By Clare Armstrong and Courtney Gould, ABC
Australian PM Anthony Albanese has announced a royal commission into antisemitism. Photo: ABC News / Matt Roberts
A national royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion has been called by Anthony Albanese after weeks of pressure to establish an inquiry.
The prime minister confirmed former High Court justice Virginia Bell has been tapped to lead the inquiry.
The prime minister has been under pressure in recent weeks for resisting a push for a federal royal commission after 15 died in an alleged ISIS-inspired attack targeting a Hanukkah event last month.
Albanese said he made the decision to hold a federal inquiry after discussions with leaders in the Jewish community and families of the victims.
The decision to appoint Bell as commissioner comes amid pushback from former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who claimed the Jewish community held concerns about her appointment.
"It is unthinkable the prime minister would choose a commissioner that did not have the total confidence of the Jewish community," Frydenberg wrote on social media.
The ABC has spoken to multiple sources familiar with the thinking inside prominent Jewish Australian community groups about Frydenberg's claim Bell was not a suitable candidate.
Individuals speaking privately broadly agreed Bell was a qualified legal expert and there were no personal reasons for opposing her potential appointment.
However, they said concerns remained in some parts of the community she was associated with the political left.
Bell started her career at the Redfern Legal Centre in the 1970s, during which time she defended the dozens of people arrested during the first Mardi Gras parade. She was appointed as a judge on the NSW Supreme Court in 1999.
She became the fourth woman to serve on the High Court bench when she was appointed by the Rudd government in 2009. She retired in 2021.
Bell was chosen by Albanese to lead a probe into Scott Morrison's secret ministry appointments. The report, published later that year, found Morrison's actions were "corrosive" to trust in government.
She also briefly hosted the ABC program Late Night Live in the early 90s.
The prime minister previously offered the Commonwealth's full support to a state-led royal commission announced by NSW Premier Chris Minns in the wake of the attack.
The government also tasked former Australian Security Intelligence Organisation boss Dennis Richardson to undertake a review of federal intelligence and law enforcement agencies.
-ABC
