Editing AIJAC (section)

===2000s===
In January 2000, AIJAC strongly campaigned against controversial military historian and [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust denier]] [[David Irving]]'s tour of Australia. AIJAC's National Chairman Mark Leibler also criticised the ''[[Herald Sun]]'' newspaper for commissioning a poll asking people whether they "agreed with historian David Irving's views on the [[Holocaust]]"; describing it as offensive to Melbourne's Holocaust survivors and arguing that newspaper's actions legitimised the claims of Holocaust deniers.{{sfn|Reich|2004|pp=209-210}}

In May 2000, AIJAC condemned the Australian Government's decision to vote in favour of two [[World Bank]] loans to [[Iran]] worth US$232 million; with AIJAC's Executive Director Rubenstein claiming that the loans legitimised the Iranian "regime's" religious discrimination, terrorism, and human rights violation. AIJAC's opposition to the Iranian loans was also influenced by the Iranian government's trial and conviction of ten [[Persian Jews|Iranian Jews]] on fabricated charges of spying for the US and Israel. The Iranian loans were also opposed by the United States, Canadian, and French governments. Historically, AIJAC has urged the Australian Government to exert pressure and limit relations with Iran due to its opposition to the [[Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran|current regime]].{{sfn|Reich|2004|p=210}}

In December 2000, AIJAC supported the [[Government of Victoria|Victorian Government]]'s [[Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001|Racial and Religious Tolerance Act]]; arguing that free speech had to be balanced with protection from harassment, vilification, incitement to violence, and [[hate speech]].{{sfn|Reich|2004|pp=209}} In 2001, AIJAC and most of the Australian Jewish community praised [[Prime Minister of Australia|Prime Minister]] [[John Howard]] for condemning the [[World Conference against Racism 2001]] in [[Durban]] in September 2001 and praised Australian efforts to moderate the conference's proceedings.{{sfn|Loewenstein|2006|p=166}}

Following the [[September 11 attacks]], AIJAC supported the United States-led coalition's [[War on Terror]] and military interventions in [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan]] and [[Iraq War|Iraq]]. AIJAC also campaigned in favour of Australian involvement in the Iraq War.{{sfn|Reich|2004|p=208}}{{sfn|Loewenstein|2006|p=163}}  AIJAC and its institutional partner, the American Jewish Committee, were also concerned by the growth of Islamic extremism in Southeast Asia. Following the [[2002 Bali bombings]], AIJAC exposed the Australian links of [[Ramzi Yousef]], one of the instigators of the [[1993 World Trade Center bombing]] and established close links with moderate Southeast Asian leaders such as [[President of Indonesia|Indonesian President]] and [[Nahdatul Ulama]] leader [[Abdurrahman Wahid]].{{sfn|Reich|2004|pp=208-209}}

In August 2003, AIJAC joined forces with several other Australian Jewish organisations and media including ''[[Australian Jewish News]]'', the [[New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies]] (NSWJBD), the [[Executive Council of Australian Jewry]] (ECAJ), and the [[Zionist Federation of Australia]] in opposing the Sydney Peace Foundation's decision to award Palestinian intellectual and [[Palestinian Liberation Organization|PLO]] official Dr. [[Hanan Ashrawi]] the 2003 [[Sydney Peace Prize]]. AIJAC published a fact sheet criticising Ashrawi for her alleged anti-Israel rhetoric and extremist views. Despite intense lobbying from Jewish groups and media, the Sydney Peace Foundation refused to rescind Ashrawi's prize. On 6 November 2003, [[Premier of New South Wales|New South Wales Premier]] [[Bob Carr]] awarded Ashrawi the 2003 Sydney Peace Prize during a public ceremony at the [[New South Wales Parliament]].{{sfn|Levey|Mendes|2004|pp=215-230}}{{sfn|Loewenstein|2006|pp=3-22}} [[Baruch Kimmerling]], a sociologist from the [[Hebrew University]], wrote, "As an Israeli, as a Jew and as an academic I am deeply sorry and ashamed that members of the [[Australian Jewish]] community are acting against this rightful nomination."<ref name=margo>{{cite news
 |authorlink1=Margo Kingston |first1=Margo |last1=Kingston
 |authorlink2=Stuart Rees |first2=Stuart |last2=Rees
 |access-date=27 September 2011 |url=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/06/16/1087244961835.html
 |title=Revisiting the Hanan Ashrawi affair
 |date=16 June 2004
|work=[[Sydney Morning Herald]]
 |publisher=[[Fairfax Media]]}}</ref>

In 2005, AIJAC praised [[Prime Minister of Israel|Israeli Prime Minister]] [[Ariel Sharon]]'s [[Israeli disengagement from Gaza|decision to withdraw]] from the [[Gaza Strip]], claiming that it proved Israel's commitment to peace. AIJAC and most Australian Jewish groups supported the withdrawal from Gaza. AIJAC National Chairman Mark Leibler disagreed with the State Zionist Council of Victoria president Dr Danny Lamm and the State Zionist Council of New South Wales' president Brian Levitan's opposition to the disengagement from Gaza, stating that communal leaders should not express views that "are at odds with the views of the constituency". At the same time, Leibler defended the right to protest by elements of the Jewish community opposed to the Gaza disengagement. AIJAC analyst Ted Lapkin claimed that [[Hamas]]'s electoral success during the [[2006 Palestinian legislative election]] reflected a long record of Palestinians "spurning opportunities for peace".{{sfn|Loewenstein|2006|pp=169, 171-73}}