You are invited to break your silence
164 Australians of Jewish identity and background have signed an Open Letter calling on their fellow Jews to break their silence on the onslaught on Gaza by Israel. Among the signatories are actress Miriam Margolyes and writers Sara Dowse, Antony Loewenstein and Susan Varga.
J-Wire welcomes comments expressing support…or otherwise.
Vivienne Porzsolt
Vivienne Porzsolt of Jews against the Occupation, who organised the Open Letter, said ‘Silence is consent and as Jews, we must oppose atrocities taken in our name. Our public stand demonstrates that many Jews reject the brutal occupation of the Palestinians by Israel.
The outrage that all people of humanity feel at the conduct of the State of Israel against the Palestinians can too easily be directed to Jews in general. As we have seen with the ugly cartoon by Le Lievre and the antisemitic attack on the Jewish children on a Bondi bus, old antisemitic tropes re-emerge, fuelled by the atrocities committed by Israel.
No racism, including antisemitism, is ever excusable. However, the Jewish community leadership promotes the identification of Jews with Israel and all its actions. They label Jewish critics of Israel as ‘self-hating’ and ‘not real Jews’. They debase the charge of antisemitism by applying it to all criticism of Israel. It is not surprising then that some may hold Jews in general responsible for Israel’s actions.’
The Open Letter calls for ‘an end to the under-lying conditions of siege and occupation which defy elementary morality, decency and humanity, as well as international and humanitarian law’.
Contact: Vivienne Porzsolt 0411 366 295
AN APPEAL FROM AUSTRALIAN JEWS TO THE AUSTRALIAN JEWISH COMMUNITY
As Australians of Jewish identity and background, we are appalled at the current mass killing in Gaza by Israel. We reject the official mythology that Israel is under existential threat and acting in self-defence.
Since 12 July, the Israeli army has killed more than 1900 people in Gaza. Hospitals, schools, beaches, playgrounds – even UN shelters have been attacked. The whole world has reacted with horror and outrage.
In the face of the destruction of so many lives, we cannot remain silent while the official Jewish leadership gives such active support to Israel’s attack on Gaza. Their decision to stand with the oppressor rather than the oppressed is a betrayal of our history and values, when authentic moral leadership is more important than ever. Siege, occupation, the slaughter of innocents and collective punishment of an entire people are deeply wrong and unlawful. Yet the Jewish leadership uncritically promulgates the propaganda of the Israeli government that this is self-defence. They are failing to represent and serve the Jewish community.
Silence is consent and evil triumphs when good people do nothing. We call on our fellow Jews to break their silence, to take a public stand, not just for an immediate cease-fire, but for an end to the underlying conditions of siege and occupation which defy elementary morality, decency and humanity, as well as international and humanitarian law.
1. Kate Alway
2. Dr Eran Asoulin
3. Willy Bach, peace researcher and poet
4. Dr Peter Balint
5. Dr Tony Balint
6. Judy Bamburger, management consultant
7. Sivan Barak, student
8. Dr Ditta Bartels, retired CEO, Inphaze
9. Somerset Bean, graphic designer
10. Alice Beauchamp
11. Lyn Bender, psychologist, writer
12. Robyn Bersten, professional researcher
13. David Bilander, engineer/analyst
14. Dr Geoffrey Binder, lecturer/tutor
15. Paul Blay, landscape architect
16. Dr Barbara Bloch
17. Alfiah Blond, nutritional medicine practitioner
18. Simon Blond, university lecturer
19. Karen Bloomberg, speech pathologist
20. Leah Bloomfield, education advisor
21. Professor John Bradley, Monash University
22. Jacki Braw
23. Mariann Brull
24. Michael Brull
25. Angela Budai,union official
26. Jenny Bush, retired rehabilitation counsellor
27. Susie Carleton
28. Su Carter, administration officer
29. Dr Barry Carr, historian
30. Martin Chanock, emeritus professor of law, La Trobe University
31. Associate Professor Peter Christoff, University of Melbourne
32. Ruth Clemens, retired secondary school teacher
33. Harry Cohen, AM
34. Ian Cohen, former MLC, NSW Parliament
35. Leone Cohen
36. Rachael Collinson, former journalist
37. Max Corden AC
38. Piera Dennerstein
39. Anneke Deutsch, retired prosthetist
40. Dr John Docker, writer
41. Janet Doherty
42. Dr Sara Dowse, author
43. Alec Drummond, library worker
44. Linda Eisler, former Councillor, Canterbury LMA
45. Nicole Ehrlich, research psychologist
46. Dr Marietta Elliott-Kleerkoper, writer, language consultant
47. Marsh Emerman, lecturer in film and TV
48. Harry Feldman
49. Naima Fine
50. Dr Michelle Fink, medical specialist
51. Corinne Fisher, professional educator, sustainability
52. Lee Flax, retired lecturer, Macquarie University
53. Gabrielle Flax
54. Professor Steve Frenkel
55. Nadia Fried, musician, teacher
56. Bonnie Gelman
57. Dr Guy Gillor, public health researcher
58. Dr Hal Ginges
59. Sandra Glasbeek, retired civil servant
60. Penelope Glass, theatre worker
61. Jack Grey
62. Joseph Halevi, senior lecturer, University of Sydney
63. Gaskell M Harris, former lecturer, computer science
64. David Heilpern LLB LLM
65. Davey Heller, bushland regeneration worker
66. David Hermolin, lead union organiser
67. Tim Hollo, musician and activist
68. Janine Israel
69. John Jacobs, actor, lecturer
70. Professor Keith Jacobs, University of Tasmania
71. Margaret Jacobs
72. Max Kaiser
73. Dr David Kaye, psychiatrist
74. John Kaye, Greens NSW MP
75. Margaret Kaye, Feldenkrais practitioner
76. Dr Rick Kuhn, adjunct reader in Sociology, Australian National University
77. Sarah Lay, retired public school teacher
78. Melanie Lazarow, student
79. Sue Leigh, activist and former counselor
80. Michael Lever, archeologist and cultural heritage advisor
81. Dr David Levy
82. Dr Gary Levy, educator, researcher
83. Rachel Liebhaber
84. Professor G J Lindell AM
85. Ian Lisser, union activist
86. Antony Loewenstein, independent journalist, author, Guardian columnist
87. Jackie Lublin
88. Dr Terry Lustig, environmental and water engineer
89. Margo McKelvie
90. Laurie Izaks McSween
91. Jonathan Maltz, counsellor
92. Miriam Margolyes, actress
93. Dennis Martin
94. Leon Medalia
95. Stefan Moore, film maker
96. Associate Professor Alan Morris, University of Technology, Sydney
97. Martin Munz
98. Haskell Musry, Occupational Health and Safety Consultant
99. Liam Neame, academic
100. Dr Ian Neering, retired Associate Professor, University of NSW
101. Joan Nestle, retired Associate Professor, CUNY
102. Sharmila Nezovic
103. Alex Nissen, educator
104. Jacqui Nissim, union organiser
105. Rod Oaten, retired school teacher
106. Judith O’Conal-Prinz, professional portrait painter
107. Dennis Oppenheim, retired insurance broker
108. Sandra Padova, lesbian social justice advocate
109. Dr Tamas Pataki, author and retired lecturer, University of Melbourne
110. Cathy Peters, ABC Radio National producer
111. Tim Petterson, Campaigns and Communications Director
112. Dr Annie Pettit
113. Dr Annie Pfingst, research fellow
114. Abe Pogos, script writer
115. Vivienne Porzsolt, spokesperson, Jews against the Occupation
116. Richard Raber, film-maker
117. Adjunct Associate Professor Karl Reed
118. Michelle Reiner, customer service administrator
119. Andrew Riemer
120. Marilyn Rister
121. Susan Rosedale, teacher
122. Deborah Rosenberg
123. Les Rosenblatt
124. David Rothfiled
125. Pamela J Rothfield
126. Paul Rubner, retired librarian
127. Dr Jen Runds
128. Jay Rutovitz, energy consultant
129. Margot Salom, researcher
130. Kim Sattler, secretary, Unions ACT
131. Daniel Saks
132. Sol Salbe, journalist
133. Yvette Scholtmeyer, editor
134. John Seed, OAM
135. Debra Shulkes, editor
136. Regina Sigal, madam
137. Dr Ben Silverstein, lecturer, University of NSW
138. Dr Jordy Silverstein, historian, University of Melbourne
139. Esther Singer, vegetable farmer
140. Deborah Singerman, editor, writer, project management consultant
141. Associate Professor Peter Slezak, University of NSW
142. Dr David Slucki
143. Dr Sue Starfield
144. Norman Sterling
145. Dr Larry Stillman
146. David Stockman
147. Lanie Stockman
148. Dr Marcelo Svirsky, lecturer, University of Wollongong
149. Anna Tambour
150. Robin Taubenfeld, teacher and community organiser
151. Leah Thomas, student
152. Fred Tropp-Asher, retired IT project manager
153. Robyn Unger, public servant
154. Susan Varga, author
155. Shobha Varkey
156. Avril Vorsay, researcher, translator, performer
157. Peter Walton, self-employed
158. Jamie Walvisch, university lecturer
159. Dr David Weatherell, honorary fellow in history, Deakin University
160. George Winston AM
161. Dr N D Witton
162. Dr Ron Witton
163. Sandra Goldbloom Zurbo, editor and author
164. Dr David Zyngier, senior lecturer, Monash University
Vivienne Porzsolt told J-Wire: ” People can add their names to these initial signatories at www.jao.org.au“
There are quite a few things which can be taken for granted.
– while I do not know the precise identity of the names listed, let’s agree that they are Jews by certain standards
– perusing the qualifications, we can assume that some on the list are well educated
– critising the same for not participating in the mainstream Jewish community, largely seen as a solid Zionist lot, is redundant. By listing their names to such a statement no one would expect any of them to be ardent Zionists
It is far more important to establish what could be some of the common ground reasons of these people .
One immediate conclusion is that all signatories consider only partially a reality to which they would be witnesses. The extrapolation from the complete causes of the conflict and, implicitly, the singular attachment of blame on Israel for a sum of atrocities is indicative of a number of serious shortcomings by the signatories in acknowledging ethical principles by which all parties involved in the conflict must be considered.
The most relevant ethical issues are :
” Is use of force acceptable when explicit threat to life is apparent !” This is associated with the specific preamble ” Can Gaza and its occupants be considered an existential threat to the Jews of Israel !!”. To this we must also consider ” Are the Jews of Israel justified in taking precautions in stopping the people of Gaza to execute their ostensive intent of harming the Jews of Israel !”Then, follows: ” Considering the circumstances of the known foes of Israel, can Israel, in exercising its right to defend itself avoid affecting those Gazans not directly involved in the actual attack on Israel !!”.
None of the ethical questions can be dispensed with, they are organically , indispensably, mutually inclusive, interdependent.
Those who signed that farcical document, infested with fallacies of the highest order, are intentionally avoiding the obvious issues as per my list and find umbrage in distorted ideological concoctions, some out of some
deeply carved frustrations, some by extending visceral antipathies for spiritual “issues”, some acting under some ego-prominence syndrome and some by being plain stupid in spite of acquiring positions of formal respectability.
I have locked horns with a few over the years and I must confess that they have constantly given me that priceless satisfaction of finding them ideal dialectical punch-bags. As about Ms Porzsolt, a very, very sad case, never mind the “punch”, just a schmate bag will do….
The self-hating Jew George Soros frees his fund from its Israeli assets. Most of Hollywood’s stars, with the exception of Jon Voight, tweet anti-Semitism. In the UK, commercial chains such as John Lewis and Tesco, boycott Israeli goods.
The Nobel Prize-winning Amnesty International, which once bravely fought for Andrei Sakharov, Boris Pasternak’s wife and Natan Sharansky, asked the US to stop sending fuel for Israeli tanks. Spain’s most revered writer, Antonio Gala, cites the war between Israel and Hamas as retroactive justification for the expulsion of Jews from Spain in the 15th century.
The former director of Unesco, the UN’s cultural agency, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, joins the boycott of the Israeli Jews. Lawrence Weschler, for twenty years a writer for The New Yorker weekly magazine, compares Gaza to Dachau and Theresienstadt.
Moreover, the world can hardly wait to see the Israelis at the dock of the Hague tribunal. Moshe Yaalon like Hermann Göring?
And so just add these educated Jews to the growing list of politically correct anti zionists. Indeed, within so called enlightened, polite societies anti zionism nothing more than a veneer for anti semitism.
If these people are not with us, then they must be against us but we are stronger without them.
The photo of Vivienne Porzsolt standing in front of a “Free Palestine” banner says it all in those two powerful words:
1. Free Palestine from Hamas
2. Free Palestine from the PLO
3. Free Palestine from Islamic Jihad
4. Free Palestine from ISIS
5. Free Palestine from the Palestine Liberation Front
6. Free Palestine from Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
7. Free Palestine from Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command
8. Free Palestine from the Popular Resistance Committees
9. Free Palestine from the Al-Nasser Salah al-Deen Brigades.
10. Free Palestine to enable free elections to be held.
11. Free Palestine from a President whose use by date expired 5 years ago
12. Free Palestine to enable us to see the day when the Palestinian Arabs can get 164 people to sign a similar open letter to that posted here by 164 Jews without fear of being dragged away and never being seen again.
13. Free Palestine from being ruled by leaders like those who rejected offers that could have led to a Palestinian Arab State in 1922, 1937, 1947, at any time between 1948-1967,2000, 2005, 2008 and 2014.
14. Free Palestine from well-intentioned but gullible Jews who give aid and support to Islamic terrorist groups holding no respect for the sanctity of life of Gaza’s civilian population
Ms Porzsolt: Will you and your co-signatories be prepared to join me and sign this as an open letter?
Please indicate your consents by replying to this post so I can add your names.
Anyone else who wants to support such an open letter or suggest additions or amendments should also respond.
164 Jews out of a population of 120,000. I guess that allows us to classify 0.1% of the Jewish population as useful idiots.
They don’t deserve to be classified as part of the Jewish population
most are pork eating,non synagogue attenders who are not jews.THEY GAVE UP THAT RIGHT LONG AGO….
Yeah, one doesn’t cease being a Jew because one eats pork or doesn’t practice the faith. Excluding or condemning someone because they don’t follow your extreme right wing nationalism is no better behaviour than the people we claim to be morally superior to. We are allowing (and actively participating in) the conversion of our homeland into a thug state. They say those who don’t learn from history are doomed to repeat its mistakes. You people and your extremist nationalist BS are living proof of this.
To add your name to this list is not necessarily evil. To believe Hamas apologists may even be reassuring about oneself.
No doubt those that backed Chamberlain over Churchill would have felt quite good about themselves, too.
Ms Porzsolt appears to be leading the pack in the charge to support the real oppressors namely Hamas and the totalitarian ideology that drives it. Israel is the proverbial canary in the coalmine. There are desperate and dangerous times ahead for the rest of the world if Israel is not supported. Sadly Ms Porzsolt only adds fuel to the fire of ignorance.
These people have the right to support Hamas and criticise Israel just as the Michael Moores of the world can vilify his own country . The only thing I can not fathom is why these people don’t convert to Islam or just renounce their Judaism, the only conclusion I have come to is the best way to attack Jews and Israel is to announce first they are Jewish to have better credibility ?
I would be interested if the Muslim community have their own who are willing to admit the errors of their own people. I guess they would not live very long .
Any way this Jew supports the efforts of Israel to beat Hamas/Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad and hopefully the West will have the Balls to take on Hamas’s Islamist Franchisees JI, ISIS, AL Quaida, Taliban all the other religion of Peace cult followers.
I feel very sorry for the mothers of the IDF soldiers who have lost their lives and any other Israelis that have been murdered by Palestinians. [ I take it Hamas are still Palestinians}
I don’t know if you are extremely racist or just plain retarded.
Saying that killing Palestinian children and innocent people is not somehow being pro-HAMAS or anti Judaism.
Unless of course you are saying that only Muslims have the decency to acknowledge this as wrong.
These signatories would have castigated the Jews for defending themselves in the uprising of the Warsaw Ghetto. At that time the defence was against the worst of enemies, the Barbarian Nazis. Today their jewish descendants are defending themselves against the new evil Barbarians, Hamas and its supporters.
David Singer in an article in this week’s J Wire quoted Wiesel as saying: “What we are suffering through today is not a battle of Jew versus Arab or Israeli versus Palestinian. Rather, it is a battle between those who celebrate life and those who champion death. It is a battle of civilization versus barbarism.”
Loss of civilian life is abhorrent, but put the blame on the instigators of the carnage, Hamas.
Hamas should be labelled HARM US (according to a close friend Janelle Cann) by the Palestinians and the world. We could add the signatories to that label.
If Murdoch was around back then, the Jews in the Warsaw ghettos who dug tunnels and rebelled would have also been ‘terrorists’ in your eyes.
There is no doubt that the defenders of the Warsaw Ghetto were called terrorists by the Nazis, tunnels or not.
But then and today there was/is a name for similar signatories as are on this list and it was/is COLLABORATORS. We know what the Nazis did to those then, the same as HARM US is doing today (only worse).
Shame on you for proposing such an unbalanced appeal!
Peter Witting
A very impressive list of “dignitaries” .Are ANY of them involved in a Jewish community? Or are they just “Jews” by birth but not of belief.? I wonder if any of them identify as such on the census.Do any of them have Jewish children? Certainly no Jewish grandchildren.How many contribute to JCA? To any Jewish causes?
Of course they have every right to express their opinions,no matter how distasteful to others,but not to purport to being Jewish.
Well done Jwire! You are unifying the community against these pseudos and crackpots