Hindu, Jewish communities unite

A grassroots initiative designed to move minority communities beyond symbolic multicultural gestures and into practical collaboration held simultaneous forums in Melbourne and Brisbane on Sunday March 29th.

The Australian Cohesion Forum is behind what are called “cohesion labs” as part of a series of Hindu community consultations running until next month.

The labs are structured as co-design sessions in which community leaders exchange ideas, identify shared priorities and develop practical plans for collaboration.

The ACF says its aim is to move away from one-way “ally” relationships toward ground-up shared projects.

The cohesion labs were started as a way to boost communal unity following the terror attack at Bondi and amid rising levels of Hinduphobia, antisemitism and racism across Australia.

The Melbourne session, held in a town hall format and organised by the Australian Hindu Community, attracted around 40 participants.

A Brisbane session ran concurrently, organised by the Hindu Council of Australia.

The ACF was co-founded by Simonne Whine and Roz Mendelle, both of whom are Jewish, alongside directors from the Hindu, Yazidi and Iranian communities.

Whine told The AJN the initiative aimed to go further than the cultural events that have long defined multicultural engagement.

“We need more than this in this society,” she said.

“Particularly for the Jewish community, we need to feel a sense of belonging that we haven’t felt for the past two and a half years.”

Participants at the Melbourne session overwhelmingly said that Jews are the cultural group facing challenges most similar to their own.

Abhijit Bhide, chair of the Australian Hindu Community, said the shift in Australia’s multicultural landscape over recent years has made the forum necessary.

“Six years before, or even 10 years before, this situation was never there in Australia,” he said.

“Australia was one of the most safe countries, one of the most respected countries, and one of the countries where every religion was respected. Those sentiments are slowly changing.”

Bhide said the forum is open to collaboration across all communities, and that politicians need to understand the concerns of religious minorities who feel marginalised.

Whine said the ACF’s approach is deliberately strategic.

“We want to do things differently. We want to consult with the community. I think there’s not much consultation generally, even within our own community.”