Is the war in Gaza hurting social cohesion in Australia?

A big crowd of people walking across a large road.
Australia’s social cohesion is said to have been strained in recent months. Source: AAP / Kelly Barnes
Australia’s social cohesion has come under strain in recent months. The buzzword has been increasingly used amid a surge in violence, riots, Islamophobia and antisemitism in Australian communities. The downturn in collective connectedness even prompted the federal cabinet to appoint Australia’s first special envoy for social cohesion, Peter Khalil, in last week’s cabinet reshuffle.

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Social Cohesion and Faith Communities

Religions for Peace Australia LogoReligions for Peace Australia conducted the 2024 Annual General Meeting in Canberra on 12 June, 2024. Guest Speaker at the Annual General Meeting was Ms. Anthea Hancocks of the Scanlon Foundation. The Scanlon Foundation in collaboration with Monash University produces the annual Scanlon-Monash Index of Social Cohesion, an important document, which, since inception in 2007, has mapped the measures of Belonging, Worth, Participation, Acceptance and Rejection and Social Justice and Equity in Australia. Ms Anthea Hancocks delivered an address on Social Cohesion and Faith Communities.

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