Anti-Semitism in Australia

[Bruce Tuncks]

I found it hard to believe that Australia is now listed as a dangerous place for Jews. Sure, we have taken in 800,000 moslems when we only have 100,000 Jews, but surely we didn't import anti-semitic types?

Personally, I have never met a true anti-semite and I don't expect to... how awful can they be?

 

[facthunter]

They've always been around Just before WW2 the Jews weren't taken in by anybody as far as I know. Ships were turned away that had them on board. Anglo Saxons in Australia were as bad as any I found anywhere. How AWFUL? VERY and very open about it.  Look at Shylock in Shakespear..  Nev

[spenaroo]

Import - maybe not.
but we have had to put in laws to ban the Nazi salute from public places.... and already have cases going through the court.

I suspect the issue isn't with 1st but 2nd generation of migrants.
which is what was on display with the Palestine protests - teens and early 20's
 

was summed up very well by the Magistrate Jacqueline Trad during the Cronulla Riot cases (herself of Lebanese descent) - told Sutherland Local Court that Osman had turned his back on his real country: "By this sort of conduct you turned your back on your family, your culture and your real country, all for the sake of some juvenile, impulsive and misplaced allegiance.... Over the last 100 years or so, the ancestors of many citizens – mine included – came to this country seeking refuge from hatred, intolerance, violence or just simply the opportunity to improve their families' prospects."

Edited December 11, 2023 by spenaroo

[facthunter]

WE have plenty of racist intolerance to go around but in another there are good examples of varied cultures working well. It's easy for it to deteriorate quickly if a few get stirred up and the Media play it up for all it's worth.  It sells their RAGS. Nev

Edited December 12, 2023 by facthunter

[Marty_d]

The problem is lack of nuance. 

I'm against the actions of Hamas AND the response. 

Vast majority of people on both sides just want peace and security.

[facthunter]

Hamas must have anticipated the likely response and  the Netanyahu gov't is  very fundamentalist. A bad combination. Bibi  as he is known  would take any criticism of HIS actions as anti semitic and reject it on that basis.. Recall the problem with  the School principal Malka Leifer and the 8 years it took to get her to face charges here.  Nev

[old man emu]

At least eight First Fleeters were of the Hebrew persuasion. From the First Fleet to about 1820 one can only analyse surnames for typical Jewish names, as records do not show religious affiliation. After that it should be possible.  By 1803  there was a total of 2086 Irish convicts, nearly all Catholics, living in New South Wales.

 

Since convicts were lumped without regard to religious affiliation, Jew, Catholic, C of E and Non-Conformists would have borne the travails of the convict life equally. I doubt if religious affiliation or history of repression was much discussed as men worked the sawpit or swung the axe and sledge hammer. That is probably the source of the notion of equality amongst the common people - shared misery. 

 

I think that as the Baby Boomers grew up with the children of the Reffos after WWII, racism amongst the Anglo-Irish began to be considered wrong. It didn't go away, but was not acceptable in "polite society". Unfortunately, recent social upheavals in other countries, and our instantaneous access to reports of what is happening in other countries has resulted in many angry people arriving here and not discarding their hatreds. Social disadvantage is probably the main cause of the racism we see expressed by our young people today. And the blame is not all on the Anglo-Irish. Racism is rife amongst these latest arrivals.

 

My thoughts regarding the current goings-on in Gaza, is the it is the Government of Israel that has gone too far. Its actions are the application of unreasonable force. If the Israeli Government wanted to top the leader of Hamas, why not act clandestinely. Afterall, that's how they got Eichmann. Better to assassinate one than recklessly kill thousands.

[facthunter]

The Leaders Have THEIR agenda's. That's the problem.  Nev

[willedoo]

2 hours ago, old man emu said:

If the Israeli Government wanted to top the leader of Hamas, why not act clandestinely. Afterall, that's how they got Eichmann. Better to assassinate one than recklessly kill thousands.

I doubt bumping off one leader would be much of a setback, Hamas might be a multi-headed snake.

[red750]

Hamas are gutless wonders, hiding in hospitals and kindergartens. Talk about tied to mothers apron strings. Netanyahu has a bloody short memory. As bad as Hitler.

[willedoo]

They caught a lot of them when they pumped the tunnels full of seawater and flushed them out.

[Jerry_Atrick]

Whilst I agree Netanyahu's disregard for Palestinian civilian life is abhorrent despite Hamas' tactics, I think he is more consumed with holding onto power than annihilation of a people. I am sure part of his actions are also the result of Hitler; I would guess the memory of the Holocaust is still active in his mind, and he did lose his brother to a terrorists in Entebee (sp?) of which there was at least one German terrorist affiliated with far right.

 

He is at the moment, seeking to eradicate Hamas (presumably to hold onto power) and he is not letting anything get in his way. It is abhorrent as Israel is famed for their special forces operating in clandestine subterfuge. After all that, yes he, and his more hard right cronies should be reminded of the inhumanity they suffered.

 

Is there anti-semetism in Australia - of course there is.. there always has been. As there has been anti-islam, anti-orientals, anti-blacks and of course, anti-indigenous. What makes Australians any different to anyone else?

 

Is it the majority? Who knows?  hope not. And I do believe these days, it isn't. I know when when I was a kid, the Greeks and the Italians were the but of racism. I lived in both areas of pper middle class, and lower middle class as a kid, and racism was far more pronounced in the lower middle class areas.

 

 

[nomadpete]

14 minutes ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

in both areas of pper middle class, and lower middle class as a kid, and racism was far more pronounced in the lower middle class areas.

That's a curious observation.

I grew up in Villawood. At the time it was a definitely lower class outer suburb with high percentage of European postwar migrants. Dirt roads, no footpaths, few cars, etc. Nobody made any fuss whatever over the various religions, nor about ethnicity. I hadn't heard words like 'wogs' until high school in a lower middle class suburb. Which was supposed to be a step up in the world because there were less gangs there. I do recall the gangs were not migrants.

[old man emu]

9 minutes ago, Jerry_Atrick said:

racism was far more pronounced in the lower middle class areas.

I'd say that racism is more open, exposed etc. in the lower socio-economic areas. It's a product of neglected education and few opportunities for rising above the local economic level. All these people need is a person to verbalise the people's miseries and to offer a solution that would seem to alleviate their miseries. The usual catch cry is "Make <insert group's name> Great Again. Trump didn't make that up. He just had the ability to get it printed on T-shirts and caps. 

 

It is the norm for a person well versed in oratory to spread any sort of theory amongst leaderless people and by using oratory, ingrain the theory. One could say that an example of how simple this can be done, and not necessarily by the spoken word, is the use of cheerleaders to arouse the support of  a crowd. It also helps if the supporters have a battle cry, such as a Club song to further excite feelings.

 

Look at the leaders of the 20th Century - Hitler, Churchill, Roosevelt, Mussolini and Mao. First and foremost they were great orators who garnered support for their ideas by oratory.

[Jerry_Atrick]

I think where the areas are diverse, there is probably less racism.. 

[old man emu]

A lot of us only observe racism from our Anglo viewpoint. We don't seem to call it racism when it is, say Indian -v- The Rest, or Syrian -v- Lebanese, etc. And you can't discount the social racism of Snob Hill -v- the Suburbs.

[spacesailor]

Don't forget that ,

" pommy Bashing " 

In the 50s. 60s .

ENGLAND Had government ' racist ' laws in the 60s . ( so I left )

So it's everywhere. 

Just have to change your ' ethnicity ' whenever the opposing groups gets too " on the nose " .

spacesailor

[Litespeed]

Are we antisemitic? 

 

Very few, and they seem to pick a target to focus their rage on.

The nazi wankers are a great example, they are similar to other nut jobs like the conspiracy nuts who killed two cops and a farmer.

 

Antisemitism is a small beer issue here, anti Muslim is bigger. 

 

Note we have only had big terrorism attacks come from white guys in Australia eg, Martin Bryant and the bloke who massacred Kiwi's in the Mosque.

 

Notice, we always catch the brown skinned ones before they attack, but only notice the white guy after he kills?

 

It's white militant hate that seems the biggest problem to me.

 

Mind you, racists are everywhere, it is not just white vs brown. India has a fundamentally racist government and caste system.

[pmccarthy]

We seem to have forgotten the word sectarian. Much of what is described as racism is not, it is sectarianism.

[spacesailor]

No, I looked " sectarian " up , and the UK government is definitely " BLACK " PREJUDICED. 

When a " white  " Pakistani " is removed from the work he has been trained for . To be replaced by " black Pakistani " workers , who had No training at all .

makes it time to get out .

spacesailor

[kgwilson]

I reckon the biggest problem affecting the worlds population with opposing views that turn to hatred, violence and a spiralling out of control total intolerance is belief systems, in other words religions. Over 17,000 Palestinians have been killed so far and they still rabbit on about how their god will provide or protect or whatever. There are over 3000 religions worldwide not counting those that become fundamentalist nutters like the Yank who inspired the 3 nutters in Queensland to believe the world was full of devils and they had to all be killed. So which of the 3000 is right. None have ever been able to produce the slightest shred of evidence that their god exists unless it is an inanimate object that they have built.

 

Mind you there are some weird ones like the tribe Martin Clunes came across in the Pacific who worshipped Prince Philip. They were pretty harmless but I wonder who they worship now that he's dead.

[red750]

56 minutes ago, kgwilson said:

They were pretty harmless but I wonder who they worship now that he's dead.

Milions worship Jesus, and he's dead.

[willedoo]

9 hours ago, Litespeed said:

Notice, we always catch the brown skinned ones before they attack,

An exception is the Lindt Cafe siege.

[Bruce Tuncks]

Kg has it right....   I can't help wondering why the religious never seem to blame their ridiculous deity on misfortunes like earthquakes.

My best guess is that they don't really believe their own stuff.

[old man emu]

16 hours ago, spacesailor said:

I looked " sectarian " up ,

What dictionary? The one dedicated to unprovable conspiracies? The Nutter's Lexicon?

 

"Sectarian", an adjective describing a person who very strongly supports the religious or political group that they are a member of, in a way that may cause problems with people from other groups.

 

So, you can be a very strong supporter of a particular religion, political party, or even a sporting team, but as long as that support does not cause problems with non-supporters, you are not sectarian. 

 

Sectarianism, a noun that has been defined as, 'the existence, within a locality, of two or more divided and actively competing communal identities, resulting in a strong sense of dualism which unremittingly transcends commonality, and is both culturally and physically manifest'. So it takes at least two to Tango for sectarianism to exist.