Raw and crude anti-Semitism in Australia has added to Jewish distress

The recent events in Australia have deeply affected the Jewish community, prompting me to share my thoughts and concerns. The past week has been an emotional ordeal, particularly for the Jewish community.

First and foremost, the news of a brutal terrorist attack in Israel left us devastated. The sheer brutality of this act of violence is reminiscent of a dark chapter in history – the Holocaust. It was a moment that shook us to our core, and we found it hard to comprehend such an attack on everything sacred and pure.

However, what followed only added to our distress. The response from parts of the local pro-Palestinian community, both Muslim and non-Muslim, was disheartening. This was a time that called for unity and solidarity, not division. The Jewish community chose to come together to grieve, with some organising prayer vigils. These gatherings had to be held under tight security because of threats and intimidation.

As someone with left-leaning beliefs who has dedicated a significant part of their life to promoting peace between Israel and its neighbours, I was profoundly affected by the reactions and, at times, indifference within our Australian community. It is disconcerting that, in a country where we have contributed so much to the broader society, we now walk our streets in fear.

In the past I have been critical of individuals within my own community who tend to perceive anti-Semitism behind every corner. However, recent events have left me questioning that belief. It is now evident that those who participated in or supported these pro-Hamas demonstrations, turning an act of evil into a political statement, have displayed raw and crude anti-Semitism. The term “anti-Israel demonstrations”, as used by the media, is a misnomer; it is anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic in its harshest form.

Moreover, the silence from the Muslim community raises questions. During the peak of Islamic State, many Muslim organisations in Australia unequivocally denounced the group, asserting that their actions did not represent true Islam. However, in the face of barbaric acts committed in the name of Islam against Jews, acts that have surpassed even the brutality of ISIS, there is a deafening silence.

Dave Nirens, Sydney

I’m confused. Hamas terrorists invaded Israeli territory without provocation last week. They mercilessly murdered more than 1400 blameless civilians, beheaded precious infants and kidnapped more than 150 innocent men, women and children who are held as hostages in who knows what sorts of conditions.

They fired thousands of rockets indiscriminately into heavily populated Israeli cities and are continuing to menace Israel. Thousands of Israelis are displaced, families and society are disrupted as civilians are called up into essential defence and families are forced into protected shelters at short notice so that life has almost come to a standstill in devastated Israel.

Yet the numerous pro-Palestinian supporters we are seeing take to the streets have the gall to demonstrate worldwide as if Israel were the perpetrator rather than the victim. Interesting that many of the 1.6 million Arabs living in Israel are thriving and the two million Gazans under Hamas rule are not.

Ruth Rosenblum, Elsternwick, Vic

Raw anti-Semitism in Australia adds to Jewish distress

The recent events in Australia have deeply affected the Jewish community, prompting me to share my thoughts and concerns. The past week has been an emotional ordeal, particularly for the Jewish community.

First and foremost, the news of a brutal terrorist attack in Israel left us devastated. The sheer brutality of this act of violence is reminiscent of a dark chapter in history – the Holocaust. It was a moment that shook us to our core, and we found it hard to comprehend such an attack on everything sacred and pure.

However, what followed only added to our distress. The response from parts of the local pro-Palestinian community, both Muslim and non-Muslim, was disheartening. This was a time that called for unity and solidarity, not division. The Jewish community chose to come together to grieve, with some organising prayer vigils. These gatherings had to be held under tight security because of threats and intimidation.

As someone with left-leaning beliefs who has dedicated a significant part of their life to promoting peace between Israel and its neighbours, I was profoundly affected by the reactions and, at times, indifference within our Australian community. It is disconcerting that, in a country where we have contributed so much to the broader society, we now walk our streets in fear.

In the past I have been critical of individuals within my own community who tend to perceive anti-Semitism behind every corner. However, recent events have left me questioning that belief. It is now evident that those who participated in or supported these pro-Hamas demonstrations, turning an act of evil into a political statement, have displayed raw and crude anti-Semitism. The term “anti-Israel demonstrations”, as used by the media, is a misnomer; it is anti-Jewish and anti-Semitic in its harshest form.

The silence from the Muslim community raises questions. During the peak of Islamic State, many Muslim organisations in Australia unequivocally denounced the group, asserting its actions did not represent true Islam. But in the face of barbaric acts committed in the name of Islam against Jews, acts that have surpassed even the brutality of ISIS, there is a deafening silence.

Dave Nirens, Sydney

I’m confused. Hamas terrorists invaded Israeli territory without provocation last week. They mercilessly murdered more than 1400 blameless civilians, beheaded precious infants and kidnapped more than 150 innocent men, women and children who are held as hostages in who knows what sorts of conditions.

Yet the pro-Palestinian supporters we are seeing take to the streets have the gall to demonstrate as if Israel were the perpetrator rather than the victim.

Ruth Rosenblum, Elsternwick, Vic

The world is in shock at the barbaric events unfolding in the Israel and Palestine conflict. The cruelty of losses suffered by families and terror that has descended are unimaginable for most of us.

While the world condemns Hamas and rallies around Israel, it is imperative now for the global community to consider not only its own responsibility in what has occurred – as the latest instalment of a tragedy running for the past 75 years – but in supporting a workable, long-term solution. It is clear that ongoing support of the status quo is not an option.

Israel was created in 1948 by the United Nations to provide a homeland for the traumatised remnants of Europe’s Jewish population. The British had been unable to resolve this issue during its administration of the Palestine Mandate from 1919, due to Arab opposition to the partition of the region and the escalation of Jewish terrorism which took the lives of 750 British service people.

While the Arab population has missed opportunities to accept a more preferential territorial division, Israel has also aggressively expanded its borders. The UN has failed to police this expansionary tendency and in its duty of care to Palestine, beyond its financial support of a refugee population that swells each year. It has denied Palestine’s recognition as a sovereign nation pending acceptance of the partition enforced on it.

Support for Israel’s right to defend itself means nothing, apart from prolonging this conflict. The Gaza Strip should have been called out as an affront to civilisation decades ago. How can Palestinians be expected to accept this life as an alternative for the houses, farms and lives they’ve been forced to give up. We should all consider our own reaction if put in this situation.

UN member states must now demand that the organisation reflects on its failure to uphold the terms of its charter and works tirelessly to construct a solution that is acceptable to the majority of Palestinians. This will demand fresh thinking with no options off the table and the eventual settlement must be rigorously implemented – by force if necessary. Illuminating public buildings with Israeli flags and demonising Hamas only confirms in the minds of Palestinians that they have been abandoned by the global community.

Alex Evans, Blackburn, Vic