The last time I was in Berlin with my family (10 years ago) we met Yoav, an elderly Jewish man we recognized from our hotel, when we went to a magnificent baroque trumpet concert at the Berlin Philharmonic. Yoav had fled Berlin as a young man in the Nazi years, and now lived in Israel. He loved coming back to Berlin for the music, but could never live there again. 10 years ago I really thought we had no anti-Semitism worth talking about in Australia, and with such an enormous population of holocaust survivors in Melbourne, and the wonderful Jewish contribution to Australian cultural and intellectual life after the war, I could not image we would ever see anti-Semitism in Australia. What has happened to my country? What has happened to the Left? Very disorienting, very troubling. With you, though not from the inside, we are dismayed by the ... sacreligious defacements of MP Josh Burn's office, and the horrifying return of a deeply irrational and dehumanizing anti-Sematism in Australia, dear Juile.
Australia is no longer the land of “ we are one and free”. There is no “ one” and we sure as hell aren’t “ free”, unless you call “free “ the ability to be a rabid anti semite without consequence or alternatively with reward eg seat at Sydney uni.
I can’t imagine what it took to write this piece from Berlin. I’m glad you did write it Julie. Powerful and uncompromising. But at the same time, I sort of wished for the old pre internet days when you would not have known what happened instantly.
Julie, I wish you could have enjoyed a totally peaceful holiday but this is a great piece.
In a civil society there is respectful disagreement. There is also respect for the lived experience of all citizens whether they are liked or not. Australia is not such any more. And weak words from a gutless PM achieve nothing.
I do not support Mr Dutton but he backs the Jewish community and this makes me feel so relieved- it’s time the PM and police show this sort of unquestionable and unerring support for the Jewish community.
Thanks so much, Julie, for this piece even though it must have been difficult for you to write. The targeting of Josh Burns was shocking and I would love to think this will finally be a wake up call to our leaders and institutions but based on their actions (or lack of) over the last 9 months I am not very optimistic.
Brilliant once again. Exactly my sentiment. There actually IS a place for Jew hate in Australia. That place has been carved out by politicians , and universities taking zero action
I disagree with your order of precedence... It is not the political milieu that created this state of affairs but the academic left. The university is the source of the problem, firstly for having turned academia into a political institution; second by having it completely owned & operated by the left. The politicians are merely following the numbers and placating the antiZionist mob. That mob has been building up for decades until just recently assuming critical mass enough to start flexing its muscles. The ALP is thoroughly infiltrated by this movement, and is also beholden to ethno-religious branch influence.
I can understand that a large part of the Left has long been appalled at the failure of Israel to reach a political settlement with the Palestinians (although closer analysis shows that much of the fault has been with the inability of Palestinian leaders - like Yasser Arafat - to agree to any realistic compromise). I can also understand why many observers predicted that Netanyahu's 20-year policy of complacently 'mowing the grass' would provoke the ghastly nemesis of October 7.
However, it is very odd that senior Labor leaders seem so afraid of an electoral backlash from Muslim voters if the government were to be resolute in denouncing anti-Semitic behaviour without hedging it with equivocations about Islamophobia.
Lots of ethnic minorities in Australia have felt very strongly about the rights and wrongs of violent discord in their home countries without this erupting into civil strife in Australia. Consider the Croats and Serbs, or the Greeks and Macedonians, or the Greeks and Turks, during the 1980s and 1990s. None of this would have been permitted to degenerate into the kind of threatened violence we see today against Jewish people, and the demands for boycotts and cancellation of public Jewish figures, and so on.
Indeed I have to agree with Peter Dutton that our prime minister is failing at his essential leadership responsibility of denouncing these socially divisive actions. But again, why? Does anyone really believe that masses of Muslim voters will flock to the Greens? Cynically, if that's the worry, all the Labor activists need to do is to inform them about the Greens' obsession with trans ideology.
But I would wager that a significant part of the Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian communities in Australia take a much more level-headed view of the intractable Israel/Palestine stand-off, no matter what is said from the pulpits. People have migrated to Australia to get away from all that, and to live a more productive life. (Note how it was only crazy young men who tried to join ISIS, against the despairing protests of their parents.)
There is a major difference between the past ethnic squabbles in Aus like during the breakup of Yugoslavia. In those conflicts one side didn't have a huge political machine primed to advance their activism. As the left adopted the anti-zionist mantra in the era of post-rational progressivism this is a new dynamic, and much more dangerous.
The tepidness of the ALP is easily explained by how their branch politics works, as they are often organised around immigrant enclaves. Particularly Sydney. This is quite similar to how the Greens are cooperating with Muslim immigrant groups in inner city - look at Moreland (Merri-Bek). There is no rationality in antisemitism, I'm afraid the contradictions of queer theory will not stop them. Masses of Muslim voters are flocking to the Greens - at least in local elections. A large factor is they have recruited candidates from such communities.
I feel sorry for Josh Burns, he finds himself in a snake pit. And unfortunately his position is actually representative of the progressive Jewish community as a whole.
I quite agree that what is new and different with this conflict is that a large part of what calls itself the 'progressive left' has adopted anti-zionism as a core part of a belief system involving a historically shallow critique of colonialism and so on. Thus parts of the progressive left find themselves in laughable contradictions like 'queers for Palestine'. However, I still think it is surprising that the Labor party has so far not been able to extricate itself from this very dangerous and socially damaging morass.
I would not dismiss the ethnic politics of the 1980s and 1990s as mere squabbles. They may have seemed remote and tangential to the concerns of other Australians, but some horrible things happened when Yugoslavia finally tore itself apart. I recall that, in the 2 or 3 years leading up to the civil war, our Croatian neighbours used to sit around in the evening with friends and listen to inflammatory cassette tapes of rabble-rousing anti-Serb partisans. No doubt the same thing was happening among Serbian and Albanian families.
And it was during this very period that the Labor Party was organising its ethnic branches. Yet it seems that the central party apparatus was pretty successful at managing the potential risks of all this (apart from some corruption and branch-stacking, of course). Given this experience in the recent past, I'm still surprised by the paralysis among the party hard-heads this time around.
Certainly the new thing is the alliance between some Palestinian migrants and sections of the Left. However, I'm not convinced that this will translate into any significant shift of votes to the Greens, except in a few local elections. While the Coptic christian Peter Khalil may lose to the Greens in my electorate, the national impact will be limited. (In the longer term, it would be interesting to watch the fireworks if enough young Muslim Australians were to throw themselves into the highly factionalised politics of the Greens. But who knows?)
I went thru HS in the early 90s and lived right amongst the Macedonians, Greeks and Croats. I'm a Northcote boy (pre gentrification if that needs qualifying). The Yugoslavian death throes were nasty but neither side had the political muscle that the antiIsraelis now have. You may be right about Labor then, the ALP was still a different beast - still had actual working class roots (just). Today it is a "bourgeois left" partly, obsessed with all equalities other than economic. If you challenge that claim can you explain why a supposed workers' party is opening floodgates of immigration during a housing crisis and rising unemployment? It is a wage suppression and asset price pump scheme. On that they are arm in arm with the Libs.
I think you underestimate the Greens/migrant alliance. It is strong where I live & work (Fitzroy & Brunswick). The secret is coopting identity and running candidates from visible minorities - that trumps any policy contradictions like queers for Palestine etc. This is visible with politicians like Faruqui, Mohamud and Payman. Policy doesn't matter, the voting block sees "one of us".
All policies have benefits and costs. Australians have been happily basking in the benefits multiculturalism brought for decades, but the costs are now becoming visible.
Good points. But I guess we will just have to wait and see whether there is any real strength in this tactical alliance between the Greens and sections of the Muslim community. Things could fall apart when this horrible Gaza business reverts to the usual stalemate. The housing crisis is a much more entrenched and complex problem for Labor, with real electoral impact, and all three parties may find themselves forced to agree on the need to throttle back on mass immigration. (Who knows? Labour may even find the willpower to propose some serious tax reform as a real solution.)
The other point is that we shouldn’t overestimate the impact of ‘progressive’ ideology on the kind of mass public opinion that swings elections. This was demonstrated by the very predictable failure of the Voice referendum. Also by John Pesutto’s serious error of judgment in the Moira Deeming affair.
When will western nations like ours finally admit that multiculturalism has its natural limits - i.e. when you attempt to mix in cultures/religions/races that are fundamentally antagonistic to longstanding existing elements of that nation's culture? When will we learn that Zionism is not their only target?
I am very interested to read Julie's experiences in Germany, because it is the one country in which the Antifa mob has explicitly rejected anti-Zionism, or at least has a self awareness to restrain their rhetoric. Everywhere else they have gone overboard with the "anticolonial" fetish.
Thanks for this Julie. It seems hard to find sincere concern and worry for Jewish people around the world and for Israel itself as it is attacked on all sides and through these hideous demonstrations and propaganda and double standards. Your words are a light in this darkness.
Julie take care and try to disengage even for a short time, from the utter stupidty that is on display in Melbourne, the attack on MP Josh Burn's office the most recent act of violence. We need more people to speak up and to push back from an 'opinion' expressed by some, for God knows what reasoning, becoming a 'fact' and then like a contagious virus spread. Social media and young people who have no grasp of what 'Zionism' even means, and as Albanese has said, would not know where the Jordan River actually is? These activist 'protestors' when asked, would rail against such ugly right wing actions if directed at them, yet that is exactly what they are doing to others. (The Left once tagged 'progressive' now a muddled mess using the tactics of the Right). Our politicians and police need to stop 'fence sitting' on these matters and act to prevent and to prosecute the offenders.
The last time I was in Berlin with my family (10 years ago) we met Yoav, an elderly Jewish man we recognized from our hotel, when we went to a magnificent baroque trumpet concert at the Berlin Philharmonic. Yoav had fled Berlin as a young man in the Nazi years, and now lived in Israel. He loved coming back to Berlin for the music, but could never live there again. 10 years ago I really thought we had no anti-Semitism worth talking about in Australia, and with such an enormous population of holocaust survivors in Melbourne, and the wonderful Jewish contribution to Australian cultural and intellectual life after the war, I could not image we would ever see anti-Semitism in Australia. What has happened to my country? What has happened to the Left? Very disorienting, very troubling. With you, though not from the inside, we are dismayed by the ... sacreligious defacements of MP Josh Burn's office, and the horrifying return of a deeply irrational and dehumanizing anti-Sematism in Australia, dear Juile.
Such beautiful words Paul. Greatly appreciated.
Australia is no longer the land of “ we are one and free”. There is no “ one” and we sure as hell aren’t “ free”, unless you call “free “ the ability to be a rabid anti semite without consequence or alternatively with reward eg seat at Sydney uni.
I can’t imagine what it took to write this piece from Berlin. I’m glad you did write it Julie. Powerful and uncompromising. But at the same time, I sort of wished for the old pre internet days when you would not have known what happened instantly.
Thank you Michael. I know, they were gentler times. x
Julie, I wish you could have enjoyed a totally peaceful holiday but this is a great piece.
In a civil society there is respectful disagreement. There is also respect for the lived experience of all citizens whether they are liked or not. Australia is not such any more. And weak words from a gutless PM achieve nothing.
Totally agree, thanks Pia.
Thanks Julie.
I do not support Mr Dutton but he backs the Jewish community and this makes me feel so relieved- it’s time the PM and police show this sort of unquestionable and unerring support for the Jewish community.
Thanks so much, Julie, for this piece even though it must have been difficult for you to write. The targeting of Josh Burns was shocking and I would love to think this will finally be a wake up call to our leaders and institutions but based on their actions (or lack of) over the last 9 months I am not very optimistic.
Yes it's hard to be optimistic Peta.
Excellent piece Julie.
Extremely well said.
Safe travels.
Brilliant once again. Exactly my sentiment. There actually IS a place for Jew hate in Australia. That place has been carved out by politicians , and universities taking zero action
I disagree with your order of precedence... It is not the political milieu that created this state of affairs but the academic left. The university is the source of the problem, firstly for having turned academia into a political institution; second by having it completely owned & operated by the left. The politicians are merely following the numbers and placating the antiZionist mob. That mob has been building up for decades until just recently assuming critical mass enough to start flexing its muscles. The ALP is thoroughly infiltrated by this movement, and is also beholden to ethno-religious branch influence.
I can understand that a large part of the Left has long been appalled at the failure of Israel to reach a political settlement with the Palestinians (although closer analysis shows that much of the fault has been with the inability of Palestinian leaders - like Yasser Arafat - to agree to any realistic compromise). I can also understand why many observers predicted that Netanyahu's 20-year policy of complacently 'mowing the grass' would provoke the ghastly nemesis of October 7.
However, it is very odd that senior Labor leaders seem so afraid of an electoral backlash from Muslim voters if the government were to be resolute in denouncing anti-Semitic behaviour without hedging it with equivocations about Islamophobia.
Lots of ethnic minorities in Australia have felt very strongly about the rights and wrongs of violent discord in their home countries without this erupting into civil strife in Australia. Consider the Croats and Serbs, or the Greeks and Macedonians, or the Greeks and Turks, during the 1980s and 1990s. None of this would have been permitted to degenerate into the kind of threatened violence we see today against Jewish people, and the demands for boycotts and cancellation of public Jewish figures, and so on.
Indeed I have to agree with Peter Dutton that our prime minister is failing at his essential leadership responsibility of denouncing these socially divisive actions. But again, why? Does anyone really believe that masses of Muslim voters will flock to the Greens? Cynically, if that's the worry, all the Labor activists need to do is to inform them about the Greens' obsession with trans ideology.
But I would wager that a significant part of the Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian, Iraqi and Iranian communities in Australia take a much more level-headed view of the intractable Israel/Palestine stand-off, no matter what is said from the pulpits. People have migrated to Australia to get away from all that, and to live a more productive life. (Note how it was only crazy young men who tried to join ISIS, against the despairing protests of their parents.)
There is a major difference between the past ethnic squabbles in Aus like during the breakup of Yugoslavia. In those conflicts one side didn't have a huge political machine primed to advance their activism. As the left adopted the anti-zionist mantra in the era of post-rational progressivism this is a new dynamic, and much more dangerous.
The tepidness of the ALP is easily explained by how their branch politics works, as they are often organised around immigrant enclaves. Particularly Sydney. This is quite similar to how the Greens are cooperating with Muslim immigrant groups in inner city - look at Moreland (Merri-Bek). There is no rationality in antisemitism, I'm afraid the contradictions of queer theory will not stop them. Masses of Muslim voters are flocking to the Greens - at least in local elections. A large factor is they have recruited candidates from such communities.
I feel sorry for Josh Burns, he finds himself in a snake pit. And unfortunately his position is actually representative of the progressive Jewish community as a whole.
I quite agree that what is new and different with this conflict is that a large part of what calls itself the 'progressive left' has adopted anti-zionism as a core part of a belief system involving a historically shallow critique of colonialism and so on. Thus parts of the progressive left find themselves in laughable contradictions like 'queers for Palestine'. However, I still think it is surprising that the Labor party has so far not been able to extricate itself from this very dangerous and socially damaging morass.
I would not dismiss the ethnic politics of the 1980s and 1990s as mere squabbles. They may have seemed remote and tangential to the concerns of other Australians, but some horrible things happened when Yugoslavia finally tore itself apart. I recall that, in the 2 or 3 years leading up to the civil war, our Croatian neighbours used to sit around in the evening with friends and listen to inflammatory cassette tapes of rabble-rousing anti-Serb partisans. No doubt the same thing was happening among Serbian and Albanian families.
And it was during this very period that the Labor Party was organising its ethnic branches. Yet it seems that the central party apparatus was pretty successful at managing the potential risks of all this (apart from some corruption and branch-stacking, of course). Given this experience in the recent past, I'm still surprised by the paralysis among the party hard-heads this time around.
Certainly the new thing is the alliance between some Palestinian migrants and sections of the Left. However, I'm not convinced that this will translate into any significant shift of votes to the Greens, except in a few local elections. While the Coptic christian Peter Khalil may lose to the Greens in my electorate, the national impact will be limited. (In the longer term, it would be interesting to watch the fireworks if enough young Muslim Australians were to throw themselves into the highly factionalised politics of the Greens. But who knows?)
I went thru HS in the early 90s and lived right amongst the Macedonians, Greeks and Croats. I'm a Northcote boy (pre gentrification if that needs qualifying). The Yugoslavian death throes were nasty but neither side had the political muscle that the antiIsraelis now have. You may be right about Labor then, the ALP was still a different beast - still had actual working class roots (just). Today it is a "bourgeois left" partly, obsessed with all equalities other than economic. If you challenge that claim can you explain why a supposed workers' party is opening floodgates of immigration during a housing crisis and rising unemployment? It is a wage suppression and asset price pump scheme. On that they are arm in arm with the Libs.
I think you underestimate the Greens/migrant alliance. It is strong where I live & work (Fitzroy & Brunswick). The secret is coopting identity and running candidates from visible minorities - that trumps any policy contradictions like queers for Palestine etc. This is visible with politicians like Faruqui, Mohamud and Payman. Policy doesn't matter, the voting block sees "one of us".
All policies have benefits and costs. Australians have been happily basking in the benefits multiculturalism brought for decades, but the costs are now becoming visible.
Good points. But I guess we will just have to wait and see whether there is any real strength in this tactical alliance between the Greens and sections of the Muslim community. Things could fall apart when this horrible Gaza business reverts to the usual stalemate. The housing crisis is a much more entrenched and complex problem for Labor, with real electoral impact, and all three parties may find themselves forced to agree on the need to throttle back on mass immigration. (Who knows? Labour may even find the willpower to propose some serious tax reform as a real solution.)
The other point is that we shouldn’t overestimate the impact of ‘progressive’ ideology on the kind of mass public opinion that swings elections. This was demonstrated by the very predictable failure of the Voice referendum. Also by John Pesutto’s serious error of judgment in the Moira Deeming affair.
When will western nations like ours finally admit that multiculturalism has its natural limits - i.e. when you attempt to mix in cultures/religions/races that are fundamentally antagonistic to longstanding existing elements of that nation's culture? When will we learn that Zionism is not their only target?
I am very interested to read Julie's experiences in Germany, because it is the one country in which the Antifa mob has explicitly rejected anti-Zionism, or at least has a self awareness to restrain their rhetoric. Everywhere else they have gone overboard with the "anticolonial" fetish.
Thanks for this Julie. It seems hard to find sincere concern and worry for Jewish people around the world and for Israel itself as it is attacked on all sides and through these hideous demonstrations and propaganda and double standards. Your words are a light in this darkness.
Julie take care and try to disengage even for a short time, from the utter stupidty that is on display in Melbourne, the attack on MP Josh Burn's office the most recent act of violence. We need more people to speak up and to push back from an 'opinion' expressed by some, for God knows what reasoning, becoming a 'fact' and then like a contagious virus spread. Social media and young people who have no grasp of what 'Zionism' even means, and as Albanese has said, would not know where the Jordan River actually is? These activist 'protestors' when asked, would rail against such ugly right wing actions if directed at them, yet that is exactly what they are doing to others. (The Left once tagged 'progressive' now a muddled mess using the tactics of the Right). Our politicians and police need to stop 'fence sitting' on these matters and act to prevent and to prosecute the offenders.