Editorial (February 26, 2010)
My neighbour the terrorist?
IT is interesting that the same week a local Melbourne newspaper reports on neighbours complaining about “inappropriate” security training at a Jewish school, the government reveals that one of the biggest emerging security threats facing Australia is home-grown terrorism.
In the Jewish community, we are all too aware of the danger of terrorism in our communities. Our volunteers, together with police and Australia’s intelligence agencies, work overtime to identify anybody who may be threatening our community.
Recent cases, including the sentencing of five Sydney men after they were found guilty of plotting large-scale terrorist attacks on Australian targets, have been notable for one thing: the personal circumstances of the accused.
The motivations for terrorism — including poor social and economic backgrounds, identification with particular beliefs and ideologies, such as a radical form of Islam, and being influenced by extremist groups — remain the same. However, the difference is that those trying to commit terrorist attacks in Australia are increasingly born on our shores, or at least raised and schooled in this country.
It is encouraging that the government’s Counter-Terrorism White Paper, released on Tuesday, has identified the threat posed by radicalised Australians. In this regard, the report counters the conventional thinking that terrorists are those who might have flown in from Arab or West African countries.
However, it is noteworthy in that it commits very little report space, and even fewer resources, to counter-radicalisation policies. Education, interfaith programs and a concerted effort to improve the social conditions in some of Australia’s most underprivileged pockets could go a long way to countering the threat. The headlines may be less “sexy” than biometric visas or a new combined intelligence centre, but the results could potentially save lives.
The release of the report also coincides with the Australian visit of Londonistan author Melanie Phillips, who this week warned Australians about going down the British road of encouraging separatism and breeding a home-grown following for violent jihad.
Some might say Phillips’ warnings about the British model of multiculturalism, however well intentioned, perhaps fail to acknowledge that in Australia, we have done multiculturalism better, so to speak.
The Australian brand of multiculturalism has always stressed the importance of a commitment to democracy, justice and the rule of law. But is multiculturalism enough to stop terrorism festering? If the government is serious about fighting terrorism, it needs to start in its own backyard.
Festival of Lots, but not too much
WITH Purim fast approaching, we are reminded of the old joke: What is the definition of a Jewish festival? They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat.
It is, of course, true that no holiday in our calendar is complete without tucking into a sumptuous banquet or a specific delicacy. Indeed, even Yom Kippur, the day we don’t eat, is bookended by two meals, one to start the fast and one to break it.
Purim, however, carries a separate obligation. Yes, there is the inevitable food association — the hamantaschen and the mishloach manot — but there is also the requirement to reach a stage where one can’t distinguish between the names of the hero Mordechai and the villain Haman. In our quest to reach that stage, the punchline to the old joke has been adapted somewhat to: “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s drink.”
So far, not a problem. As long as we don’t regard the festival as an invitation to excess. The issue becomes a little more serious when people fail to realise that the translation of Purim as “lots” does not refer to quantity, and is not the answer to the question of “how much should we drink?”
Having taken that on board, of course, this is a festival of fun and frivolity. And even within the pages of this week’s AJN, true to the tradition of the Jewish press, we’ve introduced our own little Purim spiel in the form of a bogus story. We’ll leave you to work out which one it is.
Other stories, however, that appear in our pages this week are sadly true. We read of the bomb attack on a Cairo synagogue, the rising anti-Semitism in Sweden and the threat of terror on our own shores. This weekend is Shabbat Zachor, when we remember Amalek, a forebear of Haman, who also tried to destroy us. It is clear that though millennia may have passed, historic hatreds persist to this day.
As we toast our victory on Purim, we must also remember that the ancient battle for survival is not yet over. The spiritual heirs of Amalek and Haman still wish us harm, and we must forever be on our guard.
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