protest and constrain free speech” to “silence any criticism of Israel”, says one of the nation’s most prominent Jewish identities.

Louise Adler — who resigned from Adelaide Writers’ Week earlier this month over the cancelling of a pro-Palestinian writer — labelled the pro-Israel lobby “propagandists” and “McCarthyites”, who were threatening to “criminalise university students” and “defund institutions”.

“They have, with great effect, convinced decision-makers that what is good for Benjamin Netanyahu and his murderous regime in Israel is good for all Jews in Australia also,” Adler said.

“They have already successfully inflected the Albanese government’s so called hate speech legislation. What next?”

“The pro-Israel lobby has renewed their campaign to silence any criticism of Israel, to outlaw protest and constrain free speech” — Louise Adler

Adler made the statements in her role as an advisory committee member of the Jewish Council of Australia, in a letter to its supporters this morning.

She said that as witnesses were called to give evidence to the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, it was “essential” to “present and accurate picture of the Jewish community in Australia”.

“As the royal commission comes to life, the pro-Israel lobby has renewed their campaign to silence any criticism of Israel, to outlaw protest and constrain free speech,” Adler writes.

“This well-oiled machine has already cost us the most significant writers festival in the country.

“Now, these McCarthyites are threatening to criminalise university students and defund public institutions that dare to fulfil the essential promise of the arts: to inquire, to complicate, to challenge.”

“These McCarthyites are threatening to criminalise university students and defund public institutions” — Louise Adler

The Adelaide Writers’ Week – which last year reported over 160.000 attendees – was cancelled on January 13. Source: The Klaxon

 

She said the Royal Commission “presents an opportunity for pro-Israel propagandists” but may also provide opportunities for others.

“We must not allow the pro-Israel lobby to speak for Jews as a whole, we must not accept the racism being fomenting in the aftermath of the tragedy at Bondi,” she writes.

“Yes, the royal commission certainly presents an opportunity for pro-Israel propagandists, but it may yet provide an opportunity for people like you and I; people who believe in the importance of collective participation in the public sphere; people who believe that Australia’s social fabric is resilient enough to support complexity in public discourse.”

“They have already successfully inflected the Albanese government’s so called hate speech legislation. What next?” — Louise Adler

In the letter, calling for financial support, Adler stressed the “urgency and importance” the work of the Jewish Council of Australia.

Volunteer staff had “developed a comprehensive plan” to engage with the Royal Commission over the coming twelve months”.

Louise Adler Letter 30 Jan 2026

Adler also cited her resignation last month as Director of Adelaide Writers’ Week, which came hours before the event was cancelled, amid one of the biggest arts scandals in decades.

“Earlier this month, I resigned in protest as director of Adelaide Writers’ Festival,” she writes.

“You may have followed the news in South Australia (indeed, Sky and The Australian made it inescapable).

“I invited Dr. Randa Abdel-Fattah to join us for a one-hour conversation about her recently published a novel, Discipline.

“Against my advice and following the intervention of the Premier of South Australia, the board removed her from the program in the name of ‘cultural sensitivity’; for being an outspoken Palestinian,” she writes.

“This well-oiled machine has already cost us the most significant writers festival in the country” — Louise Adler

Randa Abdel-Fattah has launched defamation action against SA Premier Peter Malinauskas. Source: The Klaxon

 

In response to Abdel-Fattah’s cancellation, in defence of free speech, more than 180 writers pulled out of the event, which was then scrapped.

“For the first time since its founding in 1960, there will sadly be no Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2026,” Adler writes.

“A newly appointed board has since offered an apology, and Randa has been invited to speak in 2027, but the damage has been done.

“And there is a hard lesson in the wreckage about our new reality following the attack at Bondi”.

“We have a responsibility to take a stand” – Louise Adler

Randa Abdel Fattah’s new book, “Discipline”. Source: UQP

 

Adler, a publisher, was CEO of Melbourne University Publishing from 2003 until 2019, then editor-at-large at Hachette Australia, before being appointed the director of Adelaide Writers’ Week in 2022.

“Already this year, some 60,000 Australians have united behind the Council’s call for peace,” Adler writes.

“It is a diverse and growing movement of real moral courage and an unwavering commitment to justice for all— without exception.

“These are, I believe, both deeply Jewish and humanistic values. We have a responsibility to take a stand”.

https://theklaxon.com.au/pro-israel-lobby-attacking-australias-freedoms-louise-adler/