Mr Josh Burns MP Live at Emanuel Synagogue

Join us from 6.00 pm on Monday 10 March for a discussion on social cohesion and the fight against antisemitism with Australia's Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, the Member for Macnamara, Mr Josh Burns MP.

The conversation between Mr Burns MP and award-winning journalist Josh Szeps (ABC Radio Sydney, HuffPost Live) will be informed by the questions submitted by audience members when booking their tickets. We invite you to contribute yours here.

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ABOUT JOSH BURNS MP

Josh Burns is Labor’s Federal Member for Macnamara in the inner south-eastern and bayside suburbs of Melbourne.

First elected in 2019, he serves in key parliamentary roles, including as Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, where he just led a Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism at Australian Universities.

Josh’s values are grounded in the experience of his family. He is the grandson of migrants who left Europe fleeing antisemitism and persecution to settle in Melbourne in search of opportunity, belonging and safety. He knows the importance of upholding a multicultural and multifaith Australia – and the profound role education can play in changing lives.

He has been a strong advocate for addressing housing affordability, tackling the homelessness crisis and ensuring Australia takes meaningful action on climate change.

Josh is also the Chair of the Foreign Affairs and Aid Committee where he led multiple inquiries focusing on the Pacific and the role Australia must play in our region.

ABOUT JOSH SZEPS

Josh Szeps is one of Australia's most influential and innovative interviewers. In New York, he was a founding host-producer of the revolutionary US streaming news network, HuffPost Live, where he hosted thousands of hours of live TV with the biggest names in politics, news and entertainment. He won a Webby Award while the organisation won a Pulitzer. Josh also appeared regularly with Al Roker as a contributor on the NBC TODAY Show.

On his return to Australia, he co-anchored the national morning television show, Weekend Breakfast, and became a fixture of ABC Radio Sydney. Afternoons with Josh Szeps launched in 2021, a three-hour daily talkback radio show. In 2024, Josh left the legacy media to wrestle freely with ideas in a spicier way. Uncomfortable Conversations with Josh Szeps took off as a podcast, Substack publication, live touring enterprise
and YouTube channel. With ten million downloads, it is among the most listened-to Australian interview shows in the world.

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This event is part of a series we are presenting in 2025 that will provide opportunities for our community to safely express their views and concerns to our government representatives. In this election year, in particular, where Jewish identity and security are key pillars, this is both invaluable and necessary. Emanuel Synagogue has been a safe haven for our community, and we insist on maintaining that. We value our pluralist and multi-streamed congregation, where many voices and views are shared, and we grow from our diversity. Hosting politicians should not be viewed as an endorsement of any particular party or candidate or support for their campaigns. It’s an initiative to ensure that our voices are heard in a respectful and inclusive environment. We will continue to offer our regular range of spiritual, cultural and educational programs throughout the year, and we look forward to experiencing brighter days together.