Is appointing a special envoy for combatting antisemitism an exercise in identity politics? What about the forthcoming envoy for Islamophobia?

I wouldn’t have thought of asking this a week ago, but fretting about such things has become something of a national sport since Senator Fatima Payman’s defection from the Labor Party, and the Muslim Vote movement – which seeks to mobilise Muslim voters, possibly behind pro-Palestinian independents – started making headlines. Now, presumably, it’s the frame through which all political actions must pass.

Senator Fatima Payman.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

In those cases at least, the prevailing verdict seems clear. A steady stream of editorials and opinion pieces lament Payman’s embrace of identity politics. The prime minister didn’t use that........

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