Australia Has Always Been Good for the Jews

Quadrant Magazine ^ | 12th October 2023 | Misha Saul

[naturalman1975]

The world’s eyes were on Sydney the night of October 9 as demonstrators lit flares and burned Israeli flags on the steps of the Opera House while chanting “Gas the Jews”. Hundreds of demonstrators had met at Sydney’s Town Hall to snake their way down to Circular Quay and through to the Opera House. One Jewish counter-protestor was arrested “for his own safety”. Another — an Anglican priest — was chased by thugs and had to find sanctuary behind a police van.

The protestors were there following the massacre of more than one thousand Jews in Israel, the rape of Jewish women and the abduction of Jewish hostages. (There were also non-Jews killed and abducted — like the Thai workers gruesomely killed on video. May their memory be a blessing.) No military operation into Gaza had yet commenced, but the protestors were not there to protest military action. They were there to celebrate the massacre of the Jews which, in their view, was an act of just resistance. This Sydney imam, Lakemba’s Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun, was “elated” by the massacre. An Australian Senator hailed the Palestinian cause. To them, it was not the greatest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust that was objectionable — no, it was that there were Jews in the land “from the river to the sea”.

In light of the expected demonstrations, New South Wales police issued a warning to the city’s Jews. This is what a friend who works in Sydney’s CBD received from his employer:

Hey Everyone,
I was advised by the NSW police to avoid the city tonight, as there is a pro-Hamas rally marching from town hall at 5:30pm to the Opera house where the Israeli flag will be lit in solidarity.

Keeping politics out of work, the concerns are that it is expected to be violent protest with dozens of arrests.

Everyone would be advised to stay away from the area, especially Israelis/Jewish people who might be targeted.

I hope today will go without any violent incidents. Stay safe.

So the heavy police presence was there to facilitate a pro-Hamas rally and to dispel Jews from Sydney’s CBD, for they could not guarantee Jews’ safety.

I’m a Sydney CBD worker and I suppose I was as aghast as anyone at these events. This week Jewish mums cancelled play dates in the park and kept kids home from school. (The mini-forts Australian Jewish schools and synagogues have transformed into over the last few decades seem not enough for some mums). I came home Tuesday with my wife asking me if it was safe for our six-year-old boy to wear his kippah outside. Yes, I said. Of course, I thought. But how obvious is it, when official police and government organs are warning Sydney’s Jews to flee Sydney’s heart?

These events have caused me to reflect on the Jews’ history in Australia. It is perhaps insufficiently appreciated how deep that bond goes. I believe in the goodness of Australian society. With a heavy heart and a deep affection for this great country, here I reflect.

Modern Australia’s beginnings are strangely intertwined with the Jews.

Just like the first Portuguese navigators to circumnavigate Africa chased the land of the mythical Christian king Prestor John, so the British believed there was a colony of Jewish merchants somewhere to the south of the known world, perhaps part of Davis Land, a land allegedly spotted by the Englishman Edward Davis in 1686. William Dampier, the English authority on the island of New Guinea, included Jews living there on his map of his voyages around 1700. More recent news of Jews had circulated after an evening spent by the Dolphin and her British crew in Tahiti in 1767, where someone thought they had seen pale skinned traders. It was considered to be a natural extension of the Jews’ millennium-old trading networks in the Near and Far East. And so, as we might picture, it was in search of a great southern land and trading Jews that Captain Cook set sail.

The first real Jewish presence arrived with the First Fleet in 1788, with at least eight of her convict cargo Jews. But perhaps the singular giant of Australian Jewry is Sir John Monash. Born in Melbourne to Prussian Jewish emigres, he was fifty when he led his first field command of Australian battalions at Gallipoli. From there, he commanded the Australian Corps, at the time the largest individual corps on the Western Front. It was under his meticulous leadership that the Allied forces dealt the first crushing blow against the Germans on 8 August 1918 at the Battle of Amiens. If the Western Front was a meat grinder, it was not for the Australian and New Zealand troops under Monash who that day suffered a more modest ~1% causality rate — fruit of his planning. Not just ANZAC troops either — Monash was the first foreign leader ever to lead Americans in battle.

After the Great War, through the depression years and the rising specter of communism, his stature was such that he was approached by Australian proto-fascists, who would have overthrown Australian democracy and installed him as Australia’s Mussolini. He would have none of it. “Depend upon it,” he wrote in one letter, “the only hope for Australia is the ballot box, and an educated electorate.”

The Jews did just fine in Australia. In the 1890s when the Chief Rabbi of Britain made an appeal to buy farmland for Jews in Palestine (then a part of the Ottoman Empire), half the funds came from Australian Jews, when there were some 10,000 Jews in Australia. After the war, Monash told the Maccabean Society he never experienced prejudice on “any question of race or religion” and that “[i]n Australia we have no Jewish question”. Whilst Monash’s Jewishness wasn’t exactly helpful in his rise to prominence, it was his status as a volunteer militia man and his German background that hindered him more. In a time that followed Britain’s Benjamin Disraeli as Prime Minister, a hero general in Monash and a High Court Justice-cum-Governor-General of Australia in Sir Isaac Isaacs, it’s fair to say the Anglo-Australian world was good to its Jews. (Melbourne Club snobbery notwithstanding: Sir Isaac Isaacs had been an honorary member while Australia’s first native-born Governor-General. It would not have him after his term finished.)

Monash did not live to see Australia’s chief delegate at the 1938 Evian Conference on Refugees reject sanctuary for Jews fleeing Germany, unconsciously and ironically echoing Monash’s own words to the Maccabean Society:

as we have no real racial problem, we are not desirous of importing one

Despite this blemish — Australia was hardly alone, nor had the Holocaust yet happened — Australia has been a warm home for its Jews since, including welcoming some 30,000 Jews after WWII, and subsequent waves out of South Africa and the former Soviet Union (my family arrived in 1991 from Georgia).

Australia’s Jews are a tiny minority. Around 100,000 mainly between Melbourne and Sydney — roughly equivalent to a quarter of Australia’s immigration intake for this year alone. Certainly, they feel as Australian as anyone else. Obsessed with the same footy teams, speaking in the same twang, broadly split politically in the same way as other Australians. Monash represents one zenith of Australian Jewry — an unexpected hero in an hour of need for the British Empire — but certainly his contribution is not alone. Isaacs may have been Australia’s first Jewish Governor-General, but not her last — Sir Zelman Cowen was the Governor-General from 1977 to 1982. It would take a far more ambitious author than me to list the contributions of Australian Jewry to this nation’s arts, enterprise, education, politics, judiciary.—

On Wednesday, October 11, 2023, thousands of Jews gathered in Dover Heights on Sydney’s eastern coast. Police blocked roads, stood at road corners and patrolled on horseback. Attendees thanked the police as they passed.

Australian Labor and Liberal ministers including the New South Wales Premier Chris Minns and Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton attended, as did a Teal, Wentworth MHR and local member Allegra Spender.

Mourner’s kaddish was said by thousands for those killed in Israel.

Mr Minns apologised for the barbarity at the Opera House. He said he does not want to live in a state where that happens. Going further, with a surprising touch, possibly from an especially thoughtful speechwriter but undiminshed if so in its sincerity, Minns said: “God made three promises to Abraham. First, a people. Second, a land in Israel. Third, that they shall be blessed. And so it is and shall be.” It was a moving moment, a touching gesture to a wounded community from a Premier caught off guard when the steps of the Opera House were ignominiously broadcast across the world.

Liberal Opposition Leader Dutton was unequivocal. Australia stands behind Israel in its mission to destroy Hamas. Australia is a friend to her Jews.

The Book of Exodus begins as Joseph’s contribution to Egypt is forgotten, his saving the Egyptians from terrible drought.

The children of Israel were fruitful and multiplied and became strong, and the land became filled with them. A new pharaoh arose over Egypt, who did not know about Joseph.

Australia has not forgotten her Jews.

Misha Saul kvetches at www.kvetch.au

[Spktyr]

The NSW police forces should have broken up the Hamas rally as it was advocating violence - this article is BS.

[naturalman1975]

Yes, they should have. And I think at this point, the people in charge regret the choices they made the other day - for political reasons, if for no others, as they are being savaged for it across Australia.

The article isn’t BS - what happened the other night was. That was an anomaly that never should have happened.

Remember, the reason Hamas rallied on the steps of the Opera House is because the Opera House was being lit with the colours of the Israeli flag. That shows what the official Australian position was. The idiots who told Jews to stay home and who treated that rally as if it was some planned ‘peaceful protest’ were acting against that.

It was disgusting but it was an aberration.

[jjotto]

Lots of places down through the ages were good for Jews - until they weren’t.

[Harpotoo]

What do you tell a disarmed population (stay in your homes and pray you are not slaughtered)?

[naturalman1975]

Jewish friends tell me they are concerned about an increase in anti-semitism in Australia. I have no reason to doubt that they are right about that. But they also tell me that it’s still nowhere as big a problem as in many other places and I assume they are right about that as well.

Most of it - although not all of it - seems to be coming from the hard-left in Australia. Not the mainstream left for the most part, but the growing group who don’t think the mainstream left go far enough for them. From what I can see the Australian Labor Party - the traditional home of the left in this country - still seems pretty solidly pro-Israel in the current situation. It’s more minor groupings - like the Greens - which seem to taking an anti-Israel/pro-Palestinian position as a common one.

[naturalman1975]

Australia is not a disarmed population. Americans have been fed a lot of lies about guns in Australia, apparently for domestic political reasons, and for some reason it seems to be difficult to get the facts understood there.

There are millions of firearms legally held in private hands in Australia. We do have our fair share of stupid gun laws (universal registration, and licencing among other things) but they didn’t disarm us. Law abiding citizens can get a gun licence quite easily if they choose to. Not enough do, in my view - but I’m certainly among those who have all the firepower I could ever want if I ever felt any reason to need to have it.

[TexasGator]

How easy is it to get a license for an AR-15 or 9mm pistol?

[LongWayHome]

Anomaly? There have been vicious fights between your Middle Eastern immigrants & the locals for years on end in your nation.

[ChildOfThe60s]

I assume that if you have to have a license the government knows exactly what weapons you own

[naturalman1975]

There are differences from state to state, but AR-15s are, I believe, difficult everywhere, because of their reputation - like I say, there are some dumb rules and some of these effect what gets imported into Australia. But there are alternatives - it's significantly easier for example to get an FN-FAL or SLR - which is what I own as a primary semi-automatic rifle. You need what is called a C or D category licence for these, which is more than the standard A/B (basic longarm licence). A C licence isn't hard to get (basic semi-automatic), a D licence is very hard to get (anything they have classified as 'military style' for want of a better term - and those divisions can be odd).

A 9mm handgun is fairly easy, but you do need more than a basic A/B licence - handguns need a H licence which isn't that hard to get. And there are rules that mean a H licence isn't enough if the weapon is considered concealable, or has what is seen as a large magazine - or larger calibre, but 9mm falls within H category by itself.

[naturalman1975]

Yes. Or at least they should in theory. I’m not all that sure they are actually they are that efficient. But, yes, legally all firearms must be registered, so the government officially has this information.

Like I say, we have our share of dumb gun laws. But they also get exaggerated in their effect.

[naturalman1975]

Yes, and there are lots of fights in America too.

But they are not the norm here. I don’t claim to know if they are in America.

Just because unusual things get into the news, doesn’t necessarily make them common things.

The Cronulla Riots, for example, were pretty awful. They also took place nearly two decades ago now, and nothing anything like them has happened since.

[ChildOfThe60s]

My point of course is, if you have to get the government's approval to possess a firearm, do you really own it?

If the government decides you present any sort of threat it can easily find you and confiscate your registered firearm. Definition of "threat" to be solely at the discretion of the federal government

Who here believes the FBI's claim that it deletes firearm background checks once completed (if you just fell off the turnip truck raise your hand)? Every person should own one or more firearms purchased by private sale of which the government does not have a record. The Constitution and the Second Amendment do not state that one's right to self defense is contingent on the government having a record of your possessed firearms.

[Spktyr]

Until and unless they pursue and arrest those responsible for the rally, the article remains a feces-filled apologia - it’s up there with “I’m not racist, I have lots of black friends!”

[naturalman1975]

Having allowed the rally, there are significant legal problems in arresting people for having attended, even if it is believed allowing it was a mistake, but I would not be surprised to see some arrests. Police are examining what powers they have to limit or prevent any further rallies happening this weekend. I’m waiting to see what happens in the future.

[naturalman1975]

The current rules concerning firearms ownership in Australia (note - most of these rules are state law, not natural, but there have been attempts to ensure they are reasonably similar across Australia since 1997) have been in place for over a quarter of a century now. In that time, I have seen only a few cases where I feel those rules have been enforced in any significantly negative way. So, to be frank, the risk that they are likely to be in the future seems very limited to me.

If that ever starts happening, I might see some point in getting excited about Australia’s gun laws.

You may have good reason to fear the FBI isn’t doing what it says it does. I’ve no idea. But if so, that’s an American problem and one Americans need to try and solve.

Frankly, I know who does the background checks and signs off on permits in my local area. He’s a Senior Sergeant at my local police station who I’ve known for years. I’m not dealing with a faceless bureaucracy. I do trust him to follow the rules. If I was dealing with some centralised body, I might feel a bit differently. But that’s kind of my point. While there are some details I’d prefer were different, I actually do think, overall, we’ve got a pretty good system in operation where I am. Law abiding people have little difficulty getting firearms if they want them. Less people choose to do so here, than in the US - but that is a matter of choice freely exercised.

[unclebankster]

Australia is not a disarmed population. Americans have been fed a lot of lies about guns in Australia, apparently for domestic political reasons, and for some reason it seems to be difficult to get the facts understood there.

*************

That’s good to hear.

Looking at Australia from a low population vs a large geographic area, not having access to firearms never made sense.

[naturalman1975]

Looking at Australia from a low population vs a large geographic area, not having access to firearms never made sense.

In some ways that is true, especially in the outback areas.

But Australia is actually extremely urbanised (well, I suppose it might be better to day 'suburbanised'). While there are some sizeable towns out in the middle of nowhwere, and a lot of smaller places too, the vast majority of Australians live in a few cities on the edges of the continent. More than half the population is in the four largest cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth, and most of the rest is clustered around the east and southeast coast. Most of the country is pretty inhospitable desert - we live in the bits that are easiest to live in.

People in the outback areas are much more likely to have guns than people in suburban areas - I live in the outer suburbs of Melbourne myself, and I suspect relatively few of my neighbours feel any need to arm themselves. I'm ex-military (Navy) and I enjoy shooting for fun and do feel more comfortable having the means around if the crap ever hits the fan - but don't really think it's ever likely to happen. But even I only have a small number, because - well, basically, because there's a limit to how many guns I could use at once anyway.

[unclebankster]

I always wanted to visited your country, but my paternal grandfather(1912-2003) thought he had relatives in New Zealand, so back in the early 1990’s that’s where we ended up.(I was about 19 or 20 at the time.)

Now I’m 53 with a business and huge family, so I won’t be travelling much in the near future, especially after covid hysteria.

Thanks for the informative posts on Australia, this American is very appreciative.👍