Overview
- The full-page ad in The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age this week opposed President Isaac Herzog’s visit and claimed support from more than 1,000 Jewish signatories.
- Review of the published list found fewer than 700 names, well short of the figure promoted in the advertisement.
- The Jewish Council of Australia acknowledged the inclusion of false, offensive and obscure historical names, attributed some entries to malicious submissions, removed them, and denied fabricating signatories.
- Several people, including United Israel Appeal Victoria president David Slade, said their names appeared without consent and publicly rejected any involvement.
- The online petition feeding the list was open to non-Jews, only self-identified “Jewish Australian” entries were printed, and even the claimed total would represent under 1% of Australia’s Jewish community.