This Anzac Day, I still call Australia home

Mah nishtanah halaylah hazeh? How is this night different from all other nights?”

These may be the most compelling words of the Pesach story and the Haggadah itself, but they have a particular resonance beyond Passover. This year on Anzac Day we in the Australian Jewish community may well be asking ourselves: How is this Anzac commemoration different from other years? After December 14, in a post-Bondi world, how do we feel as Australians, how are we regarded by our fellow Aussies and are we still equal and vital partners in the commemoration of Anzac Day?

These are still early days. We are in the first stages of our grieving, the Royal Commission is yet to run its course and the war with Iran complicates and confounds our position as Australian Jews. Despite these realities, Anzac Day is an opportunity to reflect on our proud history and the contribution of the Jewish community to our beautiful, larrikin land.

The resurgence of antisemitism in Australia has been frightening, if not eviscerating. It has caused real fear and sometimes paranoia, questions about our future, despondency at the response of many we regarded as friends and allies, concerns about government and official ineptitude, perplexity at a hostile media and simple pain at the visceral hatred of us by so many. Indeed, we ask: how is this dark night any different from all those other black and frightening nights of Jewish history?

Despite all this, I am still an optimist – although I do ponder whether I am more of a cautious optimist or a hopeful pessimist! I still call Australia home. My optimism comes from the wide range of Australians I come across in my work in the interfaith and multicultural communities. There is a horror amongst them at the naked aggression we are experiencing as Jews and a strong spirit of support for us.