AFTER BONDI 2
A note before I begin:
This post has been prompted by the responses to the previous post, so I would suggest that post be read first. Also, I meant to add a link to the Australian Book Review in which 5 Jewish Australians respond to the Bondi massacre. It is an excellent overview from 5 progressive writers – politically, religiously and culturally.
Here the link:
From my library.
I have been shocked at the level of antisemitism, how it has become normalised among certain groups. When people shout ‘Gas the Jews’, do they know what they are saying? Do they know about the historical reference? Do they want to kill Jews? Or do they want others to do the killing for them?
It is antisemitism that prompted the previous post: specifically, how people have used the actions of the Israeli government and military in Gaza to vent their hatred of Jews. People have also used the actions of the Israeli government and military to call for the elimination of Israel as a country. They argue that Israel should never have been brought into existence. This is what anti-Zionism means: that Israel has no right to exist. In contrast, a Zionist, as Lisa Hill points out, simply means someone who recognises and accepts Israel as a legitimate state, a country.
As I wrote in my earlier piece, if not for the widespread hatred of Jews in the 19th century, the Zionist movement might never have been founded. And if not for the virulent antisemitism in Nazi Germany, 6 million European Jews would not have been murdered (while the allies did next-to-nothing to stop the slaughter). And if not for the murder of 6 million Jews (a number approximately the same as the combined populations of greater Melbourne and greater Geelong) there may not have been a guilty rush to give Jews a sanctuary/country of their own.
I define my own Jewishness in terms of family, history, culture and as a Jewish Australian. (Years ago, I wrote a long essay, ‘Only Connect: Musings of an Australian Jew’. I’ll post it under published essays in the next day or so.) While I do not feel a connection to Israel in the same way as other Jews do, I support the country of Israel, its right to exist, I support its legitimacy. But that does not stop me from being critical of the actions of the current government. I would like to think that this same view is held by Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, and people of no religion at all.
And I support the right of Palestinians to have their own state. Both peoples have historical claims to the land, and, indeed, there have been periods in the past when Jews and Muslims have lived in peace alongside each other (as indeed many of the 1200 Jews killed by Hamas on October 7th had lived closely and peacefully with their Palestinian neighbours). Both groups have not been served well by their current leaders.
I abhor this recent trend in identity politics that would prevent non-Jews talking about Jewish issues, or non-Muslims speaking of Muslim issues. I hate the one-dimensionality of identity politics. So, of course I welcome the responses of Lisa and Tim. Indeed, after the Hamas killings on October 7th 2023, and following the Bondi Murders, I drew huge consolation from the many non-Jewish friends and acquaintances who reached out to me. They understood, they were speaking out, and I thank them for it.
I finished the earlier post with a comment about AWW’s disinviting of Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah to this year’s festival. I disagree with most of what Abdel-Fattah believes. She is aggressively anti-Zionist and has uttered offensive statements that can be easily interpreted as antisemitic. But I do not support her being banned.
Her banning is not, in my opinion, a free speech issue. Removing her from a public cutural forum like AWW will not silence her. Indeed, in these times there are so many on-line outlets where she, and others like her can say whatever they like without being called to account. A cultural forum is exactly where she should be allowed to speak, in real time, and subject to dialogue with people who can challenge her views. There’s not much in the way of dialogue nor opportunity for opposing views in the on-line silos. Bring her resentments and accusations out in the open, in the real world, where her views can be subject to scrutiny and challenged.
You are so right, Lisa, about the dirth of public support from literary and cultural institutions for Jewish creatives since October 7th. It’s been disheartening to say the least. I think the withdrawal of so many writers from the AWW, though, is not so much in support of Abdel-Fattah but rather resulting from what these writers believe a public cultural forum should provide. (As an aside, my good friend Dennis Altman and I, both of us with new books published since the last AWW, were rather miffed we didn’t crack an invitation to this year’s festival. How relieved we now are to be so neglected.)
Tim – I really appreciate your drawing on the moral underpinnings of free speech and its dangers (coincidentally I’m reading about Elizabeth Anscombe at the moment), and I agree that speech that incites violence should be stopped. But at the same time there’s the distinction to be made between opinion/beliefs expressed in hate speech and propaganda/lies. There’s an element of coercion in propaganda, and it’s sinister as well: you’re being screwed and you don’t know you are. This is harmful. Hate speech can be hurtful, but at least it’s clear and unambiguous: you know what you must oppose. And at a public cultural forum, the speaker, one would hope, would be required to defend her position. (I should add, at this point, that I don’t know what sessions were planned for Abdel-Fattah, and with the AWW website now cleared, I cannot check.)
I held these same views when the English-speaking world’s most infamous antisemite and Holocaust denier, David Irving, was banned from entering Australia. Let him speak, I said. Let him be forced to defend what I consider an indefensible position.
Andrea Goldsmith 