Educating for impact in the fight against hate

In the evening of December 14, 2025, our family was celebrating the first night of Chanukah with our two beautiful little granddaughters aged two and five.

As we were enjoying the warmth of a family gathering our phones began to start pinging. We furtively scanned the messages and news streams steadily unveiling the full horror of Bondi. We strove to maintain a happy demeanour for the children while my son went into another room to answer queries for our welfare and seek reassurance of the safety of family and friends.

It was a shock but I can’t say it was a surprise given the multiple times many of us had warned of the inevitable trajectory the country has been on since October 7, 2023.

Afterwards I asked myself, how can I explain such incomprehensible antisemitic hate and violence to the children when they ask me why do they hate us, Saba?

More viscerally I wondered how I could protect them, with the heartrending images of little Matilda before my eyes. The answer for me has always been that you take up the fight head on. It has never worked out well for the Jewish people to simply hope things will blow over. That begs the question as to what is the best way to fight back. When it comes to the battle space of the mental landscape “education” always jumps to mind.