Australia is generally considered a relatively safe and free environment for its Jewish population. Despite this, antisemitism persists, with many incidents of attacks and threats against Jews. This situation is one that many Australians are often unaware of. Each year, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), the peak national …
Read More »Julie Nathan
Why ethno-nationalists are cheering on Black Live Matter.
The re-emergence of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement has raised the awareness of the racism faced by African Americans. Mass protests and rallies against racism ensued after the death of George Floyd on May 25 and spread across the western world. Even in far-away Australia, it re-ignited the Stop …
Read More »Covid-19 and the plague of online antisemitism.
The Covid-19 virus has produced sickness and death, turmoil and disruption, around the world. It is a silent stalker of human fragility. But it has brought with it another virus, an older but virile plague, one with no known cure, and no limits to the amount of dead bodies it …
Read More »Antisemitism is at its core a conspiracy theory.
Antisemitism is at its core a conspiracy theory. It is based in the irrational belief that “the Jews”, a numerically tiny and historically marginalised ethnic and religious group, have been conspiring to cause harm to others, undermining and manipulating, for their own nefarious purposes. It is not what Jews do …
Read More »Covid-19 and the ethno-nationalist vultures.
Extremists of all stripes look to times of economic uncertainty, social unrest, and political turmoil as opportunities for them to take power. Whether it is the fascists and communists fighting it out in Weimar Germany or during the Great Depression, or in dozens of other countries at other times, extremists …
Read More »The threat posed by right-wing extremism to Australia.
The contemporary far-right in Australia is best described as a conglomerate of different ideas and ideologies, held with varying intensity and activity, but connected by certain political positions. These positions, in general, include ultra-nationalism and racism, and opposition to multiculturalism, homosexual rights, equality for females, “the Left” and, in many …
Read More »Report: Antisemitic Incidents in Australia 2019.
Although Australia remains a relatively safe and free environment for its small Jewish population, there have been some disturbing trends in anti-Jewish incidents over the past year. There were major spikes in some categories of serious incidents – especially in incidents of verbal abuse, harassment and intimidation of Jews, and …
Read More »The resurgence of racism in the 2019 federal election – a deep and disturbing trend.
Elections are usually a time of colourful candidates and robust debates, of tedious ads and glittering promises. However, the 2019 Australian federal election campaign was marred with an unusually high number of incidents of racism and bigotry directed towards candidates. Candidates of Aboriginal, Asian, Jewish and Arab-Muslim background were targeted. …
Read More »The genocidal propensity of antisemitism.
While all forms of racism possess characteristics in common, antisemitism has one unique characteristic ― it tends to become genocidal. Racism means treating certain people less favourably than others because of their race, ethnicity or skin colour. Its purpose is often to keep members of the targeted group “in their …
Read More »The deadly myth of “White Genocide”
The myth that there is a conspiracy to commit genocide against people of European ethnicity is not only dangerous but deadly. It has now claimed the lives of 50 Muslims in New Zealand. The myth is known by various names: White Genocide, White Replacement, Ethnic Genocide, Ethnic Replacement and Demographic …
Read More »The far Right and the ‘White Replacement’ myth.
An ominous trend imagines a global Jewish plot to ‘import’ non-Europeans in order to destroy European culture. Little more than a year ago, far-right activists in Australia could reasonably accurately be divided into three ideological groupings: civic patriots, nationalists and racialists. Whatever they might be said to have in common, …
Read More »Antisemitism of far right and its deadly threat.
Over the last year or so, far-right groups in Australia, mimicking those in the US, UK and Europe became increasingly open and virulent in expressing hatred of Jews as a group, and increasingly brazen in calling for their murder and genocide. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) Report on …
Read More »“White Genocide” and the Pittsburgh synagogue massacre
On the fringes of society, beyond the gaze of mainstream politics, there is a network of people propagating and planning an insidious, totalitarian goal: ethnic cleansing and genocide, under the rubric of their catch-cry, “Race War Now.” This is not only occurring in Australia, but is part of an international …
Read More »Lurking dangers of the racist right.
On the fringes of society, beyond the gaze of mainstream politics, there is a network of people propagating and planning an insidious and totalitarian goal – ethnic cleansing and genocide, under the rubric of their catch-cry ‘Race War Now’. This is not only occurring in Australia, but is part of …
Read More »Antisemitism — the racism of right and left.
Antisemitism is a form of racism that is directed against Jews. However, antisemitism has its own anomalous and contradictory aspect. While racists commonly conceptualise the groups against whom they are prejudiced to be inferior forms of humanity, Jews are depicted as both ‘inferior’ and ‘superior’. On the one hand, racists …
Read More »Who are the perpetrators of antisemitic incidents?
Seventy years after the Holocaust, Jews around the world are again facing increasing levels of racist attacks. Many Jewish communities outside Australia are effectively living under siege. Synagogues and Jewish schools need to operate under armed guard, either by private agencies or heavily armed police. In many places Jews are …
Read More »Sydney ‘True Blue Crew’ far right wing ‘Aussie Pride’ Flag March.
A largely uneventful, and small, far right rally was held in Sydney on Sunday 24 June. The rally was organised by the True Blue Crew (TBC), a far right group that was formed in Melbourne in late 2015. The “Aussie Pride Flag March” rally was made up of a group …
Read More »Contemporary Sources of Antisemitic Incidents.
There is much debate over who poses the greatest threat to Jews in the 21st century. Some point to the Far Right, others to the Islamists, and some to the far Left. Often, it is ideological or political considerations that determine where the pointing is directed towards, rather than looking …
Read More »Nakba 2018 in Sydney.
As Israelis, and Jews around the world, celebrate the 70th anniversary of the re-establishment of the Jewish state, Palestinian Arabs and their supporters protest the very existence of Israel, in what they call Nakba Day (Arabic for ‘catastrophe’) As Israelis, and Jews around the world, celebrate the 70th anniversary of …
Read More »Antipodean Resistance: Australia’s new Nazis.
Seventy years after the crushing defeat of Nazi Germany, Nazi ideas and groups are re-emerging throughout the West. Although Nazism remains on the political fringes, adherents are increasingly active and emboldened in propagating the antisemitism, white supremacy, racist hate, and homophobia that are intrinsic to Nazi ideology. In Australia, a …
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