Jewish Australians share antisemitism experiences

ABC launched its new current affairs panel program “National Forum” on Monday, moderated by David Speers, and its first episode focused on Jewish Australians’ experience of antisemitism.

The panel included Bondi survivor Jessica Rozen, Bialik College principal Jeremy Stowe-Lindner, OzHarvest founder Ronni Kahn, writer Michael Gawenda, Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin, New Israel Fund executive director Kate Rosenberg, and Macnamara MP Josh Burns. The format appeared to be less combative than ABC’s Q&A.

Many discussed antisemitism they experienced in Australia after the Hamas attack on 7 October 2023, in the lead up to the Bondi massacre.

“No Jew could not feel antsemitism after the 8th of October, where chants were called, ‘kill the Jews’, ‘f*ck the Jews’… our lives changed… within a week or two of the 7th of October, calls… to boycott my organisation because it was led by a Jew”, Kahn shared.Gawenda said after October 7, “friends of mine… basically stopped being friends. People who I’d worked with for very many years stopped contacting me. I found that being a Jew, a Jewish writer, was increasingly difficult, difficult to get gigs, difficult to get published… and it changed my life.”

University student Dror Liraz said that since October 7 Jewish students, had “endured both direct and indirect threats to our safety, whether that is in the form of death threats or a range of other antisemitic attacks”.

Rabbi Benjamin Elton said the first step forward is to have consensus that “Jewish fears are real and they’re well-grounded and they shouldn’t be dismissed.”

Stowe-Lindner highlighted the security required for Jewish schools, and added that for many Jews there is a “nervousness of saying that we’re Zionist.” He explained, “for most Jews… the identification with Israel as a homeland for the Jewish people is an intrinsic part of the Jewish identity…. And I think Jews should be able to be proudly Jewish and proudly Zionist without having to say… I’m not responsible for the actions of that government. They can identify with Israel as a homeland without having to be vilified for that identification.”

Asked if it is possible to be Zionist and disagree with the Israeli government, Rosenberg said “Absolutely.” When Speers asked Burns about the view that the Israeli government is contributing to Australian antisemitism, Burns replied, “No matter what the Israeli government does, you cannot hold responsible Jewish Australians for whatever your views are of that action.”

Speers stated, “The UN Human Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry did conclude that genocide has occurred in Gaza… the debate about genocide, how does that impact on Jewish Australians and yourself?” Burns said, “To somehow attribute… Jewish Australians with this intent that you want to see the death and destruction of another people… It’s just flat out wrong.”

Turning to the chant ‘Globalise the intifada”, Ryvchin said it should be banned, arguing its meaning is connected to Second Intifada suicide bombings, “When we’re talking about globalising that, it’s about bringing that to Australia and around the world, and what happened at Bondi”.

Kahn called for women to join a peace walk on March 22 at 10am at Hyde Park, “We need to wear white, no flags, no slogans, no political clothing, all peace lovers are invited.”