The end of the Golden Age for Australian Jewry?
Maybe……….
Ron Weiser
Some serious people claim it is.
I am not exactly sure when the Golden Age was during my lifetime.
The vicious anti-Israel resolutions and sometimes violence on campuses in the 1970s?
Perhaps the election of the Whitlam Labor government in the same period?
The 15 years we endured United Nations resolution 3379 that equated Zionism with racism?
The synagogue burnings in the 1990s?
The early 2000 was seen as one of its lowest points, the Labor Premier of NSW, Bob Carr, presenting the Peace Prize to Hanan Ashrawi and everything that went along with that.
Or the numerous other times I have outlined in previous pieces?
True, each period is a little different and this time social media has supercharged the atmosphere, along with the bastardry of a whole political party like the Greens.
But practically, that only partly in my view, distinguishes current times.
We all know the famous Talmudic story of Rabbi Akiva walking through the ruins of the Temple with his colleagues. A fox emerges, leading them to all cry bitterly, except for Rabbi Akiva, who laughs. He explains that because the prophecy of destruction has been fulfilled, surely the prophecy of future redemption will also be fulfilled.
His laughter was a testament to his deep faith and optimism, even in the face of tragedy and as an example of finding hope and maintaining faith during difficult times.
Of course, I am no prophet, and the future is uncertain, but my observations of what has actually happened since October 7 and why this is so different from what we experienced in previous decades give me cause for optimism.
Not because of the external ether, which is hostile, but because of the epiphany that has dawned on the vast majority of Australian Jewry and generally across Diaspora Jewry worldwide.
1 – That it is not Israel’s fault that a deal has not eventuated to date and that Israel is not the obstacle to a peaceful settlement between Jews and Arabs in the Middle East.
A realisation of what a large percentage of the Palestinians stand for, not only by the act of October 7 itself and the declarations to repeat it over and over again if given the chance, but by the widespread celebrations of the murders, rapes, burnings and destruction that took place.
A realisation that neither Iran, nor her proxies, strive for any version of the so-called two-state solution.
2 – A dawning of understanding that the fate of Israel and of the Jewish Diaspora are inextricably linked.
These two points together have brought a degree of unity and clarity that I cannot say we saw previously.
The import of these two paradigm shifts should not be underestimated.
In Israel, October 7 also presented a sea change that permeates many sectors in Israel, notably excluding the political level.
The courage and bravery and commitment of the ‘next generation’ which defied and continues to defy, all the negative predications prior to October 7, is simply amazing.
Israel’s civil society, NGOs, volunteers and the like have been, in a word, magnificent.
However, the low level of trust in the political leadership is debilitating.
Justified or otherwise.
Soldiers and reservists in the IDF have found a unity of spirit and purpose, fighting together, whatever their political viewpoints.
And with the length of this war, they have been doing so for extended periods and understand each other that much better.
It is up to the government to foster and nurture that unity rather than to deepen the existing wounds.
Ben Gvir, whose party all polls show maintaining or even increasing its number of seats in the next Knesset, mainly at the expense of Smotrich’s party with whom they had previously run together, continually drives his agenda which endears him to his followers, but alienates the majority.
Ben Gvir knows, notwithstanding the polls, that he is not guaranteed the same internal coalition power in the future, that he has now.
Arguably, Smotrich and Ben Gvir have legitimate positions to present when it comes to the debate in Israel over what price is too high to pay for the possible return of the remaining hostages.
Theirs is a cold, unemotional position based on security considerations.
On the other side of the equation, Israelis are a family, everything is personal and the value of every life is paramount.
This is a gut-wrenching debate which Sinwar understands precisely and he uses Israel’s humanity as a tool to torture her.
However, it is Ben Gvir’s position on Jewish prayer on the Temple Mount which infuriates even many of his coalition partners, let alone the opposition and continues to destabilise the government internally.
His Haredi coalition partners call him a pyromaniac and despite Prime Minister Netanyahu repeating that the status quo on the Temple Mount has not changed, Ben Gvir chooses now to talk about his preference to even set up a synagogue there.
This also has external ramifications in terms of Israel’s relations with her Arab neighbours and talks on Saudi normalisation – not to mention with the USA.
In late 2022 there was a consensus across the board on the desire for some Judicial reform. Yariv Levin (Likud) and Simcha Rothman (Religious Zionism) took this as a green light for a ham-fisted attempt to ram through multiple changes to more dramatically affect the balance between the Courts and the Knesset.
The result? Much pain but no gain. Virtually no reform successfully enacted at all, but at high cost to societal cohesion.
October 7 put a stop to any further planned Judicial reform.
Till now.
Yariv Levin is attempting to change the process of nomination to the position of Chief Justice, a position that has not been permanently filled since the retirement (forced by mandatory retirement age) of Esther Hayut, coincidentally in October last year.
There are also a number of other vacancies that need to be filled.
This, too, the issue of Judicial reform, not only splits the country but the government coalition internally as well.
Especially at this point in time when trust in the government is low, giving it more power in the balance between the Judiciary and Knesset is likely to be highly divisive.
The challenge is how to retain the unity that exists in those who serve in the IDF, once they return to civilian life.
Simultaneously, it behoves us in the Diaspora to harness the unity and understanding that exists and build wider coalitions than we have in the past.
Remembering that unity does not have to be built on uniformity, but rather on an understanding that together we can build a brighter Jewish future.
Ron Weiser is the Honorary Life Member ZFA Executive and Honorary Life President, ZC of NSW
Here in Australia I regret Josh Frydenberg wasn’t handed over the support for PM.
His predecesssor had a little green man on his shoulder in my opinion.