From Battle of Beersheba to battle for truth

One hundred and nine years after Australian soldiers charged Beersheba, a new Australian delegation has returned to fight a different battle: the battle for truth.

This time, their weapons are not rifles or horses, but open minds, firsthand experience and the courage to challenge misinformation about Israel.

I grew up in Australia, proudly represented my country in international sport and have spent much of my life in Israel, bringing people together across religious and cultural divides. If there is one lesson I have learned, it is that there is no substitute for meeting people face to face.

On October 31, 1917, the Australian 4th Light Horse Brigade captured Beersheba from Ottoman forces in one of the most remarkable mounted charges of the First World War. Other Allied forces played an important role in the battle.

Recently, members of the Australian 2023 Foundation delegation visited Beersheba to commemorate the battle’s 109th anniversary.

You can read about history, but standing where it happened gives you an understanding that words alone cannot provide. The same principle applies to understanding Israel today.

The 2023 Foundation was established by Colonel Michael Scott CSC, a decorated Australian Army officer. Michael, who is not Jewish, believes that combating antisemitism requires education, firsthand experience and the courage to challenge misinformation. The foundation’s chair is Carol Tannous Sleiman, a Lebanese Maronite Christian Australian, local councillor and prominent business and community leader.

Most of the delegation’s participants are non-Jewish Australians, including many military veterans who served in Afghanistan, Iraq, Cambodia and East Timor. These men and women understand war through personal experience. Some returned with permanent injuries, including a former Australian commando who lost both legs in Afghanistan. Their experiences give them a particular understanding of the resilience of Israelis recovering from the devastation of October 7.

The delegation travelled to communities devastated by the October 7 attacks, from Beersheba to northern Israel. They witnessed destruction, met Israelis rebuilding their lives and encountered the extraordinary resilience of people living with continuing uncertainty.

They have seen Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Bedouin and Druze communities, Israel’s achievements and its challenges. Israel has deep political divisions, social inequalities, security challenges and difficult questions about our relationship with the Palestinians. But Israel is far more complex than the slogans dominating international headlines. Firsthand experience can challenge stereotypes, expose misinformation and reveal realities that rarely fit into headlines.

We need more non-Jewish Australians to visit Israel. Not only politicians and journalists, but teachers, sporting figures, businesspeople, military veterans and community leaders.

When Israelis speak about Israel, their views may be dismissed as biased. When Jewish Australians confront antisemitism, some may see them as defending their own community. But when non-Jewish Australians speak from firsthand experience, their voices can reach audiences that might otherwise remain closed. And when decorated military veterans speak about war, suffering and resilience, their personal experiences carry particular weight.

We cannot expect everyone to agree with Israel’s policies. Nor should we. But opinions should be grounded in evidence, genuine conversations and a willingness to question what we read and hear.

The real success of the 2023 Foundation’s mission will be measured by what its delegates do when they return to Australia. Will they challenge antisemitism? Question misinformation? Speak up when Israel is reduced to a caricature rather than recognised as a complicated country of real human beings?

A century ago, Australian soldiers crossed the desert towards Beersheba and helped change history. Today, another group of Australians, many of whom have themselves faced the dangers of war, has crossed the distance between our countries with a different mission.

Seeing is believing. But having the courage to tell others what you have seen is what makes the difference.

Danny Hakim OAM is a two-time world karate silver medallist and the founder of Budo for Peace and Sport for Social Change.