Anti-Semitism in the Antipodes

The appearance of anti-Semitism in Australia, a country remarkable for its absence of anti-Semitism, raises several questions. Ignited by the Israel Gaza war and fuelled by a combination of ignorance, the current anti-Western zeitgeist of the Left, and some major failings by the Australian Jewish community and by Israel itself, the result has been an upsurge in anti-Semitism in social media, left-wing politics and the public domain. We have seen blatant breaches of the law by way of public demonstrations and damage to property both public and private. The encampments on Australian university campuses, aping those in the United States, and the damage caused to politicians’ electoral offices, have continued unabated since October 7, 2023.

Three fundamental propositions should be stated at the outset. First, we have a right of freedom of political expression which lies at the root of our democracy and, subject to well-established legal constraints, should never be interfered with.

Second, where the exercise of such legal expression contravenes the law, the perpetrators should be charged and prosecuted. The current public displays of support for Palestinian solidarity are notable for their blatant breach of state laws criminalising hate speech, unlawful assembly and causing damage to property, and also of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act of the Commonwealth. It is beyond belief that no prosecutions have been instituted by state or federal police forces, which calls into question our faith in the rule of law.

Third, criticism of Israel, however ill-informed, is not anti-Semitic. We are currently hearing repetition of the words genocide and apartheid. Genocide has a specific meaning in law and its use to describe the horrific civilian deaths in Gaza is not accurate. Similarly, the use of the term apartheid to describe Israel, which has over two million Arab citizens enjoying full civil rights and an Arab justice on its supreme court is also not accurate. Both terms are pejorative and ignorant, but not anti-Semitic.

Perhaps more interesting is the relationship between Australian Jews and the State of Israel. The vitriolic debate between Sir Isaac Isaacs and his supporters and Professor Julius Stone over Zionism and a home for the Jewish people came to an end with the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. Jews have lived in Australia since the arrival of the First Fleet and numbered approximately 25,000 at the time of the Second World War. They were mainly born in Australia or Britain, and considered themselves Australians of the Jewish faith. Their Judaism centred on synagogue membership and religious worship in a country which was highly sectarian, with a division between Protestant and Catholic. Multiculturalism was a term as yet uninvented. Post-war immigration introduced large numbers of European immigrants including European Jews who were the survivors of the Holocaust. By the 2021 Census the Jewish population of Australia was estimated to be around 117,000 or roughly 0.5 per cent of the population. The existence of over 300,000 Australians who are not Jewish but have a Jewish ancestor indicates the extent of assimilation.

At the time of the 2021 Census 57 per cent of Australian Jews were Australian-born, which is smaller than for the general population, which was at 71 per cent. It follows that most Australian Jews are post-war immigrants or their descendants. This makes them conscious of a need for a Jewish refuge as a protection from anti-Semitism, an attitude embedded in their psyches. Some Jewish schools and Jewish youth groups foster a love of Israel as a central part of Jewish identity, which reinforces a cultural as opposed to a religious affiliation. It is not surprising, therefore, that a study carried out by Monash University in 2017 of 8621 Australian Jews found that 69 per cent identified as Zionist and that the security of Israel was the most immediate issue of concern unifying them. The fact that 81 per cent of respondents ranked Israel above a belief in God (46 per cent) demonstrates the move away from religion and towards cultural identity.

The 2021 Census records 40 per cent of Australia’s population having no religion, an increase from 30 per cent in 2016 and 22 per cent in 2011. A number declare no religion but identify as secular Jews, a term that would have been an oxymoron a generation or two ago. This change in self-definition is reflected in the ways the Jewish community presents to the wider community. Jews were previously regarded as a monolithic homogeneous group, and one frequently came across the expression, “A spokesman for the Jewish community …” but one can no longer accept such statements by mainly self-appointed spokespeople. A variety of views abound in most matters affecting the Jewish community, including Israel. Notwithstanding an affinity for Israel, many Jews would disagree with statements emanating from the Zionist Federation of Australia and organisations such as the Australian Israel Jewish Affairs Council which elide concepts of Jewishness and Zionism in the public arena, creating an impression that all Jews are of one mind on Israel.

One of the outcomes of the Israel Gaza war is a public diversity of views among Jewish Australians. The formation of the Australian Jewish Association (a right-wing organisation supporting the West Bank settlements and Israel’s continued prosecution of Hamas) and the Jewish Council of Australia (a left-wing organisation opposing both the war and the West Bank settlements) dispels any notion of  universal agreement on the part of Jewish Australians. Further, a group between the ages of eighteen and thirty, many the descendants of Holocaust survivors, have demonstrated support for Palestinian groups protesting against Israel’s continuing actions in Gaza. Indeed, a survey conducted in May 2024 by Monash University amongst 7611 Jewish Australians found 79 per cent were concerned about the lives of Palestinians in Gaza.

Jewish writers such as Anthony Lowenstein and Jordy Silverstein have written extensively opposing the establishment view on the Gaza war and West Bank settlements. The Australian Jewish Democratic Society, formed in 1984, has taken strong positions opposing the blockade of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank settlements.

Whilst such differences should be regarded as healthy in a civilised society, there is little tolerance from the established organs of the community for opposing opinions which are frequently countered with vitriol and abuse from the more dogmatic organisations who disparage opinions differing from their own as the views of self-hating Jews. Such arrogance avoids rational discussion of the issues and provokes internecine arguments. One can certainly conclude that while mainstream opinion favours Israel it is by no means universal, and the broad characterisation of Australian Jews being of one mind may be seen to contribute to anti-Semitism.

The war seems to have fuelled anti-Semitism amongst a number of groups. First, immigrants of Arab backgrounds, from whom one would expect a vigorous response. Second, a group of mainly younger and largely left-leaning Australians, some of whom are Jewish, with little or no knowledge of Middle Eastern or Jewish history and with an abiding antipathy to Western civilisation and its contribution to the freedoms they enjoy in a Western democracy. Witness the desecration of Australian war memorials and Parliament House. This group supported last year’s Voice referendum and continues to campaign for Aboriginal treaties with the states, notwithstanding the overwhelming rejection of a separation in the Constitution based on race. They are obsessed by the evils of colonialism, have jettisoned feminism in favour of transgenderism, adopt extreme and irrational approaches to climate change, and blame our forebears for all the current ills of society. They are, for the most part, ignorant of history and redefine language such that the terms genocide and apartheid bear no relationship to their legally defined meanings. When confronted with the fact that Israel has over two million Arab citizens enjoying full civil rights and has a sizeable Ethiopian population they are simply not interested. The third group seem to have a visceral hatred of Israel, probably for no reason other than that it is a Jewish state, and they are not interested in the mass murders carried out in countries such as Syria, Myanmar, Iran, Sudan, China, and countless other totalitarian states which dwarf the casualties in Gaza but which appear not to appeal to their human rights sensitivities.

The Israel Gaza war seems to have provided a touchstone both for legitimate protest and for dormant anti-Semitism. The failure of law enforcement authorities to enforce the law and the attitudes of left-wing politicians dependent on Muslim votes for their survival have highlighted a situation, largely in the capital cities, which should never have been allowed to develop. The pusillanimous attitudes of university vice-chancellors have contributed to a situation where some Jewish students admit to feeling unsafe.

One would expect any sensible examination of the Israel Gaza war to commence with the events of October 7, when over one thousand Israelis were killed, most of them civilians, including thirty-eight children, and women were raped and civilians were taken hostage. One could then proceed to discuss the Israeli response, its justification and arguments for its continuation and proportionality and continued prosecution. The Greens and fellow travellers denounce Israel as if its actions were totally unprovoked, and call for an immediate ceasefire. Any argument that ignores the reason for the Israeli entry into Gaza can justifiably be characterised as anti-Semitic; there is no other plausible explanation.

Further, the whole situation has been made worse by the actions of the Israeli government. Since the establishment of Israel, the state has impressed on Jews living in the diaspora the need for their support both financial and moral; and the diaspora has for seventy-six years obliged. Yet the public relations of the Israeli government since the October 7 massacre have been appalling. There was no release of the video footage of what occurred and the government has made little attempt to justify its position. This has allowed people to deny what occurred and has allowed the media, much of which demonstrates a bias against Israel, to control the narrative and present a one-sided view of the conflict. There is virtually no public coverage of the position inside Israel except for the daily demonstrations against the government, an irony considering that it is the only country in the region in which such demonstrations are permitted.

This failure to consider the impact on Jews who do not live in Israel has likely contributed to the spread of anti-Semitism, not only in Australia but in all the countries where anti-Israel demonstrations are occurring. The failure of Israel to recognise some reciprocity with world Jewry constitutes a major indictment of its self-appointed role as protector of the world’s Jews and an appalling abrogation of its responsibility to world Jewry.

There is no reason to believe that the current situation will cause a permanent alteration to Australia’s long-standing absence of anti-Semitism. As with the Voice referendum, which commanded support amongst a vociferous section of the community in the capital cities, regional cities and towns are unlikely to be influenced by an idea of multiculturalism that is untried and untested but which is threatening the social cohesion of Europe and the United Kingdom. More so with the threatened formation of a Muslim political party in this country to pursue aims that have nothing to do with Australia, except perhaps sharia law, for which we have seen a demand in the United Kingdom.

The late Lord Sacks, an eminent philosopher as well as one of Britain’s leading theologians, wrote:

multiculturism embarked on for the highest motives was a disastrous policy misconceived and profoundly damaging to the social fabric of every society into which it was introduced. Intending to promote the integration of minority ethnic and religious groups into the wider society, instead it led to segregation. Meant to promote tolerance, it has given form to new and dire forms of intolerance.

These words, written to describe Europe and Britain, are equally applicable to Australia.

Gavin Silbert KC is President of the Australian Jewish Historical Society, Victorian Branch. He contributed the article “The Surprising Extent of Australian Jewishness” in the April issue. The views expressed here are entirely his own.