Letters, June 5, 2009
CHANGING TACK?
YOUR editorial “Changing tack?” (AJN 29/05) suggests our community is beginning to move more towards the centre in outlook. Your supposed evidence for this is the leadership trip to Israel organised by Albert Dadon, who you say has close ties to Kevin Rudd, and the Sensible Jew blog having 2000 web views.
Mr Dadon is to be congratulated for his initiative, but doesn’t having close ties to Mr Rudd but not the Opposition mean he is moving towards the Left? And how is he anymore representative than the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, which also sends politicians from both sides?Similarly, the Sensible Jew is one person, and, like any blog, not every visitor to the site would agree with that person’s point of view, although it no doubt attracts contributors who do. That doesn’t make the blog any more representative of our community than does the Jewish Democratic Society having letters from three of their 10 or so members in The AJN.
It seems from your editorial that the blog challenges the positions of the established community leadership. Again, that would mean they are moving toward the Left, not the centre. In other words, The AJN’s definition of “the centre” seems decidedly skewed.
Danny Samuels
Armadale, Vic
 
NOTHING CHANGED
WITH almost six years absence from Australia with my family and I living and working in Europe, it occurs to me that, as the old saying goes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Here we are, in 2009, and it is still the same old story I read. The same story I lived on a daily basis in the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and the ’90s, about Maccabi and its purity of membership, as promoted by various people, this time by Harry Procel and Maccabi Australia (MIA).
This kind of blind advocacy ignores the facts of life within the Maccabi movement worldwide it ignores the damage caused to the perception non-Jews have of our community it ignores the reality of demographics it ignores the best interests of the Australian Jewish sporting community and it ignores the fact that we skate on very thin ice, indeed, if we ever protest -— rightly and loudly! -— about discrimination towards Jews in sporting activities back home and worldwide.
In Australia, especially, this witch-hunt occasionally goes to extreme lengths, where the halachic lineage of young Jews has come under scrutiny by the secular laymen in charge of MIA. Where outstanding sporting initiatives were destroyed by blind bigotry.¬†In the meantime, may I respectfully suggest, that since we are in the 21st century, Maccabi Australia’s leadership ought to give serious consideration to entering the 20th? At the very least!
Peter Scott
Budapest, Hungary
 
JEWISH LEARNING ALIVE AND WELL
ON the first night of Shavuot, it is traditional to engage in Jewish learning throughout the night. The Jewish learning coordinated by our Jewish youth movements on Shavuot last week has quashed any question about the uncertain future of Jewish education in Melbourne. While the long-term sustainability of formal Jewish education has become a topic of communal debate, informal Jewish education is as strong as ever.
Shavuot brought with it comprehensive learning programs that progressed throughout the night until the early hours, with the leaders of our seven strong Jewish youth movements facilitating learning groups of the highest calibre. The thoroughly researched topics, all accompanied by well-prepared source sheets, were all-encompassing. They covered halachah, Jewish philosophy, global Jewish life, mysticism, biblical and textual analysis and contemporary Jewish issues.
Hundreds of Jewish youth of all ages and religious backgrounds could be seen gravitating from lesson to lesson, eagerly absorbing Jewish knowledge and wisdom. The vibrancy of the learning was a pleasure to see. It was an unequivocal testament to our youth movements playing a pivotal role in maintaining a burgeoning Jewish life for our community and, importantly, a high level of enthusiasm for Jewish education.
A great vote of thanks is due to both the leaders and members of Netzer, Hineni, Habonim Dror, Betar, Hashomer Hatzair, Skif and Bnei Akiva for their efforts in creating an intellectually stimulating and inspiring night for our Jewish youth.
Joel Lazar
Year 10 leader of Shevet Nir Hineni Youth & Welfare
 
PROVOCATIVE REMARKS
APART from the question of whether Seven Jewish Children is anti-Semitic, Miriam Margolyes saying on ABC TV that because “some Jews” laugh when Palestinians are killed she decided to perform in the play (AJN 29/05), puts into question how Jews feel about the awful waste of innocent lives that is the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
I mean, how can I, for example, show the world that I don’t laugh when Palestinians are killed? Maybe Seven Jewish Children isn’t anti-Semitic, but by announcing on ABC TV that “some” Jews, but not me, laugh when Palestinians are killed, Ms Margoyles provokes anti-Semitic sentiments.
Henry Herzog
St Kilda East, Vic
 
FALSE PRETENSES
IT was interesting to read Danny Gocs’ “review” (should read “advertorial”) of JYM Theatre’s production of Cabaret in last week’s AJN (29/05). More so for the fact that where he says “The key ingredient for its success is the fine cast” which is true, but should have ended with “which is predominantly non-Jewish”.
I respect that the people behind JYM have built a fairly decent amateur theatre company over the last five years, but they have done so not by cultivating the ample talent within the community, but rather outsourcing to non-Jewish cast members. I believe the producer should be forthright with her motives and should not seek sponsorship from Jewish patrons on the false pretence that it is a Jewish theatre group.
Norah Gelgir
St Kilda, Vic
 
SETTLEMENTS AND SOLUTIONS
Your editorial (AJN 29/05) unapologetically sits on the fence concerning settlements as you say, “we would be seen to be taking sides on a polarising issue within our readership”. Clearly my belief that the intention of editorials was to actually express an opinion was a delusion. The dismantling of settlements must be seen as a necessary condition for a two-state solution.
Without the removal of the great majority of the settlements, there is no possibility for a viable Palestinian state, if for no other reason than the area would not be contiguous and the Palestinian people would still need to suffer ongoing security checks just to travel locally, a situation that neither Australians nor Israelis would countenance.
If we want peace and if we believe that it must be fair to both sides and “real”, then a two-state solution is the only option, and we should back the dismantling of settlements. And the sooner the better. An economically strong Palestine living and working in harmony with Israel is Israel’s best defence.
Tom Wolkenberg
Glen Iris, Vic
 
NEWSPEAK
I HAVE read Seven Jewish Children and many reviews from both Jews and non-Jews. Most describe it as “anti-Semitic”. So why would people attend? Certainly not to be informed by this puerile character assassination of Jews. George Orwell’s 1984 has arrived with a vengeance, for this is but a “hate session” of the mythical enemy.
Here, in David Slucki’s letter (AJN 22/05) is the demonisation of the protesters, with “none interested in peace or justice” … people he has never met. Here is “Newspeak”, as he relabels one of our most positive treasured democratic institutions, the right to peacefully protest what we disagree with, as a negative effort to “brazenly antagonise those participating”.
But we’ve seen it all before. Then it was a movie called The Eternal Jew, today a play Seven Jewish Children then it was Kapos, today Jewish “peace” activists then it was Mein Kampf, today the charters of Hamas and Fatah. Will it take public readings of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion before people feel shame at being part of overt bigotry? Does the word “Gaza” really absolve you from acting responsibly, the way the word “Nazi” once did?
Morry Sztainbok
Bentleigh, Vic
 
ISRAEL’S SECURITY ¬†
THE 22/05 issue of The AJN was full of comments about settlements and the advice of many statesmen who advise Israel to dismantle them. Sadly, too many people forget that Israel offered to withdraw from territories occupied by Egypt and Jordan in ’67, only to be answered by the three noes from Khartoum.¬†They forget that United Nations Resolution 242 established the land for peace principle, but Israeli withdrawal has, at best, only achieved cold peace. Resolution 242 recognised that borders for territories acquired in a defensive war had to be negotiated.
Now Israel is expected to withdraw to the ’48 ceasefire lines as a precondition for peace talks. This, when it is being simultaneously pressured to not demolish illegal Arab buildings and to cease construction in areas designated as Palestinian, even though no Palestinian polity ever existed.
Confusion is created in equating caravans on unclaimed hilltops, with cities like Efrat and Ariel. As the nation state with the greatest right to act in the disputed territories, Israel has a right and a duty to hold on to areas vital to its security. The settlement issue is as phoney as the peace talks. In 1993 Yasser Arafat agreed to settle disputes peacefully and to cease incitement.¬†In ’94 he linked the Oslo undertakings to Mohammed’s hudna with the Quraysh, which he violated when he was strong enough. In ’96 he started a mini-war over the opening of a tunnel under the Temple Mount and in 2000 he launched a terror war.
UN Resolution 181 declared Israel as a Jewish state, but Arafat’s successor, Mahmoud Abbas, rejects that while claiming self-determination under that same resolution. Israel needs to continue its strategic building activities until the Palestinians are able to form a state and accept their Oslo undertakings.¬†Even then, the territory they occupy will not be viable and they will need to settle for some status like Puerto Rico and link-up with Israel, Egypt or Jordan. And Israel must stop acting like the Jew among the nations, entertaining interpretations of resolutions Palestinians initially rejected.
Paul Winter
Chatswood, NSW
 
WRONG ATTACK
THE Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS) has never been quite respectable, even in some left-wing circles. Long ago, tainted by accusations of “crypto-Zionism”, it had to fight hard to get accepted into Community Radio 3CR.
In Victoria it was widely regarded in the Jewish community as vaguely pro-PLO and very suspect indeed. “Self-hating Jews” was one of the kinder epithets thrown in its direction. It was at this time that Philip Mendes (AJN 22/05) was an AJDS employee, and he has been trying to live it down ever since. His support for the simple-minded attacks on the play Seven Jewish Children is evidence of this.
The play is anti many things, but it cannot be seen as anti-Semitic or anti-Israel. If you like, it is an impassioned appeal for the Israeli leadership to change its punitive approach towards the Palestinians, but nothing more. Conflating a critical attitude to Israeli policies with anti-Semitism is a dishonest attempt to stifle such criticism, and Dr Mendes should understand that in order to achieve respectability, he would have to do much more than attack the AJDS.
Steve Brook
Elwood, Vic
 
FURTHER CLARIFICATION
The AJN regrets any hurt caused to Dr David Zyngier in the unsubstantiated allegations made by letters published in the opinion pages of the AJN on 13 March 2009.
 
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