A mix of hope and heartbreak

As Israelis and Jews around the world wake up this Monday, we do so with a mix of hope and heartbreak. We await the long-anticipated return of the final 48 hostages to Israel. At the first glimpse of them, the tears will come, tears of relief, of sorrow, of resilience. The words “Bring them home” will finally give way to “We brought them home.”

The yellow ribbon, a symbol of longing and hope over the last two years will now become a quiet tribute to what was endured. Tragically, of the final group, only about 20 are still alive, many in grave condition. This homecoming will be deeply bittersweet, as Israel also prepares to receive the bodies of 28 who did not survive. In keeping with Jewish tradition, mourning (shiva) begins only after burial. Across the nation, Israelis will line the roads and attend funerals in solemn respect, just as they did when other dead hostages were brought home.

And yet, even in this moment of grief, we look toward a new dawn. As Yuval Rephael, herself a survivor of the October 7 attacks sang while representing Israel at this year’s Eurovision Song Contest:

“New day will rise
Life will go on
Everyone cries
Don’t cry alone
Darkness will fade
All the pain will go by
But we will stay
Even if you say goodbye.”

With the return of the hostages, Israel may finally begin the long and painful journey toward healing.

But for Jews globally, the threat of antisemitism continues to grow. Since the horrifying chants of “Gas the Jews” and “F*** the Jews” echoed from the steps of the Sydney Opera House on October 9, 2023, we have been warning. This is not about Gaza. This is raw, unmasked antisemitism. Sadly, weak leadership across the west has done nothing to contain this hatred. Rather, its silence has emboldened the antisemites. What happened in Manchester a fortnight ago could have been avoided.

Jews have been part of Australia since the days of the First Fleet. This country became a refuge for Holocaust survivors, and most Australian Jews today are the children, grandchildren, or great-grandchildren of those who escaped Hitler’s genocide. We’ve contributed to every part of Australian society, in business, science, medicine, academia, law, defence, the arts, and beyond. Australian Jews have embraced this nation and its values like many others.

Yet, antisemitic rhetoric and protests continue. These demonstrations openly celebrated the atrocities of October 7, where over 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were brutally murdered, many raped, mutilated, or burned alive and some 250 hostages were taken into Gaza. Chants like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and “Globalise the intifada by any means necessary” are not calls for peace. They are calls for genocide. They advocate the destruction of Israel and threaten Jews everywhere.

Let’s be clear: these protests are not about a two-state solution. They are about replacing Israel with an Islamic State, a regime under which diversity, democracy, LGBTQ+ rights, and freedom of expression would not exist. Groups like “Queers for Palestine” or “Trans for Palestine” would not survive five minutes under such a regime. These movements do not seek peace; they seek to repeat October 7, over and over again.

Some of these protesters even cheered this weekend when Senator Lidia Thorpe declared she would “burn down” Parliament in support of the Palestinian cause, this despite a tentative peace deal in Gaza.

They can attempt to rewrite history, but archaeology does not lie. Stones unearthed from the earth tell the truth. Just as ancient ruins confirm the Roman history of Rome, so too do countless discoveries across Israel affirm the unbroken Jewish connection to the land over thousands of years.

Even in the heart of Rome, this history is carved in stone. The Arch of Titus, erected in 81 CE, still stands as a monument to the Roman conquest of Jerusalem. On its inner relief, Jewish slaves are depicted carrying sacred objects, most famously the Menorah from the destroyed Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. This is not a modern invention or political narrative. It is a Roman declaration. Do the Italians lie too? Of course not. The evidence is there for all to see.

What’s more, after crushing the Bar Kochba revolt in 135 CE, the Romans deliberately tried to erase Jewish ties to the land by renaming Judea as Syria Palaestina, a name meant to humiliate the Jews by invoking their ancient enemies, the Philistines. That name, Palestine, was not an indigenous label. It was a colonial act of erasure. Its very origin is rooted in an attempt to deny the Jewish people’s historical and spiritual connection to their homeland.

Those who now claim Jews are foreign colonisers in Israel ignore not just archaeology, but the documented strategies of empire and oppression. They aren’t just arguing against Israel. They’re arguing against thousands of years of history, against the stones of Jerusalem, and even against the ruins of Rome.

What antisemites will never understand is the unbreakable bond that unites Jews around the world. We are not just a community. We are a family. Though we may live in different countries, speak different languages, and come from diverse backgrounds, our roots trace back to the same place, the land of Israel.

We have been scattered across the globe through centuries of exile, persecution, and expulsions, from ancient Babylon to the Spanish Inquisition, from the pogroms of Eastern Europe to the Holocaust. We landed in places like Poland, Germany, Morocco, Iraq, Yemen, and beyond, not by choice, but by force. So when someone tells us to “go back to Poland” or “return to Germany,” they erase the truth of our story. Our origins do not lie in those places. They lie in the hills of Judea, in Jerusalem, in the land of Israel where our history began thousands of years ago.

There is a saying in Hebrew: “Kol Yisrael arevim zeh la-zeh”—”All of Israel are responsible for one another.” This principle, from the Talmud (Shevuot 39a), reflects the deep sense of mutual responsibility that binds us. It is a value carried through generations, a source of strength in times of crisis and unity in times of celebration.

And one thing is certain: Jews will continue to survive. In fact, our bond is stronger because of you. The more you try to divide us, the more united we become. History has proven this again and again. And make no mistake: Jews will endure far longer than your sick, barbaric ideology ever will.

Just as Jews sang Hatikvah, the hope, upon liberation from the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp in 1945, we will continue to sing it long into the future. That song, now the Israeli national anthem embodies our enduring spirit, our unwavering hope, and our unshakable connection to the land of Israel. No matter the trials we face, the words of Hatikvah remind us that our hope remains alive, passed down through generations, guiding us toward a brighter tomorrow.

Shane Shmuel is a member of the Melbourne Jewish community.