Combating ancient hatred can’t be left to Australian Jews

The inside of the firebombed Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. Picture: Brendan Kearns

I remember the call, I remember the night. Sunday, October 8, 2023. The phone rings – it’s a dad of one of my kids’ friends who asks in a quivering voice whether it’s safe to send his son to school the next day. I thought, “how has it come to this,” that here in Australia, thousands of kilometres away from the scene of Hamas’s deadly attack, we could feel so unsafe?

Australia’s greatest citizen soldier and a proud Jew, Sir John Monash, would be turning in his grave. The firebombings, the violent protests, the anti-Semitism and hate over the last 17 months has changed our lives and country forever. As Sir Peter Cosgrove has said of events in Australia, “Hitler would be proud”.

At first our leaders decided to ignore what was happening, then they just hoped it would go away. Now they are starting to appreciate the depth of the problem.

But what happened in the past is not what matters most now. It’s what we do from here. Adversity is our window of opportunity.

I am pleased we are now seeing movement at the station. A meeting of national cabinet, a federal police taskforce that is making arrests, minimum mandatory sentences, anti-doxxing legislation, and at a state level, a ban on ­demonstrations outside places of worship. All of which are important, all of which are welcome, but the sum of which is not enough.

You see, these measures are largely reactive and what we need to be is more proactive. There is no point scooping water out of a leaking boat hoping it will not sink. You must plug the leak in the first place otherwise all on board, Jew and non-Jew, will eventually drown.

Our country is at a pivotal moment that goes well beyond the everyday incidents of intimidation and hate. There is something deeper and more sinister at play.

What we’re seeing in Australia and across many Western countries, is best summed up by journalist Barry Weiss, who said that when anti-Semitism spread from the shameful fringe to the public square, it was no longer about the Jews, it was about everyone else. It’s about the culture, it’s about the country. A sign society itself is breaking down.

How else can you explain the otherwise reputable bodies and people who defend the Bankstown nurses as simply those who were making a joke? Or a vice chancellor at one of our leading universities seeking to explain away a student’s public support for Hamas by invoking academic freedom? Or others who justify the violent statements calling for the globalisation of the intifada and “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free” as simply matters of free speech?

With such moral blindness, it’s no wonder our houses of learning have become hotbeds of hate. The disease of intolerance is spreading and it’s infecting so many, so now is the time to stand up and be counted. To promote and uphold our values of tolerance, freedom and respect for the rule of law. These are not Labor or Liberal values. They are Australian values and belong to all of us.

It’s time to mobilise the majority and take back the stage from the loud minority. It’s time to reform our education system and reaffirm pride in our country, our faith in democracy and the integrity of our institutions. And it’s time to bring back personal responsibility and accountability for people’s actions.

Make no mistake if we do not act now, we will further embolden those who hate and harm. And it will only be a matter of time before another minority group is targeted. The knock-on effect of anti-Semitism is real and if left unchecked, the wall in our society which keeps the mob at bay will come crumbling down.

Elana Rubin and Josh Frydenberg in the burnt-out shell of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne. Picture: Louis Trerise

This is why combating anti-Semitism is Australia’s fight and not just the Jewish community’s. Now is an opportunity for all of us to look in the mirror and reflect on a simple question: have we been doing enough?

Enough to inform ourselves and others about the seriousness of what is happening and what history tells us about where it can all lead? Enough to innovate and educate using new technologies and solutions to address the most ancient of hatreds? Enough to invest at scale in a national strategic approach that is commensurate with the challenge we face?

This is why people have come together to establish the Dor Foundation, La Dor v’dor, to pass from one generation to the next our values, our history, our commitment to ensuring social cohesion in Australia and to reclaim what has been lost.

We are a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organisation, made up of Jews and non-Jews who want to tackle this hate at its source, initially on university campuses and online where misinformation and disinformation is spread providing a fertile ground for anti-Semitism and hate.

Our approach will not replicate or replace existing bodies doing important work in these areas, but rather, in the spirit of co-operation, partner with them to innovate and scale up the response.

To be successful, we must put more focus on what unites us than what divides us. Promoting the values of fairness, freedom and tolerance.

The glue that binds us and the respect that gives us protection against those who seek to bring foreign conflicts, toxic ideologies and ancient hatreds to our shores. Join us in our journey by registering your interest on our website.

I wish we didn’t need to be here today but given what has transpired over the last 17 months I am glad we are. It’s a call to action at a time when it’s never been needed more. It’s a fight that we are all invested in. It’s a fight that we all must win.

Josh Frydenberg is the former federal treasurer and led the Sky documentary, Never Again: The Fight Against Anti-Semitism. This is an edited version of a speech he delivered to the Sky News Anti-Semitism Summit.