An Israeli doctor’s lecture and attendance at a Queensland mental health conference was canceled on Monday after an anti-Israel harassment campaign led organizers to believe there was a security threat.
Tel-Hai College Head of the Stress, Trauma, and Resilience Studies founder Dr. Moshe Farchi was scheduled to speak at the Gold Coast Frontline Mental Health Conference at the JW Marriott. AST Management, the company organizing the event on behalf of the Australia New Zealand Mental Health Association (ANZMHA), said that starting Friday and continuing throughout the weekend, it had received a “high volume of online abuse and telephone calls” from activists against Farchi’s attendance.
“Our security experts advised us that, based on the volume and nature of the abuse, there was insufficient time to conduct a thorough risk assessment at the hotel to ensure the safety of the 280-plus conference attendees,” AST general manager Samantha Collingridge said in a statement. “As the conference organizers our priority is the safety of all participants, including Dr. Farchi. We have a legal duty of care to provide a safe and secure conference. Based on this duty of care, and in the interests of safety only, we decided to cancel Dr. Farchi’s registration.
ANZMHA CEO Sam Stewart also said that the decision was made by AST based on security concerns, and assured that “the association has not taken a position on the current conflict between Palestinian and Israel.”
Pro-Palestinians celebrate cancellation
Pro-Palestinian groups celebrated the cancellation of the Israeli doctor’s keynote speech, saying that public pressure was a big factor in the decision.
“Refusing to normalize oppression, many associations, unions, and academics now support the academic boycott of Israel. This, to end complicity in Israel’s violations of International law, Palestinians and advocates for Palestine call for an academic boycott of complicit Israeli academic institutions,” the organizations said in a joint statement by the Australia Palestine Mental Health Network, Families for Palestine, Mental Health Workers for Palestine, Australian Social Workers for Palestine, The Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine, the Shifa Project, and the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network.
The organizations had also started a small Change.org petition against Farchi’s attendance, yielding 180 signatories.
The Australian Jewish Association (AJA) attacked the decision, as “reminiscent of Nazi boycotts of Jewish academics,” arguing that if there were threats, more security should have been hired rather than expelling the guest.
“Dr. Farchi has never experienced such antisemitism in his long career in academia. Jews in Australia are experiencing a surge in antisemitism, fueled by radical ‘Pro-Palestinian’ activists,” said AJA CEO Robert Gregory.
Gregory called for the person who decided to fire, called for attendees to request refunds, and demanded a response from the Queensland Government, which is a sponsor of the event.
AJA posed what the response of the conference would have been if calls of exclusion had been leveled against any other group, noting that there were attendees from a wide range of backgrounds, including from Saudi Arabia.
Zionism Victoria, which hosted Farchi in Melbourne on Wednesday and Thursday, said the cancellation was a travesty.
“How many people with mental health issues on these shores might have benefited from the insights Dr. Farchi could have shared with those treating them?” asked ZV executive director Zeddy Lawrence. “What an outrageous and shameful way to treat an internationally renowned doctor who has traveled halfway around the world to address your members. There is no excuse for kowtowing to the boycott bullies.”
AJA noted that Farchi had been invited six months ago, and had already arrived in Australia days before the conference. AST said that it would cover Farchi’s accommodations and flights.