Optimistic about Australia despite the challenges

In August, I travelled to Sydney and Melbourne with my family, visiting from Israel. And almost everywhere we went, we were asked the same question: “Where are you from?”

And without hesitation, we answered: “Israel.”

And you know what? The response was overwhelmingly positive. Curiosity. Excitement. Genuine conversation. People wanted to know more, what is the situation like, are the media reports accurate or just to express solidarity. Many even asked our thoughts on the growing antisemitism and the deeply strained state of relations between Australia and Israel.

At a time when the Jewish state is so often demonised in headlines, these personal encounters have been striking reminders that the story on the ground is far more nuanced, and far more hopeful, than the nightly news and online world might suggest.

That is not to deny reality. Antisemitism here is very real. For Australia’s Jewish community, the sense of fear and concern is palpable, while the calls on the government to act, loud and repeated. Since the Oct 7 Hamas attacks, antisemitism has surged unabated, with seemingly daily reports of attacks on synagogues, schools and Jewish communal institutions, while angry mobs have marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, masquerading as pursuit of justice, but cloaked in the rhetoric of “intifada.”

With all that said, here is the deeper truth I have observed: those voices, as loud and aggressive as they may appear, do not represent the real Australia.

The vast majority of Australians I met over the weeks I was there were fair, decent, good people. They were people who reject hatred and divisiveness. They are people who cannot stomach seeing jihadist slogans or their streets repeatedly blocked off. They are people who care deeply about their Jewish mates, colleagues and neighbours, and who instinctively understand that an assault on Jews is not only an assault on one community, but on the very fabric of Australian society.

Indeed, an attack on Jews is seldom ever just about Jews. It chips away at what it means to be Australian: fairness, mateship, and respect for difference. Since October 7, these values have been under siege, challenged by those who would rather divide Australians along lines of hate than unite them around our shared decency.

The challenge, then, is not whether the good and decent majority exists. It does. I have seen it. I have felt it. The real challenge is how to amplify their voices, while drowning out the minority who spew hatred the loudest.

Part of the answer lies in leadership. Political leaders, community leaders, faith leaders, university administrators, civil society and the press – they all have a responsibility to call antisemitism in all its manifestations, without equivocation, excuse or watering down to bland condemnations of “all forms of racism,” without ever uttering the word “antisemitism.”

Increasingly, we have also seen institutions shy away from the hard truths, fearful of offending activists who cloak their hatred of Jews in the language of human rights or “anti-Zionism”.

But another part of the answer lies within the Jewish community itself. We must be unwavering in calling out and standing up to the scourge of antisemitism. But we cannot allow ourselves to be defined by fear. We must continue to speak proudly of who we are and where we come from, both our love for Australia, and our profound sense of connection to Israel.

And we must continue to reach out to our allies, to foster relationships within the broader community, and yes, to have honest and difficult conversations about the current situation in Israel and Gaza.

Finally, the challenge lies within broader Australian society itself. It is not enough to quietly disagree with antisemitism in private. The decent majority must be prepared to say so publicly, in their workplaces, their schools, their churches, their unions, and yes, even on the streets. Many brave friends and allies indeed have. But silence is also complicity, that emboldens the very minority whose voices of hate are already too loud.

It has been said that “the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” That maxim is as true today in Australia as it has ever been.

I left Australia with optimism and look forward to my next return. Yes, antisemitism is real, and yes, it is dangerous. But Australia is not defined by those who march in anger across the Harbour Bridge. It is defined by the millions of fair, decent, good people who want nothing more than to live together in peace, and who know instinctively that standing up for their Jewish mates is also defending the very fabric of Australian society.

The task before us is, therefore, to ensure that these voices are not drowned out, but heard, amplified, and empowered to lead.

Arsen Ostrovsky is an Australian – Israeli human rights lawyer and CEO of The International Legal Forum, a global NGO of lawyers combating antisemitism. He will return to Australia in the coming months to take up a position as head of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council’s (AIJAC’s) Sydney office.