Reasons for hope
Even as war rages, and we mourn the loss of four IDF soldiers in a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base, there's reason to feel a little upbeat.
As we celebrate Succot, we are painfully reminded that it’s not long before Simchat Torah and the first anniversary on the Hebrew calendar of the horrific Hamas pogrom of October 7. Only last week, Jewish Australians attended solemn tributes to the victims of that dark day in 2023.
But even as war rages, and we mourn the loss of four IDF soldiers in a Hezbollah drone attack on an army base, there’s reason to feel a little upbeat.
First, there’s PM Anthony Albanese committing not to do a deal with the Greens if he faces minority government after next year’s election. Albanese was clear: “I rule that out … there’ll be no deal with the Greens.” We’ll hold him to that.
It’s reassuring, considering the blatant victim-blaming the Greens have adopted in their many anti-Israel positions since the October 7 massacre – even though, ironically, the government, of its own choosing, is pushing for a Palestinian state outside of a negotiated peace, a policy Greens leader Adam Bandt had made a condition of Greens support for Labor.
Second, we were buoyed by the spirit of Sydney bakery proprietor Ed Halmagyi, who has refused to be intimidated by a menacing attack on his business, Avner’s Bakery, when an inverted red triangle was daubed on the building, with a threatening note stating “be careful”. The Nazi inverted triangle – condemning inmates of concentration camps – has been used by Hamas to identify Jewish targets.
But undeterred, the bakery continues its business, with customers coming and going as normal. Posting about the pathetically scribbled note, Halmagyi quipped that “it’s hard to be intimidated by inner-city middle-class Cosplay Radicals who graduated primary school without their pen licence”.
Finally, we were elated to see restaurateur Alan Yazbek has retreated from his businesses – as well he should, after his antics at a pro-Palestine rally where he disgracefully displayed an Israeli flag overlaid with a Nazi swastika. (He has since apologised.) Yazbek has been charged under laws prohibiting public displays of Nazi symbols.
Political leaders distancing themselves from anti-Israel rhetoric, Jewish businesses showing resilience in the face of intimidation and swift legal action against antisemitic displays all point to a growing intolerance for antisemitism. It’s about time!