“That script change was made within our club in a genuine effort to use inclusive language by referring to the whole community.
“We acknowledge that was an error of judgment, and again we apologise.”
Liberal senator James Paterson has referred the AFL to the royal commission on antisemitism.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer
Earlier on Monday, Liberal senator James Paterson confirmed he wrote to former High Court judge Virginia Bell, who is leading the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, calling for the AFL to explain the error.
Paterson accused the AFL of insulting Jewish victims of the attack.
“It is not an accident that the attack at Bondi occurred at a Jewish community event marking the first night of Chanukah nor that the overwhelming majority of victims were Jewish,” Paterson said.
“Erasing their Jewish identity, as it appears the AFL has sought to do, is a travesty and an insult to the families of the victims.
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon.Credit: AFL Photos
“A key task for the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is to understand why so many of our institutions and leaders failed to understand and address growing antisemitism in our society prior to Bondi. It is incredibly disappointing that even after Bondi, influential institutions like the AFL are still clearly failing.”
In his letter, Paterson called on Bell to request that the AFL “preserve all documents and communications, including correspondence with the Sydney Swans”.
“It would be unfortunate if answers cannot be provided as to who ordered the removal of any references to the Jewish community or why they did so because documents were not retained by the AFL,” he said.
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Bondi hero Ahmed Al Ahmed and Rabbi Mendy Litzman from Hatzolah, a Jewish community emergency medical response group, were at the SCG for the ceremony.
In a series of radio interviews on Saturday, AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon said he did not know what had happened to the March 5 transcript, which prompted Paterson to respond that “excuses and deflections are not good enough”.
Later that day, Swans chairman Andrew Pridham and Pavlich apologised and took full responsibility for the omission.
The AFL was contacted for comment on Monday.
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Litzman told this masthead the Swans had made the Jewish community emergency medical response group feel welcome.
“I want to thank the Swans for welcoming us in and making us feel really welcome and special. We had survivors there as well [at the game] and we had those children there as well that were affected by it and some children that no longer have parents,” he said.
“They [the Swans] were extremely welcoming and so very, very nice to us, and we thank them from the bottom of our heart, and it meant a lot to us and to everybody … they treated us like VIPs, and it was very nice to welcome us into the locker room after the game as well.
“We only had praise for the Swans, so what they did was definitely above and beyond what we expected. They provided kosher food, and they literally went above and beyond.”
Litzman deflected any questions about the specific wording of the script.
“I don’t really have anything [to say] to be honest. We only have praise for the Swans, I’m not getting involved in what was said and what wasn’t said,” he said.
“We didn’t feel any of that on the day. We felt very loved and welcomed and grateful that they honoured the victims and the survivors and they honoured the first responders.”
Speaking at a pre-match function ahead of the Swans’ win over the Brisbane Lions on Saturday night, Pridham said three-time Swans best and fairest Gerard Healy alerted him to the omission of the Jewish community in Pavlich’s speech.
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Paterson said the facts about the tribute had to be established.
“Counsel assisting [the royal commission] must have the opportunity to review the documents and cross-examine any potential witnesses to establish the facts in relation to this serious incident,” he said.
“While the Sydney Swans chairman has apologised to the Jewish community, the reported involvement of AFL staff in this incident should be closely examined as part of the commission’s inquiries into the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in Australia.”
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