australia 2002-3

 

During 2002, the Jewish community in Australia logged the highest annual number of reports of anti-Jewish violence, vandalism, harassment and intimidation since the commencement of national record keeping. There were 625 reports of physical assault, vandalism, threatening and/or abusive phone calls, hate mail, graffiti, leaflets, posters and electronic mail. The level of violence used in the attacks and the extremity of the language were virtually unparalleled. There was also a dramatic increase both in articles or published letters which made explicit or implicit anti-Jewish statements and in the volume of antisemitism in the public discourse on the Middle East.

 

the jewish community

The 115–120,000 Jews in Australia out of a total population of 17,850,000 constitute the largest Jewish community in the East Asia Pacific Region. The great majority of Australian Jews live in Melbourne (50,000) and Sydney (45,000), but there are also significant communities in Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Adelaide. Australia is a favorite destination of Jewish emigrants from the former Soviet Union and from South Africa. Jews were among the first convicts who settled Australia in the eighteenth century. After World War II, many Holocaust survivors were admitted into the country and today it has the largest per capita number of survivors of any community in the Diaspora.

The leading communal organization is the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ). The community is served by two Jewish weeklies and several other periodicals. High enrollment in Jewish day schools and a comparatively low rate of intermarriage are characteristic features of Australian Jewry.

 

political organizations and groups

A plethora of groups in Australia promote antisemitism, and for some it is their raison d’être. The groups vary greatly in membership, activities and target audiences.

Some leaders of far right-wing and antisemitic organizations have been involved in extremist political activity for decades. Their activities are supplemented by those of changing groups of individuals, including some which operate primarily on the Internet. The existence of Labor state governments in all Australian states feeds the paranoia of “socialist” control so central to the extreme right weltanschauung.

It should be noted that not all antisemitic organizations can be classified as “far right.” Some conspiracy theorists identify with quasi-New Age, Libyan-inspired “Third Way” or political Islamist philosophies which also promote antisemitism. The theme of Judaism as anti-Christian plays a part in the conspiracy theories of a number of extremist organizations. The Australian League of Rights, the Adelaide Institute, the British-Israel World Federation, “Identity” churches and some self-styled biblical fundamentalists portray Jews as religious, racial or political opponents of Christianity.

Far right, far left and some anarchist groups have found common ground in opposition to globalization, to various government policy proposals perceived as empowering a state regarded as a political enemy and to Israel. In each case, there has been evidence of almost interchangeable antisemitic rhetoric coming from groups which would regard themselves as being diametrically opposed politically and ideologically. For example, the far right Citizen's Electoral Councils and the far left International Socialists Organisation publish almost identical claims regarding the evils of globalization. The Australian League of Rights and the Green Left weekly enthusiastically reproduce the anti-Israel commentary of the UK-based, extreme left-wing journalist John Pilger and the white supremacist Bible Believers and a number of far left-wing groups commonly claim that Israel carries out “Nazi-like practices.”

Mutual support of these often opposing groups may be explained by their common acceptance of antisemitic conspiracy theories. Another reason is that very little antisemitism is indigenous to Australia and foreign (generally US) sources are exploited to provide ideas and “evidence” to sustain the various groups’ followers.

 

Far-Right Groups

The Australian far-right fringe is internally dynamic and in a constant state of flux. Those who promote, for example, a return to policies which actively disadvantage indigenous Australians, move between overtly antisemitic groups such as the Australian League of Rights, populist movements such as One Nation and pseudo-militia groups such as the AUSI Freedom Scouts. Extremist elements of the anti-immigration movement oscillate between Australian National Action, the Australian National Socialist Movement, the Confederate Action Party, the Australia First Movement and the groups mentioned above.

Those whose prime interest is promoting antisemitism alternate, inter alia, between the various Identity Churches and conspiracy propagandists with no firm affiliations. National Action members, for example, may sell Confederate Action Party material or participate in forums organized by One Nation.

Among the small groups that identify with US-based neo-Nazi organizations including the Ku Klux Klan, the Church of the Creator and White Aryan Resistance, transference of allegiance seems to be determined by media interest.

 

The Far Left

Although the many small groups which comprise the Australian far left often make declarations critical of racism in all its forms, demonization of Israel is a common motif and the language used to condemn Zionism and Israel is almost indistinguishable from that of the far right (the concept of Zionism as an “international conspiracy” and of Jews as Nazis, for instance). It should be noted that most of the groups in this sector are ambiguous, if not internally contradictory, on questions of Jews and Middle East politics. Trotskyist or pro-communist groups, such as the International Socialist Organisation and the Green Left, for example, regularly proclaim their opposition to antisemitism but use extreme and intemperate language when discussing Israel.

 

Arab and Muslim Communities

Australia’s Arabic-speaking community is large and vibrant. Jews are not a major concern or pre-occupation of this community, but sometimes discussion of the Middle East departs from vigorous political debate and enters the realm of religious and racial stereotyping.

Both the Arabic-speaking and the Islamic communities are served by a vigorous media, in Arabic and English, which generally avoid inflammatory or offensive language, but reflect the existence of extremist and antisemitic viewpoints within the communities they serve. For example, the publication Nida’ul Islam, which is available on the Internet and as a glossy magazine, prints extreme views of members of the Islamic community in Australia and of a range of overseas commentators. Despite allegations that key figures behind the magazine are linked to Al-Qa‘ida, the Islamic Youth Movement, which publishes the magazine has appeared willing to promote virtually any Islamist organization and agenda. The tone towards Jews is often hateful and inflammatory (see below).

Antisemitic elements within the Arabic-speaking and Islamic communities often draw on the same material as white supremacists, “Identity” groups and other overt racists, and vice-versa. For example, Islamic Offerings from Australia and the Strategy (see below) have used the Holocaust denial of Ahmed Rami’s Radio Islam, while al Moharer al-Australi and the New Age Annwn site have quoted the Turkish conspiracy theorist Harun Yahya. Sydney imam Shaykh Hilaly was reported in the Australian as spending “some time” with the far right group Citizens Electoral Council.

 

antisemitic activity

During 2002, the Jewish community in Australia logged the highest annual number of reports of anti-Jewish violence, vandalism, harassment and intimidation since the commencement of national record keeping in 1989. This was the second successive year in which previous records were broken. The total was more than twice the average over the previous 13 year period and more than 10 per cent above the previous record.

            Most attacks were carried out anonymously. However, while public matters with which the Australian Jewish community is identified in the public mind (events in the Middle East, advocacy of cultural diversity) appear as rationalizations in some of the hate mail or threatening telephone calls received, the number of reports of incidents in which the motivation was clearly expressed remained low.

A proportion of hate material could be identified as promoting the views of extreme right-wing antisemitic groups (support for Nazism, defamatory misrepresentations of the teachings of Judaism and/or portrayal of the Jewish people as part of an anti-Christian, anti-Western and anti-Australian conspiracy). Another significant proportion seemed to emanate from, or be inspired by, Islamists. This material sometimes included quotations from Islamic sources, depicting Jews as sub-human, the existential enemies of humanity and even legitimate targets for harassment and murder. A third source of incidents was groups or individuals associated with the extreme left. On a number of occasions, the far left made common cause with Islamists. On other occasions, demonization of Israel crossed the border between extreme political commentary and racist caricature, such as a cartoon published in the Sydney Morning Herald in which Ariel Sharon was depicted with a large hooked nose and wearing a kippah.

Reports of antisemitic material in the mainstream media increased over previous years, supplemented by a dramatic growth in anti-Jewish imagery in fringe far left-wing publications and in those of other extremist organizations. Anti-Jewish conspiracy theories abounded, with the Internet facilitating their dissemination.

The virulence of some public criticism of Israeli actions and their continued misrepresentation, as well as of Israel’s history and politics, have provided additional sources of encouragement and rationalization for anti-Jewish bigotry. Moreover, there was an exponential increase in analogies between Jews and Nazis especially in so-called socialist or left-wing publications, or in those specifically devoted to Middle East or Islamic affairs.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a plethora of antisemitic conspiracy theories arose. Most of these theories claimed that Israel or Jews or forces sympathetic to them carried out the acts to further political agendas. Some saw the attacks as part of a Jewish plot for world domination, while others attributed financial and short-term political motives. Within the Arabic-speaking community in Australia, anecdotal reports suggest these theories were widely endorsed. They also received some currency in left-wing, anti-Israel circles.

 

Violence, Vandalism, Threats and Harassment

An unprecedented number of reports of what the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission terms “racist violence,” against Jewish Australians, was recorded in 2002. The 625 cases comprised physical assault, vandalism – including arson attacks – and threatening and/or abusive telephone calls, hate mail, graffiti, leaflets, posters and electronic mail. This compares with an average of 250 incidents over the previous 13 years and a high of 372 incidents two years before that. The level of violence used in the attacks and the extremity of the language were virtually unparalleled for the period in which records have been kept.

By far the most dramatic increase was in reports of threats and abuse, and the number of reports demonstrated that many more Jewish individuals and organizations than ever before were targeted, some repeatedly. Incidents of assault, arson attack and vandalism, including graffiti, were 54 per cent above the previous average, and 12 per cent higher than in 2001, the previous worst year on record. Threats and abuse, conveyed via telephone, mail, leaflets, posters or e-mail, were just under three times the average and 90 per cent above the previous high since records were kept. In April alone, 131 incidents were reported, including 12 involving physical violence such as assault and property damage and 13 incidents of harassment or threats to Jews generally on their way to or from synagogue.

Incidents in the most serious category, involving damage to communal property or assault, were recorded at a rate of 80 per cent above the previous average but 39 per cent lower than the previous year, which had been the worst on record. Face-to-face harassment in the street was also 80 per cent above the previous average and 28 per cent above the worst previous total. Graffiti was reported at a rate of 27 per cent above the previous average, having increased in each of the previous four years.

There were 54 incidents of abusive and threatening telephone calls, compared to an average of 36 reports annually and 107 examples of hate mail received through the post compared with an average of 77 reports. The most dramatic increase came in the area of abusive and threatening e-mails – more than 200.

 

Propaganda

Mainstream Media and Public Discourse

Coverage of issues relating to the Australian Jewish community by the mainstream media is extensive and out of all proportion to the community’s size. For the second year in succession there was a dramatic increase in the number of articles or published letters which made explicit or implicit anti-Jewish statements. These were usually made in the context of commentary on the Middle East; some smaller and regional newspapers were even freer in their publication of antisemitic references. A letter in the Sunday Mail in Adelaide, for instance, included the line “Washington's politicians and New York's financiers are controlled by the Zionists”; and a letter in Lismore's Northern Star alleged a “Jewish plot to forbid whites to mate with whites” because “the white race” is Judaism's “most dangerous enemy.” Reports of antisemitic commentary on a number of talkback radio programs were also received, albeit not as often as complaints regarding the print media. A number of editorial cartoons published in mainstream newspapers similarly conveyed antisemitic messages, such as Perth's Sunday Times which printed a cartoon showing Ariel Sharon with a massive nose, maniacal eyes and a Star of David sheriff's badge. Online facilities provided by mainstream media for feedback and discussion also provided an opportunity for antisemites to disseminate their views among a potentially large audience.

The volume of antisemitism in the public discourse on the Middle East, particularly in the wake of the terrorist bombings, was unprecedented. The most disturbing feature of the debate was the failure of those who proclaimed that their criticism of Israel was in no way directed at Jews themselves, to speak out against overtly antisemitic commentary.

There was an increase in the use of the canard equating Israel with Nazi Germany, especially in order to attack Australian Jews who support Israel’s right to protect the security of its citizens. This appeared in letters published in a number of newspapers around Australia, mainly in Melbourne, and was a frequent claim made by all far left-wing organizations.

Attempts to delegitimize Israel and Zionism, conducted by public spokespersons for the Palestinians, included extreme allegations against Israel and Judaism. In addition, supporters of Iraq or Iran used radical language against Israel, Zionism and, on occasion, Jewry. For example, discussing the reason for international concern at the activities of Islamists, the Islamic Information and Services Network of Australasia, responded, “Muslims are absolutely certain that the Jews are the enemies of Allah.”

 

Islamist and Arab Propaganda

Much of the material published in Nida’ul Islam claims the existence of an anti-Islamic conspiracy, run by Jews but also including most rulers of Arab and Islamic states. In response to exposés of some of the magazine’s content in the Sydney Daily Telegraph newspaper, Nida’ul Islam claimed that “the Jewish-owned tabloid” had led an “onslaught on the Muslims in Australia.” A later article referred to the alleged “battle unleashed by the Jews against the Muslims in Palestine and all over the world.”

Examples of material that appeared on Nida’ul Islam’s website in 2002 included direct attacks on Jews and “the Crusader-Zionist powers,” as well as on the Jewish religion and on any Jewish involvement in public affairs. A feature, “Israel: Beginning of the End,” contained comments such as: “Christian Zionism is the most dangerous to humanity of all contemporary movements”; “because of the Christian and Jewish rejection of this light [the Qu’ran], they have forbidden of themselves the sources of certainty, and lost themselves in darkness from which there is no other means of escape”; “Jews are Jews, worshippers of the golden calf... breakers of the covenant of Allah at every opportunity… devourers of ill-got gain and usury… who were cursed on the lips of David and Jesus... those who were transformed into apes and pigs…”; it also asked “As for the Jews who reject everything but racism and deception, what are they looking for?”

While the umbrella body of Australia’s Islamic organizations, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC), has published editorials promoting interfaith dialogue and regularly condemned racism, its newspaper, the Australian Muslim News, has printed a few articles that might have served to reinforce anti-Jewish prejudice.

Another supposedly mainstream group, the Islamic Information & Services Network of Australasia, published antisemitic postings such as: “Surely the Jews have executed an immense deception”; “Allah has cursed the Jews in the Qu’ran on numerous occasions”; and “Jewish opposition to Islam is as old as Islam.”

The two most visible spokespersons for Muslims in Australia, Shaykh Tajeddine El-Hilaly and Keysar Trad of the Lebanese Muslim Association, were both involved in anti-Jewish activities. A link to the extremely antisemitic Radio Islam of Ahmed Rami on Trad’s website, Islamic Offerings from Sydney, Australia, was removed in 2002 following an article in the Brisbane Courier Mail. Shaykh Hilaly, who gained notoriety after he gave a viciously anti-Jewish public lecture at Sydney University in 1988, not only voiced theological support for terrorists, particularly suicide bombers, but in An-Nahar Arabic language newspaper he declared that Israel was as bad as, or worse than, Nazi Germany.

Advocates from within the Arabic-speaking community who gained public attention in 2002 included a representative of the Deir Yassin Remembered group who regularly attacks Israel and the Jewish community in extreme language through his e-mail lists and on Internet forums; a leading Palestinian spokesperson who distributes material by the pro-Palestinian Israeli Russian writer Israel Shamir; and a representative of the Syrian Socialist Nationalist Party who misrepresents Jewish religious teachings in his speeches on the Middle East.

 

Holocaust Denial

Holocaust denial is a key activity of extreme right-wing elements in Australia. Virtually all Australian antisemitic organizations advocate Holocaust denial or at least argue that Holocaust deniers have a right to be given serious academic consideration.

Holocaust denial is also promoted by some individuals and groups whose primary political concern is the defense and promotion of totalitarian Arab regimes or extreme Islamism. One of the more noteworthy developments in this area is the promotion of the idea to convene an international Holocaust revisionist symposium in an Arab country which would include some of the most prominent international neo-Nazi propagandists and would be conducted by Mohammed Hegazi, a member of the Arab-Australian community who regularly participates in anti-Israel Internet discussions.

Holocaust denial is generally understood in Australia to be antisemitic. The judgment in the 2002 Federal Court case Jones v. Toben (see below) established this in law, setting an Australian precedent.

 

RESPONSES TO ANTISEMITISM and racism

Antisemitism is dealt with in Australia in the general framework of racism, although it is addressed specifically as an archetypal form of racism in education and coalition building by NGOs and quasi non-government organizations, such as the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC).

The 1995 law, administered by the HREOC, seeks to conciliate complaints of racial harassment and vilification. If conciliation is not achieved, hearings take place and penalties can be ordered. The process, however, can be long and complex. Two cases which were referred to public hearings, involving the Adelaide Institute website run by Fredrick Toben and against anti-Jewish propagandist Olga Scully, took more than four years to reach adjudication (in 2000).

In 2001 the ECAJ applied to the Federal Court of Australia for enforcement of the HREOC’s orders to Olga Scully and Fredrick Toben to desist from their antisemitic and Holocaust denial activities; in 2002 the Federal Court effectively upheld those orders (see ASW 2000/1, 2001/2).

The Toben case represented the first Australian court decision on race hate on the Internet. The Federal Court found that since the Adelaide Institute website denied the Holocaust and vilified the Jewish people, it was unlawful under Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act. Toben was ordered to remove all offensive material from the site.

All Australian states and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) have legislation supplementary to the Federal Racial Discrimination Act. While Australian law does not provide for criminal prosecutions specifically for acts of racial discrimination, action has been taken by local councils, public authorities and corporations to ensure that laws have not been breached, and many complaints have been successfully conciliated under NSW and ACT law.

Individuals who are the victims of more extreme acts of antisemitic intimidation or violence have recourse to laws other than those specified above, such as standard criminal proceedings. A variety of sporting bodies have introduced anti-racism codes of conduct during recent years. The focus in all cases has also been on “offensive language.”

Until the passage of the anti-racism laws the Australian Press Council, a voluntary regulatory body, was the main institution that considered complaints of antisemitism. Although it no longer plays the same key role, it remains another arena for resolving disputes over questions relating to racism and antisemitism. The Australian Broadcasting Authority, too, sets and enforces broad community standards.

Various religious communities cooperated in 2002, issuing statements condemning racism and intolerance. The ECAJ, the National Council of Churches in Australia and the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils issued a joint call for tolerance. A number of Christian groups and the Baha’i faith condemned antisemitic attacks and Jewish groups joined others in condemning racism against Australian Arabs and vilification of Muslims.

The Uniting Church in Australia continued to explore ways of taking joint action with the Jewish community to combat prejudice, and the Catholic Church continues to promote tolerance and understanding. Relations between the Anglican Church and the Jewish community also seemed to be improving.

One of the important ways in which Church and service organizations assert moral leadership against antisemitism is by refusing to allow racist and anti-Jewish groups to hire their premises and to share platforms with known extremists. Thus, extremist anti-Jewish groups are experiencing increasing difficulty in finding premises in which to meet and in convincing mainstream Australians to participate in their activities.

Government, community organizations, the business sector and individuals have launched a broad spectrum of educational initiatives. The federal government, through an anti-racism education campaign and on-going public awareness programs conducted by the HREOC, has been pro-active in its efforts to place objective information before the Australian community on matters which had been subjected to misrepresentation by racist organizations, such as The Effect of Australia's Immigration Policy or Disadvantage within the Indigenous Community.

In addition to its ongoing activities such as facilitating and conducting research on a wide range of matters of public interest, the HREOC hosted a significant national conference, “Beyond Tolerance,” in March 2002, at the Sydney Opera House.

A number of websites have been developed which provide useful resources for informed discussions on topics regularly introduced into Internet discussions by racists. These sites, such as www.geocities.com/athens/cyprus/8815, make available material which is also beneficial to those combating racism in the general community.