A hopeful future

Many people tell me that I am lucky to still have two grandparents at my age. And whilst I know that is true, I also know that because of their age and frailty, they are largely sheltered from the news of the world, and the almost daily things that most of the rest of us hear about, including antisemitism and other horrors. For the most part, they are not exposed to and are oblivious to any anti-Jewish rhetoric.

So much so that just last week, my 102-year-old grandfather was telling me about some of his ailments, but also about how well he was being treated at Jewish Care. And then in the next sentence he said, “we are so lucky that we came to this country.” At that point, my 100-year-old grandmother, who was only half listening, pipped up and agreed effusively. “Yes indeed,” she said. “This country is wonderful!” These are sentiments that my grandparents have shared with me for many years, but this time it resonated with me more than on previous occasions.

For two and a half years at least, I have been preoccupied with following the news coming out of Israel, and with the developments in the Jewish community at home. From the rise in antisemitism to the lack of condemnation by the government; from the seemingly acceptable nature of anti-Jewish protests, to the shock of the attack at Bondi, and so many more events. My life – like that of so many others in the community – has been consumed by news and negativity, and has at times felt hopeless. With the hearings of the Royal Commission currently in progress, these stories and events are being amplified even more.

But seeing my grandparents, even in their elderly and feeble state, gives me hope. Not only do they regularly praise their carers, but they also often talk about the services that this country provides – services that they could have only dreamed about during their lives in Eastern Europe. These include services like Centrelink and job assistance, plus NDIS, My Aged Care, in-home supports, cleaning services and even meal delivery options, not to mention the vast array of choices in all the supermarkets, and things we all take for granted, like weekly bin collections. On top of that are the Jewish community organisations and services, like Jewish Care, where they currently reside, as well as C Care, Kosher Meals on Wheels and many others. My grandparents have availed themselves of many of these, and without them, they know that they wouldn’t have enjoyed the longevity that they currently have.

Engaging in these conversations gives me hope because it reminds me that we really do live in a great country. The hopelessness that I and many others have felt over the last few years is not reflected in the general community, and is not even always reflected in the Jewish community. Despite the horror of the last few years – or maybe inspired by it – numerous Jewish organisations have proactively thought about the future of our community and are determined to make it positive and bright.

A few months ago I attended the launch of the building campaign at East Melbourne Synagogue. This will enhance the communal space at the shule and will make the whole building a more welcoming and engaging place. On a larger scale, the move of Mt Scopus from Burwood to Caulfield is progressing and developing, and though it might still be quite a number of years before it comes to fruition, the long-term thinking that is associated with such a large-scale project makes me hopeful about the future of our community. Mt Scopus certainly sees a future for Jewish students in Melbourne. So too the creation of the Jewish Arts Quarter (JAQ), that when completed in a number of years, will positively transform the cultural and social nature of our community. On top of all that, the Gen26 survey will soon be launched across the community, which is a once-in-a-decade opportunity to get accurate data about our community for the purposes of future-planning, policy creation and development, not to mention, an accurate picture of what many Jews in our community think about our community’s future. Each of these projects, along with a number of others, including the newly opened C Care site in St Kilda, make me feel much more hopeful about the future of the Jewish community, than the news of the last few years, and the doomsday predictions that I often see on some social media post, and hear from those planning Aliyah.

And largely I have my grandparents to thank for this feeling of hopefulness. They may be protected from the horrors that we see, and they will never see the projects that our community is building, but they still see the goodness that is at the heart of Australia. They are also continually grateful for why they came to this country in the first place, and like most of the rest of us, want to see that kind of Australia continue to flourish.

 Alex Kats is Project Manager for the upcoming Gen26 survey in Victoria.