Binary choice leaves little room for middle
In Yeshivot, the Chavrusa method of study to is applied to Talmudic scholarship. Students, usually in groups of 2-5, analyse, discuss and debate texts. This helps them develop their thoughts into words and organise them into logical arguments, and crucially, to understand another person’s viewpoint.
But they can go wrong. When the goal of either partner is to be right rather than collaboratively seek the truth, the entire thing can collapse and become a real conflict.
Sadly, our community has fallen into just such a trap as they search for the right way forward in the upcoming elections.
The rise of antisemitism in Australia post October 7 has left our community feeling angry, fearful and abandoned. Although a worldwide phenomenon, much of the blame has been placed on the current government, all too often slow to respond and failing to show strong leadership. This has coincided with a retreat from the bipartisanship traditionally shown by both sides towards Israel, with the Labor government taking a much more critical stance towards Australia’s erstwhile ally.
Meanwhile the opposition, from the community’s point of view, has taken the moral high ground. Less constrained by electoral concerns in Muslim dominated seats and seeing an opportunity to sow discontent around social cohesion, they have responded with strong support for both the Jewish community and Israel.
This has created a clear binary choice, with the community leaning heavily to the right. This has been further enabled by the confluence of anti-Zionism with antisemitism by the left, resulting in the obscene and false representation of Israel as a “settler-colonialist state”, “ethnically cleansing” the “indigenous people” to build an “apartheid state” through “genocide”. These tropes have spilled over to include all Jews as partners in this blood libel.
As if to confirm this, the Greens, Australia’s “progressive parliamentary party”, have adopted policy towards Israel in particular, that is straight out of the above antisemitic playbook. Their response to October 7 has shown no sympathy for Israelis massacred by Hamas; aligned itself with ultra-nationalist Palestinian agendas and shown no empathy for Australian Jews. The Jewish community has unsurprisingly not only abandoned the Greens but called for their censure in the strongest terms.
Sadly, such a binary discourse allows for little room in the middle. The newest actors on the political stage are the Teals. They have been caught in the middle of this stoush and struggled to express a clear position. To be fair, while cooperating on some policy, they are not bound together as a party, and thus their positions and views may vary from each other. This further clouds any basis for defining their approach towards Israel. To analyse them one needs to look at each separately. Unfortunately, our community has preferred to treat them as one unit, an approach which misses the important nuances between them. This approach has also been promoted by both major parties, who feel threatened by their rise.
The Murdoch press, partisan in their support of a coalition victory, add to the bellicose atmosphere, with article after article pushing antisemitism to the top of the national agenda. Given the direction of the media on the left, particularly the ABC, Guardian, Crikey and others, the Murdoch press provides an alternate narrative that appeals to the Jewish community. Once again, this stark binary debate leaves little room for a middle ground, where most Australians-the silent majority-likely dwell.
As we head towards an election, the Jewish community, unhappy with the current Labor government, is betting on a change to a Liberal government. There is no “Plan B”. For the majority in the community, desperate to see a change to the coalition, this has translated into a heavily partisan campaign, that has no tolerance for alternate viewpoints, and little nuance when it comes to assessing the record of candidates. Good friends of the community who may not be in complete agreement on all issues, are discarded as dangerous, and often labelled antisemitic! The rhetoric is heated, often replicating that of the more extreme elements that the community opposes. Much of it is on social media, driven by keyboard warriors who whip their followers into a frenzy of hatred.
The Teal candidate in the heavily Jewish electorate of Wentworth, Allegra Spender, up against a liberal candidate, is labelled a traitor and antisemite in constant vicious attacks on her character. This despite a track record of strong support for the Jewish community and Israel. Her gravest fault, signing a letter with other Teals requesting aid through UNRWA continues until a viable alternate can be found. This empathy for Palestinian suffering was lost on the Jewish community which has condemned her, despite post the ceasefire, her writing to the foreign Minister requesting that funding for UNRWA now cease given the ceasefire allows for alternative sources of aid to be found.
In Macnamara, Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns faces a battle to retain his seat. With many Jewish voters sworn off Labor, despite his strong track record of support for the community and Israel, the seat could fall to the Greens on preferences.
Recently, the most senior Jewish member of the Government, Attorney general Mark Dreyfus, was jeered by the mainly Jewish audience, while attending an antisemitism summit put on by Sky News.
The community is no longer prepared to accept the antisemitism that has manifested itself since October 7. The strategy is simple: only under a Coalition government will the issue be dealt with appropriately.
Interestingly, away from the baying crowds, in Parliament, there are a group of MP’s, which includes Jewish Liberal MP, Julian Leeser, Labour MP’s Josh Burns and Mark Dreyfus, and Teal Allegra Spender, that have worked together in a bi-partisan spirit, to enact legislation around antisemitism and recognition of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. This collaboration belies the external communal lamentation.
The key communal bodies-The ECAJ, ZFA and State Boards of Deputies-whilst remaining in contact with all sides of politics, feel more comfortable with the coalition and the right press. The recent Antisemitism Summit in which Sky News partnered the ECAJ, being a good example of this. To be fair, the deeper connection with the Conservative side of politics was the case prior to October 7. The return of a Federal Labor government and the lack of deep ties to the Labor party may have resulted in exasperating the ability to influence decisions on key issues, the exception being NSW, where Premier Chris Minns has shown strong leadership and empathy for the Jewish community.
The drift right has brought the Australian Jewish Association (AJA), established by David Adler and presenting itself as an alternate community representative, back into the fold. Previously seen as “rogue” with marginal views towards issues ranging from domestic to Israel, it has gained legitimacy despite not having a structural constituency. On the left The Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) with a name that over-states its representative credentials many times over, has established a small following amongst the Jewish far left, but has been able to leverage a platform in the general press, nearly always unwarranted. The swing right of many communal organisations has likely pushed some who hold left views, into their arms.
The challenge for the community is the tactical vs the strategic.
On the tactical, social media reflects the decisiveness of the debate. Different points of view or political orientations are not tolerated by a community that can only see one solution to the rise of antisemitism, the return of a Liberal Federal government. Candidates other than from the coalition are labelled as “antisemitic” or “anti-Zionist”, this claim constantly levelled at Teal’s Allegra Spender and Zoe Daniel, neither of them of our community. In the case of Spender, a deeply disturbing insult to a good friend of the community. Supporters of Teals or Labour are treated as traitors to the wider community and harangued publicly or “beaten” into silence. The community no longer feels a safe place for diverse views or discourse.
The polls currently suggest a hung Parliament, with neither Labor or the Coalition able to form government on their own. The community’s preference is for a Liberal government. But we may not get what we want, particularly given that 94% of Australians are not focussed on the Middle East or antisemitism. And given the nature of Australian politics since federation, it has proven itself to be nothing but cyclical.
Thus, a unitary approach will ultimately not service us well. Notwithstanding the bottom line must be the safety of our community and recognition of the right of Israel to exist, we need to build relationships with both sides of politics, as well as the emerging middle. With the Green’s currently “out of bounds”, the middle means the growing influence and power of the Teal’s.
We must not isolate those in our community who wish to join the Labor party. The same applies to the Teal’s. We need to be in the ear of these parties and individuals, providing them with our community’s particular point of view and lobbying for our interests and needs. Broadening our political horizon is essential if we wish to continue to succeed as a community in Australia. Those that pursue alternative political paths are our advocates in the future just as much as those who are active in the Liberal Party.
The same applies to other public bodies. Resigning from Arts organisations, for example, makes a point of principal. But it also leaves a vacuum that may be filled by those who do not have our best interests at heart. This crisis is not the time to retreat into our shell. As we saw in pre-WWII Europe, our isolation only makes it easier for our detractors. We need to increase the dialogue. The same applies to the inter-faith space. Its hard to engage when other faiths have failed to empathise or been outright hostile. But only through connecting and finding areas of commonality can we bring greater safety to our community. Organisations like the Sydney Jewish Museum, Courage to Care and Together for Humanity are premised on just this belief.
Now is the time to leverage off our diversity. Not just to celebrate it, but to use it for the benefit of our community to ensure our safety and prosperity. The lack of tolerance and hostility to different points of view will lead to a strategic disaster for our community. Furthermore, alienating good friends who are often struggling to understand all the complex issues of the Middle East, whether overseas or domestic, shows a lack of strategic political nuance.
If we wish to be heard around issues pertaining to Israel and antisemitism, we must show greater respect for our institutions and those that serve us. That does not mean we should shy away from making our case. But we need to work with the wider body politic to achieve the best results.
Andy Gilman, president & CEO of Comm Core Consulting Group said: “The secret of crisis management is not good vs. bad, it’s preventing the bad from getting worse.” Let’s focus on managing and hopefully correcting the issues our community faces, rather than falling into an endless cycle of painful recrimination and internal conflict.
The writer has asked to remain anonymous.
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