Jews for refugees
Over 35 members of Sydney’s Jewish community have participated in a rally marching with Muslims and other Middle Eastern groups in a call to help refugees.
The rally
Robin Margo, a member of Jews for Refugees, said: “We are here because, with our people’s history, we believe very strongly in just and compassionate treatment for all refugees, no matter where they are fleeing from.”
Fellow organiser, Philip Feinstein, pointed out: “In custody in Australian Detention Centres are Muslims and others from many countries including Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Sri Lanka and many others. And the vast majority of these desperate people would have something positive to offer Australia.”
Feinstein is the CEO of the Music for Refugees organisation.
“With the recent Moss Review finding evidence of sexual abuse inside the Nauru Detention Centre, the people here today are extremely concerned about the policies of the current government” said Ian Rintoul, one of the key facilitators of the entire event. “The Australian government detention centres on both Nauru and Manus Island both need to be closed. And our message is for both the Liberal and Labour parties.”
Greens members for Newtown, Jenny Leong, gave a stern warning to the current government when she said: “We are all watching you very closely and you will be brought to account if the current attitude towards asylum seekers and refugees does not change.” She ended her account with the masses joining in: “Free, free the refugees – refugees are welcome here!”
An interesting comparison of refugees during the second world war was brought to the fore by Dr David Isaacs of Westmead Children’s Hospital and Sydney University. He referred to the St Louis ‘Voyage of the Damned’ and how in 1939 that ship, with refugees bound for America and Canada, was turned back, resulting in the eventual deaths of many fleeing refugee Jews. You would think as a nation that Australia would have learned from that. After all, we are supposed to be a civilised, decent and caring nation . . . .
After the speeches at the Town Hall the rally marched down George Street to Belmore Park near Central Station with Jews, Muslims, Christians and others all walking together as one for the common cause. Weinstein added: “Their banners of solidarity said it all!”
As Muslim immigrants flood Europe, often bringing with them quasi-Nazistic views of Jews, violent antisemitic attacks from those already there so endanger Jewish communities that tens of thousands of Jews are fleeing Europe. In a generation Europe may really be Judenfrei. Already the EU, marching to the drums of the population changes already in place, turn ever more frankly against Israel, and have put at least partial BDS practices in place. The growing Muslim population of Europe is in every way a bad development for Jews and for Israel itself.
Do we want the same thing to happen here? Apparently the 35 Jews in the above-mentioned march do, or even more mindlessly pretend it will never be a problem. Meanwhile, a number of leaders of the Labor Party have already begun accommodating to the western Sydney Muslim vote and distancing themselves and their party from Israel. Even more ominously, every single Jewish community centre and congregation in Australia has recently been advised by Federal and state security agencies that they have intelligence that jihadi groups keep trying to work up plans to attack Jews, and the community centres and synagogues must revamp and seriously strengthen their security.
Really, and Vic Alhadeff said we don’t have to it’s just a “general” thing