When Australia’s pro-Israel lobby groups mischaracterise these expressions as antisemitic,they produce fear and demonise Palestinians and their supporters. These accusations rely on a conflation of Jews and Israel – that any criticism of the state of Israel is seen as an attack on all Jews. This conflation reflects the view,promoted by Israel,that Jewish identity and safety worldwide is inextricable from Israel and its “security”. Any criticism of Israel’s use of brute force against Palestinians in the name of this security is by default deemed antisemitic.
As proud Jews who are committed to combating real racism,we know these are not the same thing. Jewish people have identities separate from the state of Israel and our cultures and practices are far older than Zionism.
The truth is that the Jewish community is not a monolith. We might better speak of multiple Jewish communities with unique histories,diverse expressions of Jewishness,and – in our view increasingly – conflicting views on Israel.
Jews here and around the world,particularly those with personal connections to Israel,are still reeling from the killing of more than 1100 people in Israel,the majority civilians,on October 7. Many Jews also abhor the violence Israel has since meted out to Palestinians in Gaza. More than 27,000 people have been killed,according to Gaza’s health ministry,many of them children and most of them civilians,and 2 million have been displaced from their homes.
Almost 1000 Jewish people in Australia have signed anopen letter condemning Israel’s collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza,calling for a ceasefire and stating that:“Our Jewish values are incompatible with the unjustified cruelty and reckless disregard for human life and dignity that the Israeli government is displaying”. Asurvey in June 2023 found disagreement between Jews in Australia in relation to Israel’s control over Palestinians in the West Bank.
Irreconcilable differences of opinion between Jews are widening,yet the broader Australian public could be forgiven for thinking that all Jews agree. This is in part because most so-called Jewish representative organisations in Australia refuse to represent this diversity of opinion between Jews and have become explicit Israel lobby groups.
One of these organisations,the Executive Council of Australian Jewry,preparesa regular report on rising antisemitism in Australia. In their December 2023 report,cited widely in the media,they bring attention to many real incidents of hate against Jews such as graffiti in November on a suburban block of flats saying “kill jews,jews live here”. However,disgusting instances such as this are also lumped in with legitimate political expressions of solidarity with Palestinians,criticism of Israel and criticism of Zionism as a political ideology. Examples include graffiti and placards reading “Zionism= racism” and “end the Palestinian Holocaust” being considered antisemitic,as was the protest chant “intifada,intifada”,which means “uprising” in Arabic. While these examples may be offensive for some,in our view they aren’t antisemitic.