ALP eerily silent as Jewish tertiary students face antisemitic abuse

The ABC website has reported that “the Australian National University (ANU) is investigating allegations of a Nazi salute being performed on-campus and death threats aimed at Jewish students.” Similarly, pro-Palestinian activists have been camping for the past week at the University of Melbourne. Jewish tertiary student Amira Susskind told the ABC yesterday, “I had really close friends that I thought were friends for life but have since said that Jews run the world, that we have tentacles, all of these really horrific lies and anti-Semitic tropes that have completely broken our friendships.”

When one hears such frightful words from a young member of our Jewish community, I am reminded of the horrific stories told by my late grandparents of what life was like in Poland in the lead up to the Nazi occupation and resultant genocide. Ridiculous you may be thinking? Well, the sheer scale and magnitude of extremist anti-Israel protests at University campuses currently taking place across Australia is frightening and concerning, to say the least. These are more than just protests. They are long-term encampments on University grounds and are gaining widespread mainstream acceptance by many Australians unaffected by the issues at hand.

These encampments are well organised and passionately led by Students for Palestine (Australia) and like-minded antisemitic zealots. According to their Facebook page, Students for Palestine (Australia) “hopes to bring students together across campuses to campaign for Palestine, seeking to educate and mobilise university students and staff to campaign for justice for the Palestinian people.” Amongst their many stated aims, worth noting is their “opposition to racism, including anti-Jewish prejudice and the apartheid and Zionist nature of the Israeli state.”

Peddling the well-tried notion that Zionism equals Racism, they bring together a ragtag bunch of professional protesters and brainwashed Kaffiyeh wearing tertiary students to distort the narrative of an all-conquering colonialist power (Israel) obliterating innocent victims in Gaza. Predictably, globally recognised terror group Hamas don’t get a mention. It’s like they don’t exist in this conflict and Israel brought on the barbaric events on October 7th through their own “racist, apartheid regime.”

According to Marxist website Red Flag, “the eruption of student activism in support of Palestine is historic. It builds on a movement against the Gaza war that is without precedent in Australian politics. The media may have tried to bury it, but it is proving very difficult to repress. The students’ actions, along with the thousands who are regularly marching, moving motions on councils, picketing weapons companies and organising walkouts from work, are a source of hope in a world of brutality and war.”

Extreme pro-Palestinian lobbyist Josh Lees, pointed out to Red Flag that “the supporters of Israel aren’t continually called on to distance themselves from the deranged lunatics masterminding Israel’s genocide. But look at who makes up the war room: they’re religious fundamentalists using extreme violence to realise their vision of an expanded religious state.”

Disappointingly, there are a number of Jewish tertiary students who openly and proactively support these anti-Israel demonstrations at Australian University campuses, choosing to advocate for and endorse the actions of Hamas by virtue of their actions. Please don’t assume that all Jewish tertiary students are firmly in the pro-Israel corner as this is definitely not the case. This is an unfortunate symbol of woke Australia in 2024, yet unsurprising given the hurricane of distortions, fallacies and misinformation being pummeled through social media platforms as well as their peers. Unlike in the US, the campus administrators have so far opted to tolerate the encampments rather than repress them. Police have not been called, and students have been able to organise fairly freely.

This has angered supporters of Israel, who see those advocating for and justifying the recent slaughter of (approximately) 1,200 Jews as offensive and a form of bigotry. The Herald Sun newspaper has reported that “the nation’s university chancellors have refused to condemn anti-Semitism on Australian campuses as Jewish students say they are “sick of intimidation” and call on the academic leaders to do more.”

Conversely, Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) president Noah Loven told The Australian newspaper that Jewish student are “not safe” on campus because of the protests. But protesters object to the assumption that all Jews support Israel’s genocide against the Palestinians, and that Jewish students are therefore offended by protests against it.

“We’ve had Jewish students involved in the camp, they have spoken at rallies and have an organised presence here”, University of Queensland camp organiser Liam Parry-Mills told Red Flag, “And I know from communication with other protest organisers that that is the case at other camps around the country”. Predictably, anti-Zionist Jewish lobby groups have also stepped up to stand arm in arm with the likes of Students for Palestine (Australia). The Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) has also expressed support for the protests, writing in a public statement that it “strongly rejects the claims that these protests are a threat to Jewish students and staff”.

According to the International Quran News Agency (IQNA), the JCA have issued a statement refuting allegations that university protests in support of Palestinians pose a threat to Jewish students and staff. Elizabeth Strakosch, the Executive Director of the JCA, emphasised to the IQNA the importance of the right to peaceful protest as a so-called cornerstone of democratic freedom. “We should be proud of all of the students, many of whom are Jewish, who are speaking out against this unfolding genocide. The student protests against the unfolding genocide in Gaza are legitimate expressions of political speech and human rights advocacy.”

IQNA have also reported that “students worldwide have staged sit-ins on their campuses to protest against financial investments in companies that support the Israeli war on Gaza. Demonstrations have been organized at universities in several countries, including the US, Australia, France, and UK, in a show of solidarity with Palestine.”

According to Louise Adler AM, an Advisory Committee Member of the the Jewish Council of Australia (JCA), their stated goal is to represent “the next generation of Australian Jews (who are) resisting the pressure applied by the Jewish establishment to defend Israel and the Occupation.” The JCA seem to be doing a great job of flying under the radar of the Australian Jewish Community, as well as jabbing away at the once strong relationship between Jewish communal leaders and the political establishment. Punching above their weight, the JCA should be closely monitored for evidence of greater influence, clout and power within the murky waters of anti-Israel lobby groups.

Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton took a strong stand against the madness that has unfolded on Australian university campuses of late, poignantly telling 2GB radio yesterday that “we wouldn’t tolerate it if it was a campus protest against people of indigenous heritage or people with Islamic community or people of tall stature or they were Catholic or they were Indian or Chinese or whatever it would be. I think the Prime Minister really needs to stand up and show some backbone here and call for an end to these nonsense protests.”

As per usual, Federal Education Minister (ALP) Jason Clare bends to the overwhelming Muslim interests in his own electorate and remains silent on all of this. Once again, this demonstrates how he continues to tow the party line with their pro-Islam, apologist agenda. Disappointing but predictable behaviour indeed.

Credit to those members of our Melbourne Jewish Community who stood up against this madness to advocate for Israel at the University of Melbourne yesterday. This took courage to stand face-to-face with Palestinian sympathisers baying for blood and frothing at the mouth as they excuse the actions of Hamas. Federal Labor MP Josh Burns had a predictable bet each way, stating in a press conference yesterday that “in the United States it’s turned violent. People have bombarded and broken windows and turned these encampments into violence. I don’t want that to happen in Australia.”

Burns refused to condemn those who are injecting major fear and enxiety into the Jewish community which he is part of. He also remains eerily silent on calling out the anti-Israel encampments engulfing Australian Universities for what they are – acts of pure antisemitism which aim to spread the lies that make members of his own electorate of Macnamara feel unsafe to leave their homes.

As I always say, please exercise your democratic right at the ballot box, both locally and federally. Vote for a centre-right political party that takes an unequivocal pro-Israel stance and sticks up for the Judeo-Christian values that are the bedrock of Australian patriotism and pride.