‘McCarthyism’ claim misguided

The escalation of aggression on Israel’s northern border by Hezbollah, a terrorist proxy of Iran, like Hamas, underlines the existential battle being fought by the Jewish state. With its survival at stake, pulling back on the campaign to destroy Hamas is not an option. And with 137 hostages still in Hamas’s hands, revelations of treatment meted out to hostages who are now free – such as pumping drugs into children, and psychological and sexual abuse – will only harden Israel’s resolve to defy fast-mounting global opinion demanding that it agree to a ceasefire or pull back. It also needs to be understood that grotesque displays of anti-Semitism – such as demonstrators outside the Sydney Opera House chanting “gas the Jews” – started long before Israel’s counteroffensive began in response to the brutal attack on October 7 when Hamas killed 1200 people in Israel and kidnapped about 240 hostages. Around the world, including Australia, that attack awakened a latent anti-Semitism not seen for 80 years.

In reacting to the conflict, facts matter. That is why Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic has grasped the wrong end of the issue in claiming that those, including actors and journalists, expressing concern for Palestinians were facing “our generation of McCarthyism” – a false analogy. His complaint that some had suffered “professional retribution” for wanting to “stand with humanity” is wrong. Contrary to Mr Husic’s views expressed on ABC radio on Tuesday, Nine newspapers, for example, acted responsibly in deciding that journalists who signed a subjective, anti-Israel letter that abandoned basic tenets of their profession should no longer cover the war.

The letter, backed by the journalists union, urged newsrooms to scrap “both-sidesism”. It also gave no more credence to information provided by Israel, a democratic nation (which has been accurate throughout the 10-week war), than to the claims of Hamas terrorists whose mission, backed by Iran, one of the most brutal theocracies, is to wipe Israel and Jews from the map. The journalists’ letter showed no regard for historical context, accuracy and truth. The Sydney Theatre Company actors, who are paid to entertain, not comment on international conflicts, had no compunction about hurting long-time audiences, supporters and board members, including Jews. In comparing the current situation in Australia to McCarthyism, Mr Husic has his historical wires crossed.

In the US in the 1950s, exaggerated post-war fears of communism and the Soviet Union led to government-backed political persecution of individuals regarded as left-wing, largely spearheaded by Republican senator Joseph McCarthy and FBI director J. Edgar Hoover. The latter, in particular, insisted on the identity of informants being protected, so many of those who came under suspicion often had no idea what they were accused of or who had reported them. Prominent Jews such as conductor Leonard Bernstein or those with Jewish connections, such as Charlie Chaplin, were among those targeted. Bernstein, on whom the FBI had a file of hundreds of pages and whose passport was briefly revoked, was moved to point out that as a Jew he was “necessarily a foe of communism”.

In recent congressional hearings, the heads of Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology were asked whether advocating for the genocide of Jews violated their university’s codes of conduct regarding bullying and harassment. The fact none of them said an outright yes reflects how and why a resurgence of anti-Semitism since October 7 has made the world a more dangerous place than it has been for decades, especially for Jews. Australia is not immune, as recent events have shown, which is why better leadership is needed from Mr Husic and his colleagues. They have been too slow and reticent backing Israel, our long-time ally, in fighting for its existence.