Antisemitism Report 2009 - World Jewish Congress

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THIS REPORT WAS WHOLLY RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN BY JEREMY JONES AM, TO ASSIST UNDERSTANDING OF ANTI-JEWISH VIOLENCE, VANDALISM, HARASSMENT AND PREJUDICE IN CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIA Jeremy Jones is Director of International and Community Affairs, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council and Honorary Life Member, Executive Council of Australian Jewry This document should not be reproduced or distributed, and the original work not quoted, without the express permission of the author. 140 William Street, East Sydney, NSW 2011, AUSTRALIA Phone: +61 2 9360 5415 Facsimile: +61 2 9360 5416 E-mail: mrjsjones@gmail.com November 2009
http://www.aijac.org.au/?id=editionarticle&articleID=5660&_action=showArticleDetails The Last Word: An Intolerable Tolerance by Jeremy Jones Michael Backman, who wrote a disgusting, vile piece of anti-Jewish fiction masquerading as an opinion article in the business section of the Age newspaper, was rightly criticised by the editor of that paper, competing media outlets, politicians and others. The column, which consisted of little more than a string of caricatures, slanders and factual inaccuracies, had been approved for publication by those responsible for putting out the newspaper (in the regular editor's absence). By doing so, serious questions were raised as to why they should ever be trusted to know the differences between news and slander, or between argument and libel. Those responsible deserve to be held in disgrace and the swift and forthright condemnations of them by Michael Danby MP and Senator Michael Ronaldson were examples of moral leadership on the subject of racism. An example of immoral contributions to the debate came in the behaviour of a person who, after overcoming considerable hardship, is now a self-described "human rights" activist. In emails in late December, he wrote "you the Jews are real motherf--ker bastards"; that he is "often provoked" to "think that the Jews were not as innocent as we speak (sic) when Hitler was persecuting them"; Israel "is actually overstepping what Hitler did tothe Jews"; "Jews like you are the dirty scums... I wonder why God himself hate (sic) the Jews", and more to at least three different Jewish people who had each been active in human rights advocacy butwho didn't believe Israel had been unprovoked in attacking Hamas in Gaza. I stress this was not a single email, but a series, all of which contained hateful and vicious rhetoric supplemented by statements such as "As a human rights activist I speak with evidence rather than emotion" and that, as "a devout Catholic", he offered a prayer for Jews to have the "ability to be fair, honest and grateful at least". One of his themes, that Jews are as bad or worse than Nazis, has been a feature of many of the anti-Israel demonstrations and rallies which have taken place in Australia in December and January. Mixed with chants such as "Bomb the Jews" and children bearing placards bemoaning that Jews didn't get enough Nazi treatment, were many posters and signs claiming Israel/Jews were perpetrating a Holocaust, that the Star of David was the same as the swastika and/or that the Jewish people are involved in genocide. The Socialist Alliance was just one group which advised its supporters to campaign on the theme of Israel as the equivalent of Nazi Germany, even providing a web-site from which one could print a placard on this theme. This analogy, which is as ridiculous as it is offensive, was named by Irish diplomat and intellectual Conor Cruise O'Brien (whose recent passing, this column notes with sadness) as Anti-Jewism which he said was an ugly word which suited an ugly phenomenon. Emanuele Ottolenghi noted in a recent article in the Jewish Chronicle that "intelligent people should be able to see the difference and refrain from such comparisons", before asking whether those who make it are "stupid or malicious?". It is not a new phenomenon but, unlike the outrage it provoked in previous years, in the summer of 2008-09 in Australia, its graphic presence did not appear to worry those church officials, mainstream Muslim figures, Greens, Australian Democrats and others who have pretence to moral leadership, but who made no moves to dissociate themselves from this abominable campaign of disinformation, distortion and defamation. In many parts of the world, including our near neighbour Indonesia, synagogues have been sought out by anti-Israel demonstrators. The intensity of anti-Jewish activity led to a friend recently telling me she was afraid, for the first time in her life, as a Jewish person living in London. Antisemitism is not new and antisemites seeking to cause harm to Jews in Australia is hardly a novel phenomenon. But for antisemitic activity to not be swiftly, publicly and unambiguously condemned is a disturbing indication that too many * In response to an On-line survey by The Age of views on whether the Anglican Church in are willing to tolerate the intolerable. 2
Page 1: Executive Council of Australian Jew
Page 5 and 6: 6.3 The Australian League of Rights
Page 7 and 8: 1.1 The Year in Review In Australia
Page 9 and 10: the voluntary nature of the complai
Page 11 and 12: Stereotypes of Jews, most often as
Page 13 and 14: Wide Web the first entry that appea
Page 15 and 16: Nazi remarks go way over the top ht
Page 17 and 18: understanding of Jews and Judaism.
Page 19 and 20: Backman tosses in a loonily non seq
Page 21 and 22: 3.2 Reports for the Year 1 October
Page 23 and 24: * A Jewish man in Sydney was assaul
Page 25 and 26: Examples of incidents in these cate
Page 27 and 28: * Antisemitic letter attacking the
Page 29 and 30: * E-mail claiming Israel attacked H
Page 31 and 32: * Stickers comparing Israel to Nazi
Page 33 and 34: with a number of other anecdotal ac
Page 35 and 36: ule, and that in the overwhelming m
Page 37 and 38: lobby.‖ (2/1/09). Norman Clevelan
Page 39 and 40: http://www.aijac.org.au/?id=article
Page 41 and 42: 4.4 Middle East Politics Israel rec
Page 43 and 44: Attempts to delegitimise Israel and
Page 45 and 46: . ... That kike lieberman (not the
Page 47 and 48: eing afraid to admit that the Holoc
Page 49 and 50: and Islamic states. In addition to
Page 51 and 52: In the course of an other ways civi
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ed x's on them.. SO what do you cal
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4.6 The Left During the period in r
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political discourse. A Canadian aca
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A willing ally to Hamas's hatred ht
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By far the most prominent dissemina
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Guy Rundle, writing in Crikey, supp
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terrorism.‖ (31/12/08). Gideon Po
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Maylands man Brendon O'Connell, 38,
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newmatilda does not need to adhere
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against Mammon is only winnable if
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Australian are truly run by ZIONIST
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At its core the internet is an idea
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other regional problems that you me
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Internet, through leaflets, sending
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While this result was welcome, One
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* The League of Rights ―On Target
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cosmopolitanism and equalitarianism
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Australian National Action have in
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their control and perhaps be hunted
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to a conservative coalition; and th
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―founding fathers‖1: US, the
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In February 1999, Frederick Toben c
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leadership that is fearless of Jewi
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colleagues, who might contemplate t
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the ―Shoah,‖ they‘re trying t
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firmly in the grasp of the infamous
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"In our opinion the sentence of thr
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Australia. Although John Bennett, w
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I know that we have a democracy and
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In newsletter 549 23/10/08 Grigor-S
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successive leaders of the World Rev
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executed along with Jewish Professo
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internationally and in Australia is
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The content of much of the material
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living Palestinians by calling them
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elites is coordinated through vario
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The Federal Government also recogni
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Individuals opposed to racism, oper
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7.7.3 Federation of Australian Comm
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Some individuals and organisations
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Attempts to delegitimise Israel and
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during the past six years. The Fede
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and Baha'is, also are large enough
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weeklong residential program for te
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"The most significant example of pu
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Right, featured as a speaker the an
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[9] P. Sheehan, "It's a War on Perv
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Antisemitism Report 2009 - World Jewish Congress

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