Far from Israel, Australian Jews like me are on high alert

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This morning I dropped my daughter to school. As always, she was greeted at the gate by an armed guard. Jewish schools and synagogues in Sydney and Melbourne have long required security due to the constant risk of antisemitism. Every now and then, there will be a minor incident: a threat of violence, a Hitler salute in the street, a swastika painted on a wall. It’s awful and upsetting, but we deal with it.

Today, however, the whole community is on high alert. On Monday, a group of protesters at the Opera House yelled “f— the Jews”, as NSW police watched. It is surreal to watch the footage. Can you imagine a world in which it is OK for protesters to march through the streets shouting, “F— the [insert literally any other ethnic group here].”

Palestine supporters ignite flares during a rally outside the Sydney Opera House on Monday.Credit: Lisa Maree

So many people hate Jews. The protesters, presumably, would claim that they hate us because of the situation in Gaza. Except … I’m not Israeli. I’m a Jewish Australian. I was born in Melbourne, as were my parents, and their parents before them. Our ancestors, my great-grandparents, came from Russia and Poland. None of us have ever lived in Israel.

I have friends and (distant) family in Israel, as do most Jewish people, but I haven’t been to Israel since I was 12 years old. This, however, is irrelevant. Antisemitism isn’t really about Israel. It existed long before the state of Israel was established. In fact, antisemitism gave rise to the state of Israel: In 1948, the Jews were granted a homeland after 6 million of us were murdered in the Holocaust.

Only about 7 million of the world’s 16 million Jews live in Israel, but many people hold us all personally responsible for what goes on in the Middle East. And that’s odd, right? You wouldn’t hold (insert literally any other ethnic group here) responsible for what is happening in a different country, even if they or their parents were born there. So why us?

I believe Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is dangerous and divisive, and I lament that he is in power at this terrible time.Credit: Reuters

“Zionism”, the protesters will say. They hate us because we are Zionists. But not every Jew is Zionist, and Zionism has many different interpretations and iterations. It is complex and multilayered, like the entire situation in Gaza. I recognise Israel’s right to exist, and I also feel desperately sorry for the Palestinian people. I long for peace in the Middle East and I support a two-state solution. I believe Netanyahu is dangerous and divisive, and I lament that he is in power at this terrible time.

Will they call me a “Zionist”, even though I support a two-state solution? Yes. Is “Zionist” often used as a code word for “Jew”? Absolutely.

When I heard the news about the Hamas attacks, I cried for two days. I cried because beautiful young people were kidnapped and terrorised and murdered. Some of them were friends of my friends’ kids. Some reminded me of my own three children.

I also cried because I knew what was coming. I knew that Israel would retaliate, and that innocent Palestinian lives would be lost, too. It is just horror piled upon horror piled upon unspeakable horror. I do not celebrate the deaths of innocent Palestinians. I mourn them. If I could change the outcome, I would. Will that stop the people at the protest from hating me? Definitely not.

Antisemitism makes no sense to me but then neither does any form of racist hate.

We Jews are not homogenous. There are passionate lefties and those on the right. There are Jewish people on boards and there are Jewish people in jail. There are Jewish people in the diaspora who donate money to progressive funds in Israel, some who donate money to right-wing causes, and some who give nothing at all. Even within Israel, there is huge diversity, and much of the Israeli population vehemently opposes the right-wing policies of the Netanyahu government.

Do the antisemites care about their political leanings? No, they do not.

We Jews comprise about 0.2 per cent of the world’s population, a minuscule number. Some Jews are powerful. Many are not at all. I did not feel powerful this morning when I dropped my daughter off at school and saw armed guards at the gate. I didn’t feel powerful when the community security group for Jews in Australia changed our threat level to “severe”.

And I didn’t feel powerful knowing the NSW police stood by as a group of protesters chanted “f— the Jews” on Monday night. It is shocking to be so bitterly hated, and it is deeply unsettling.

We are all part of communities, but within those communities are individual human beings. I cannot imagine hating any ethnic group. I wish desperately for peace, both in the Middle East, and here at home.

Kerri Sackville is an author, columnist and mother of three.

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