They are just kids
EDITORIAL
In the past month a Jewish man in Melbourne was beaten up while wearing a T-shirt with Hebrew writing on it, vandals struck at Perth’s Carmel School by spray-painting the words “Zionist scum” on a wall, an Israeli flag was burned in Melbourne, a visiting Israeli rabbi was accosted by six youths shouting abuse in Perth and there has been several pro-Palestinian rallies that have openly attacked Jews, not just Israel.
But what happened on Wednesday afternoon was something else.
Kids aged between five and 12 years old were on their way home on the school bus when six teenagers boarded the bus and abused them for being Jewish and threatened to kill them.
Just stop for a second and think – five years old.
This should not be happening anywhere, but especially not in Australia.
Five arrested after Sydney Jewish students left terrified
So today, we reflect on how we got to this point.
The pro-Palestinian rallies have not helped because, let’s just be honest for a second, they do not focus on a peace agreement and two-state solution.
They they call for the destruction of Israel as they chant “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free”, compare Jews to the Nazis and claim that Israel targets civilians.
A lot of people on Twitter and Facebook were blaming mainstream media last night.
There is absolutely no doubt that some media outlets, including Fairfax, have reinforced stereotypes with racists cartoons and one-sided articles.
Last week, The AJN warned that columnists like Mike Carlton were not only demonising Israel but were helping to fan the flames of anti-Semitism on these shores.
Maybe they themselves don’t intend to, maybe they can differentiate between criticising Israel and attacking the Jewish people. But do they consider the impact of their words on their readers?
When, like Carlton you start talking about a people and a race rather than a country … when you send messages calling people Jewish bigots, that fine line – if it even exists – evaporates.
In Europe, synagogues and Jewish shops have been vandalised and pro-Palestinian rallies echo to chants of ‘Gas the Jews’.
At The AJN, we have received numerous emails in recent weeks stating that Hitler was right and it was a shame he didn’t finish the job.
A man beaten up, a school vandalised, a rabbi abused … and now, 5-year-old kids running off a bus crying.
Something is wrong. This should not be happening anywhere. This should not be happening in Australia.
And those journalists and campaigners who are fanning the flames with their rabble rousing rhetoric should pay heed. Else next time, thugs on a school bus may follow through on their death threats. And the kids won’t be leaving the bus crying.
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