Public Version

Covers Period: 1 October 2010 – 30 September 2011

 

1        INTRODUCTION

 

 

1.1 It is a reality, if a regrettable one, that within the population of Australia there are individuals who are antisemitic. There are, also within our society, organisations which have as their primary purpose combating what they perceive to be the nefarious activities of Jews. There are some organisations which have agendas beyond, but which include, antisemitism. There are others which will employ antisemitism if and when they believe it will further their agendas.

 

1.2 For some of these individuals, Jews appear to be an obsession. For others, the attitude towards Jews is one in a broad set of opinions and beliefs. There is a larger group of people within Australia who have attraction towards, or acceptance of, anti-Jewish prejudice. Very few of the antisemitic individuals act socially or politically on their prejudices and even fewer act in a physical manner.

 

1.3 There is no evidence to suggest that Australians in general think of Jews in negative terms.  Australia does not have a past to which antisemites can comfortably look with nostalgia, which distinguishes it from many other countries.  

 

1.4 Antisemitism in Australia often goes beyond simple contempt, hatred or discrimination based on the fact that a Jewish person is perceived to be in some way different. In addition, anti-Jewish prejudice considered normative in some other cultures has been brought to Australia by immigrants and can exist for many years within sub-cultures. Some of the antisemitism is the result of religious teaching or study of post-Judaic monotheisms. Some is more directly connected to a “racial” bigotry, for whom Jews either have innate qualities which would make them existential enemies or for whom Jews are allocated inferior status.

 

1.5 Antisemitic individuals can be found amongst the political Left and Right, amongst Christians and Muslims, amongst Australian-born and immigrant, those with formal education and those without, amongst those with intense contact with Jews and amongst those who have never knowingly met or encountered a Jewish person.  There are even individuals who identify as Jewish who promote antisemitism  – indeed only a racist bigot would suggest that Jews have a special quality which would rule out any person of Jewish heritage sharing the psycho-pathology found in other sections of humanity.

 

1.6 In the groups referred to above, there are also philo-semites, and, within Australia, an overwhelming majority of people for whom Jews are seemingly never thought about.

 

1.7 Serious historical and philosophical works have explored the tenuous place of Jews who identify as such in the New Europe, while distance in time and emotional estrangement from the Nazis’ Genocide has allowed public discourse to be conducted in a manner almost unimaginable during the late 20^th century. The constant stream of overt antisemitism from the Arab Middle East, as well as from other identifiably Muslim sources, has not been effectively countered.  To some extent, it has been both tolerated and conscripted by sections of the political left who see themselves as engaged in struggles against some or all of the USA, capitalism, the legacy of colonialism or amorphous “establishments”.  Antisemitism from far-right wing sources continued to be propagated and some traditional anti-Jewish tropes emerged with slight variations so as to appeal to contemporary audiences.

 

1.8 While perceptions of the place of Israel in the international body politic plays some part in informing discussions relating to Jews and to antisemitism, it is a gross oversimplification to treat Israeli policies, Zionism or the relationship of Jews to Israel as the driving force or most compelling influence on this situation.

 

1.9 Explicit antisemitism is rare in mainstream discourse, but antisemitic conspiracy themes are sometimes evoked by modern depictions of “Zionists” and “Israelis”.  

 

1.10 There were, during the period in review, a number of discussions on legitimate matters of public concern which were marred by injections of antisemitism, generally by a small minority of those taking part in them.  These included planning decisions regarding Jewish community structures, which had the unfortunate tendency to degenerate from discussions of environmental concerns to attacks on the alleged un-Australianness of Jews, false claims regarding the alleged Jewish belief of superiority over non-Jews or ignorant critiques of Judaism.  While this type of discussion is at least related to activities in which Jewish people had an interest or involvement, anti-Jewish comments were recorded in the public arena on matters such as the change of Prime Minister by Australian Labor Party parliamentarians, US foreign policy, immigration legislation, intercommunal conflict not involving Jews in any identifiable manner, and even internal Christian schisms.

 

1.11 Antisemitism emanating from Islamic sources in Australia has been a topic of public discussion for a number of years.  Particular concern has been expressed at the negative impact of material from a variety of overseas sources which has as its thesis an eternal enmity of Muslims towards Jews.

 

1.12 Between 1 October 2010 and 30 September 2011, the database assembled and maintained by the author of this report since 1989 included 517 reports of anti-Jewish violence, vandalism, harassment and intimidation, more than 30% above the previous twenty one year average.

 

1.13As more of the communication media moves to on-line platforms, there is more space available for individuals without qualifications to promote views and opinions. Particularly when the site hosting comments is moderated, there is a prospect that antisocial, prejudice-promoting comments are accorded a modicum of respectability as constituting part of public discourse. There is little indication that the number of antisemites is increasing, but no question that the reach of their voices is now magnified.

 

 

 

2 COMMON THEMES IN ANTI-JEWISH RHETORIC

 

 

 

2.12 In a community, such as that in contemporary Australia, which includes substantial numbers of Holocaust survivors and people who lost many family members in the Nazi Genocide, the legitimate concern that Nazism is understood for what it was is complemented by sensitivity to abuse of language.  Sloppy, inappropriate invocation of terminology, including “Nazi” and “Holocaust”, is not necessarily the result of antisemitic intent, but does denigrate the reality of Genocide, persecution and suffering.  Political analysts in Australia have observed the way in which consistent, inaccurate analogies involving Holocaust terminology reduce the true historic event in a way which can be summarised as “if everything is a Holocaust, then the Holocaust has no special significance.” This phenomenon is disturbing, and can have the result of furthering antisemitic agendas, even if Jews were not part of the thinking of those who are part of it.

 

2.13 Another form of Holocaust denigration is the demand that Jews stop acting as if the experiences under Nazism have any contemporary relevance and the call for individuals and the community to “get over it.”  This sentiment is often voiced by that section of the extreme right which accepts that there was a Holocaust, as well as by Holocaust Deniers who will argue that the suffering was not even particularly severe.

 

2.16 Out-dated and puerile as the stereotype of Jews as unethical and stingy may appear to be,  it has had remarkable resilience in the repertoire of a number of humorists, including some within the mainstream media. The racist and antisemitic sub-culture which exists in the gutters of Australian society not only benefits from such negative portrayals of Jewish Australians but incorporates such imagery into propaganda designed to depict Jews as fundamentally undeserving of a role in Australian life.

 

2.17 At various times over the past sixty years, when there has been anecdotal evidence that racism against any segment of Australian society is increasing there has been a concurrent increase in reports of crude and unthinking antisemitic comments made in the workplace, educational institutions and in public places towards individuals who were or were believed to be Jewish. This type of abuse is indistinguishable from that aimed at other minority groups such as Indigenous Australians, Asians and Muslims.

3 INCIDENTS OF VIOLENCE, VANDALISM AND INTIMIDATION

 

3.1 During the twelve months ending September 30, 2011, 517 reports were recorded of incidents defined by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (now the Australian Human Rights Commission) as “racist violence” against Jewish Australians.  These incidents included physical assault, vandalism – including through arson attacks – threatening telephone calls, hate mail, graffiti, leaflets, posters and abusive and intimidatory electronic mail.  This was a thirty one per cent increase over the previous twelve month period, and thirty eight per cent above the average of the previous 21 years. However, it was eighty per cent below the highest tally (08-09 period) and three per cent below the average of the previous 10 years. Regarding the data in this section, it is important to note that incidents of suspicious behaviour around Jewish institutions, which do not directly relate to a physical manifestation of harassment or vandalism, while obviously important, do not appear in the database as they do not constitute racist violence.  Telephone calls, letters, e-mail or graffiti which consist of criticisms of Israel or of political stances of the Jewish community which do not include specifically antisemitic comments are also excluded, even though there is a realistic prospect that a proportion of these are motivated by antisemitism. It should also be noted that a number of activities associated with the movement to boycott Israel, Israelis or supporters of Israel have taken place which are arguably in and of themselves antisemitic but they are at not included in this section of the report.

 

3.2 The total for reports of all incidents was thirty one per cent above the previous average. Many of the reports were of threats and abuse, primarily by email, rather than physical attacks on person or property, but the reports reveal that hundreds of Jewish individuals and organisations were targeted, some repeatedly, by persons seeking to intimidate or harass them.

 

3.3 Incidents of assault, arson attacks, face-to-face harassment and vandalism which are broadly defined as “attacks” were recorded at the fifth highest rate on record, just below the four previous twelve month periods.  The total was sixty six per cent above the previous average. 

 

Amongst the most disturbing incidents of assault and property vandalism reported were (month/year):

 

• In two separate instances in Melbourne, Jewish congregants walking home from synagogues were assaulted by men throwing eggs at them (10/10).
• A Jewish man outside an entertainment venue in Sydney was assaulted, with the attackers making antisemitic comments while physically assaulting him (11/10).

 

 

• Elderly man entering synagogue in Sydney’s eastern suburbs was harassed and assaulted by person who exited vehicle to commit assault (7/11).

 

• Two men in vehicle passing synagogue in Melbourne yelled abuse and threw eggs at congregants (7/11).

 

Amongst  the incidents of harassment not involving physical contact were:

 

• Jewish student at Western Sydney High School physically and verbally abused, with Holocaust denial and other anti-Jewish conspiracy theories cited, to the extent he left the school (incidents began into 2010, student left school March 2011).

 

• Two occupants of passing vehicle yelled “fucking Jews” at children arriving at Jewish dayschool in Sydney’s eastern suburbs (10/10).

 

 

• A man approached a synagogue in Sydney during the time of Saturday morning prayers yelling comments such as “You fucking Jews, the holocaust never happened. I’m going to burn you. Six million Jews wasn’t enough.” (10/10).

 

• Two men screamed abuse including “fucking Jews” and “fucking Jewish cunts” repeatedly at a rabbi and congregants walking home from synagogue in Sydney’s eastern suburbs (10/10).

 

 

• The driver of a vehicle in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs veered his car aggressively at a visibly Jewish person, then yelled “Fucking Jews” and other abuse (6/11).

 

• Eggs were thrown at 10 Jewish students by three people in vehicle in street in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs (6/11).

 

• Two men in vehicle passing synagogue in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs yelled abuse and threw eggs at congregants (7/11).

 

• A rabbi and his children in Melbourne were abused and called “Fucking Jews” by occupants in a passing vehicle with the driver then doing a U-turn and following the group for a short time (8/11).

 

 

3.4 Threats, conveyed through the telephone, mail, leaflets, posters or e-mail, were recorded at a rate thirteen per cent above the previous average and at the seventh highest total recorded.

 

Examples of incidents in these categories included:

 

• A letter containing white powder and the word “Jew” and a picture of a coffin sent to a Perth Jewish community member at home address (3/11). Similar material was sent to PO Box of community member (3/11).

 

• A prominent member of the Sydney Jewish community received a personally addressed letter with a series of antisemitic statements including “The Jew either barks, snaps, yaps to impose his will, or moans or wails to excite pity . . . Jews are not human beings, but rather parasites, leeches, cankers, bacilli etc. . . (4/11). A Melbourne Jewish leader received the same letter (4/11).

 

• Employee of Jewish organisation in Sydney received offensive letter from Maurice Horsburgh in Queensland who concluded his note “I SUPPORT JEWS AGAINST ZIONISM” (5/11).

 

• Antisemitic letter accusing Jews of being money-hungry and controlling the world received by Jewish organisation in Melbourne (7/11).

 

• A Jewish business person in Sydney received hate mail with statements including “I hope Jews like you are wiped off the face of the planet! You are all pests! All Jews in Australia are psychopaths” (8/11).

 

 

3.5 There is a particular concern when graffiti is daubed on synagogues and other Jewish communal institutions, as this not only has the potential to offend and intimidate a large number of people but also as it could represent desecration of religious sites.  During the period in review incidents of graffiti were reported at a rate twenty three per cent above the average for all years and at the highest rate in five years.

 

Amongst the graffiti incidents in the past year were:

 

• Swastika graffiti and “I hate fucking maggots” painted outside synagogue in Perth (12/10).
• Graffiti “Jews did 9/11” on wall in shopping centre on Sydney’s north shore (1/11).

 

• Graffiti in three places near Jewish day school in Sydney’s eastern suburbs including “LOL YOOR A JEW”, “HITLER” and “HITLER RETURNS” (3/11).

 

• Vehicles parked in street in Melbourne suburb with substantial Jewish population spray-painted with swastikas (3/11).

 

• A number of cars parked in Sydney suburbs with substantial Jewish population had the word “Jude” painted on them, with some also being additionally vandalised (4/11).

 

• A poster in a Sydney street advertising Jewish study classes had graffiti “Fuck Jews” spray painted on it (4/11).

 

• Graffiti “Kill Jews” beside two stars of David daubed on steps leading to Melbourne beach (5/11).

 

• Graffiti including “Fuck Jews” and a large swastika painted on fence of empty block in Melbourne suburbs with substantial Jewish population (5/11).

 

 

 

3.6  In 1995 the Jewish community received its first report of harassment of a member through the use of electronic mail. The ability of a person to remain anonymous and to send messages cheaply has made email the favoured means of communicating hate messages by Australian antisemites. During the period in review over fifty five per cent of all incidents reported were emails. There is no discernible difference in the themes contained in email messages to those sent through the postal service or communicated by telephone.

 

The receipt of abusive, threatening and other antisemitic email sent to individuals and communal offices was reported at a rate of almost four times a week in the year in review. The total during this reporting period was five per cent above the average for the previous ten years.

 

Examples of email harassment and abuse included:

 

• Long antisemitic email, alleging Jewish conspiracy to cause “floods, earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, typhoons, tsunamis . . . ” received at Jewish organisation in Sydney (10/10).

 

• Antisemitic email, in which sender threatened to publicly burn a torah scroll in response to “Devil-Jews”, “Jews destroying my life” and the “Jewish Agenda” is to bring down Al-Aqsa Mosque” received by Jewish organisations in NSW, Victoria and SA (10/10).

 

• Email signed “Denis Mulheron” which read: “jews stole Palestine killed its people herded them into ghettos and set about starving them. jews are evil they control banking the medis porn and control western governments through donations. Jews did 9/11 as an excuse to attack Afghanistan and irqa the jews now want us to attack iran. The jews caused the 2^nd world war pressing the world to attack the gallant and great german people, the german people knew of the evil jew and in a humane way tried to rid Europe of parasite jews, jews always take advantage of the host country jews have been explelled from every European country why? I hope iran nukes Israel a good jew is adead jew jews are behind most wars the great man henry ford knew this” received by Jewish organisation in Sydney (10/10).

 

 

• Antisemitic emails, one attacking “Jewish menaces” and the other on “the Synagogue of Satan” sent to Jewish organisations in Sydney (1/11).

 

• Antisemitic email, stating Jews “are liars, murderers and thieves” sent to Jewish organisations in Sydney (1/11).

 

 

• Antisemitic email defending Nazi War Criminals and alleging Jews donate “to political parties to get their way” sent to Jewish organisation in Sydney. Another email sent on the same day attacked “the Jew lobby” and saying “Jews are the lowest form of human life” (1/11). A third email said “get over it one jew the jews kill more palestines (sic) very (sic) day . . . jews declared war on Germany so he killed an enemy” (1/11).

 

• Email signed “Jewkiller” sent to Jewish organisation in Sydney. It opened “fuck all Jews your going ti (sic) get wiped off the face of the earth just wait” and repeated “die jews” dozens of times (1/11).

 

• Long conspiracy theory email accusing Jews of manipulating the weather and using mind control sent to Jewish organisation in Sydney (1/11).

 

• Antisemitic email sent to Jewish organisation in Sydney, saying Jews are “racist pigs” and that “Jews run the courts, media, and government” in Australia (1/11).

 

• Email “I hate jews an ugly brutal murdering parasite people, I love germans in 2^nd ww” and much more, including Holocaust denial, sent to Jewish organisation in Sydney (2/11).

 

• Email sent to Jewish organisation in Sydney, calling Jews “evil racist parasites”, saying that “the holocaust is all bullshit a way for greedy jews to get money jews control porn” and more (2/11).

 

• Email “Israel is the new Germany and the jews are the world’s new Nazi” sent to Jewish organisation in Sydney (2/11).

 

• Email claiming Jews had taken over America and “Australia is the next target of the Zionists”, that “Hitler himself was the bastard son of Rothschild who was a Zionist” and “Hitler was told to make believe he hated Jews” sent to Jewish organisation in Sydney (2/11).

 

• Antisemitic email sent to Jewish day school in Sydney, saying Jews “spit in the face of the Australian people”. The email attacked Judaism as a religion as well as alleged Jewish behaviour (3/11).

 

• An antisemitic email was sent to Jewish organisation in Melbourne which told Jews to “get out of our nation” and “to keep your big noses out of the affairs of your kind hosts” (5/11).

• Antisemitic email, alleging Mossad operating in Australia to persecute people seeking justice, sent to Jewish and other organisations in Australia and worldwide, from Adelaide (6/11).

 

• Antisemitic email sent by Denis Mulheron to Jewish organisation in Sydney, including “the holohoax is just jew lies to get money from germany”; “the gallant germans treated jews far better than the jews treat Palestine” and “there will only be world peace when the power of the evil jew is destroyed” (6/11).

 

• Long email sent to Jewish community personality in Sydney, saying Jews “twist the truth with words”, “are carrying on like they always had, “everyone knows kikes have sex on their minds all the time”, “Don’t you know that we had to let you’s (sic) get chucked in the Showers”, “a white who sleeps with a Jewess is a trator (sic) and a weakling” and much more (8/11).

 

• Antisemitic email, on the theme “when a Jew gains access to power in white nations, he shits it down the drain for Jew interests”, sent to Jewish organisation in Sydney (8/11).

 

3.7 In addition to the modes of harassment and intimidation identified above, the Jewish community receives reports on a regular basis of the receipt of text messages, leaflets and other material placed in private letterboxes by hand, the sighting of posters with anti-Jewish themes, stickers on buildings and telegraph poles and other similar forms of dissemination of anti-Jewish propaganda and vandalism. Reports of material in these categories were received in the twelve months in review at a rate less than sixty per cent of  the average and at the sixth lowest rate ever.  Examples of reports in this category include:

 

• Antisemitic sms sent to Jewish man in Melbourne “No wonder they (sent) you lot to the gas chambers . ..” (11/10).

 

• Three offensive messages attacking “parasites” and “Whaling (sic) Jews” left at synagogue in inner Sydney (6/11).

 

• Antisemitic leaflets placed in letterboxes of Jewish families in Melbourne suburbs (7/11).

4  ANTISEMITISM IN THE MEDIA AND THE COMMUNITY

 

4.1 The Australian Jewish community is very much part of mainstream Australia. The facts that two of Australia’s Governors-General have been Jewish, that Jews have been able to participate in the political process from very early times and that military and public figures such as General Sir John Monash are important public icons, gives Australian Jewry a real sense of belonging and creates obstacles to those antisemitic organisations who would seek to present Jews as in some way un-Australian. This does not mean that anti-Jewish prejudice is absent and anecdotal evidence suggests that, within each stratum and sub-strata of society, a minority of Australians hold strong anti-Jewish views or regard Jews as outside acceptable society. That said, over the past decade, there has been strong, bipartisan opposition to antisemitism.  There have been very few causes for concern from the mainstream political parties, although smaller left-wing groups, including sections of the Greens, and some of the fringe right wing groups which participate in electoral politics, have given cause for concern.

 

4.2 Online communities, Facebook and YouTube in particular, have been the venues of crude and intense anti-Jewish prejudice being expressed openly and unashamedly.  While the sum total of reports of each and all such behaviour is not sufficient to suggest that it is rampant, it is nevertheless cause for genuine concern.

 

4.3 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 or of its percentage of the Australian population.  On a range of issues, sections of the mainstream media seek the input and opinions of the Australian Jewish community and coverage on matters of direct concern to Jews is a regular feature in both foreign and domestic affairs coverage.  The coverage is generally responsible and does not unduly play on the “Jewishness” of individuals or of the issues. 

 

4.4 On some subjects, particularly relating to issues resulting from the Nazi Holocaust, the media has been generally sympathetic to the community, while there is less sympathy when it comes to coverage of Israel and the Middle East and where some commentators can be identified who use different criteria for judging Israel than they do for any other state due to Israel’s Jewish population. There has been a disturbing lack of sensitivity, from sections of the artistic community who would generally have no truck with racism, to nuanced antisemitism when this is misrepresented as criticism of Israel. Matters which have some complexity are sometimes simplified by use of stereotypes or racist imagery, giving genuine reason for concern at the way inappropriate analogies are used when discussing matters involving the Jewish community, Israel or individual Jewish people.

 

4.5 In the year in review, antisemitism became the subject of public debate, due to the behaviour of a small group of anti-Israel fanatics, and a number of organisations and associations they influenced, who were calling for boycotts of Israel, Israelis, Israeli produce, and some Australians who are Jewish and supported Israel. If was noted that at the centre of this group were individuals whose promotion of double standards and dishonesty as well as the content of their supporting argumentation, lead to a reasonable conclusion that they were antisemitic or, at best, willing to use antisemitism to promote personal or political agendas.

 

4.6 At some of the anti-Israel rallies and protests, there were overt expressions of antisemitism. Those groups within the far right extremist sub-culture which are overtly antisemitic generally promoted support of anti-Israel boycotts. Slogans associated with the concept of Jews being destroyed in a religious war were recorded from amongst boycott supporters. In a shallow attempt to distract attention from overt antisemitism and antisemitic motivations, some boycott supporters pointed to a handful of individuals and groups involved in anti-Muslim and/or anti-multicultural activity. This intellectually feeble campaign had little public resonance particularly as those opposing the boycott publicly included the most prominent political, social and civic opponents of racism.

 

4.7 While there are a number of small organisations which energetically promote contempt of, hatred towards or confrontation with Jews, despite energy and a degree of creativity they generally had no input into mainstream media or debate. The minor exception was when it came to matters which can be grouped as Jewish religious practises. While for the most part, debates were civil even if not necessarily well-informed, at various times discussions concerning the approval of an “Eruv” (to increase options for observant orthodox Jews) in an area of Sydney’s north shore, on killing of animals for human consumption following Jewish ritual guidelines and the practice of circumcision of infant boys, provided public platforms for those more concerned with deferring, offending or creating difficulties for Jews.

 

4.8 Another ongoing concern has been the, fortunately rare, occasions when mainstream political figures have allowed extremists to appear within the boundaries of respectable political space.

 

4.9 On another level to receiving support from extremist elements were politicians and others, who claim moral and political authority, speaking at events in which racist anti-Jewish agendas were evident but made no obvious efforts to refute or discourage the prejudice, let alone dissociate from it.

 

4.10 Marrickville Council, in Sydney’s inner western suburbs, passed, then subsequently rescinded, a resolution boycotting Israel. Typical of the rhetoric of boycott supporters, a comment in print, from a Greens Party Marrickville Councillor was “I have taken your comments on board and understand that you are part of a strong lobby group that continues to use the holocaust to justify the illegal, unjust and undemocratic actions of the Israeli government”.(Cathy Peters, on J-Wire, 20/1/11). The public debate on this issue included a great deal of ridicule directed at the supporters of the Greens Party-led action and a widely held interpretation of results in the March 2011 NSW State Election to the effect that The Greens suffered electorally for this stance.

 

4.11 It is important to note that this was not an issue of the Jewish community versus opponents of Israel, but rather virtually every mainstream political and public figure, the major political parties, anti-racist and pro-multicultural groups on one side and a hard-core group which included left-wing extremists, overt antisemites and a few others on the side of the boycott.

 

4.12 Discussing the Greens call for a boycott of Israel with Melbourne radio commentator John Faine, prominent Opposition MP Malcolm Turnbull agreed with Andrew Robb MP, saying “There are distinctions. You see the Greens’ objection to Israel is that it is a Jewish state. They object to its quality, its character, its identity as a Jewish state.” adding “In that sense, by objecting to its Jewishness it is in that sense anti-Jewish and so anti-Semitic. Look we can get into a world of fine distinctions here but it is one thing to say you disagree with the Israeli government policy on this or that, but to set out to denigrate and undermine the legitimacy of that state for no reason other than it exists, no reason other than it’s a Jewish state, a Jewish homeland, that is a deadly policy that is the best word I can use to describe it.” (11/4/11, Radio 774 Melbourne).

 

4.13 Towards the latter part of the period in review, a series of resolutions condemning The Greens and others involved in anti-Israel boycotts came before state and federal parliaments. In these debates, a number of MPs attributed antisemitic motives and/or effects to supporters of the boycott. Imre Salusinszky noted, in The Australian, that “NSW Attorney-General Greg Smith has accused the Greens of echoing the worst aspects of historical anti-Semitism in Europe in their bid to ban economic, sporting and cultural contacts with Israel. In a speech at Sydney University today, Mr Smith will argue the party’s support for the BDS campaign reveals “an ugly underbelly of the Australian Greens’ agenda”. “The BDS resolution against Jewish businesses passed in December 2010 by the Marrickville Council and, more recently, violent activist protests against Jewish businesses, in particular Max Brenner chocolate and coffee stores, are eerily reminiscent of Jewish pogroms of earlier times,” he will say. . . Salusinszky noted “Today’s speech comes after Nationals senator Ron Boswell yesterday accused the Greens of trying to justify a “blatantly anti-Semitic boycott” of Max Brenner stores as part of a global protest aimed at Israel. The Greens moved a motion in the Senate yesterday to uphold the right of consumers to boycott businesses on the basis of personal ethical judgments. But the veteran Nationals senator claimed the motion was an attempt to justify pickets on Jewish businesses and, in particular, a protest outside a Max Brenner store this weekend in Brisbane.” (24/8/11)

 

4.14 In one of the more detailed analyses of the phenomenon, Reverend Peter Kurti, a visiting fellow with the Centre for Independent Studies, argued “When a segment of society is targeted by reason of its identity – be it a religious, ethnic or national identity – the right of that segment to live free from fear is compromised. Recently the Greens have refused to back a motion in the Senate condemning efforts by protesters from the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign to bar would-be customers from entering Max Brenner chocolate shops in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Even though Greens leader Bob Brown has distanced himself from the BDS campaign, prominent NSW Greens such as Senator Lee Rhiannon and Marrickville Council Mayor Fiona Byrne continue to support it. Support for the BDS campaign remains a part of official NSW Greens policy. Far from being some sort of shadowy conspirator with the Israeli state, Max Brenner is owned by the Israeli-based Strauss Group and trades legally in Australia. Yet BDS campaigners believe that picking on a legitimate Jewish business in this country is a fair way to influence Israeli government policies in the occupied territories. It is not. But more importantly, the boycott is reminiscent of the treatment of the Jews throughout Europe in the 1930s.” He noted “Defenders of the BDS campaign deny that it is anti-Semitic. They are quick to assert that criticism of Israel is not the same as anti-Semitism. They say they are simply exercising their rights to free speech and protest in a liberal democracy about Israeli government policy. Of course, criticism of Israel is not automatically anti-Semitic. But hatred of the Jews has a long history. Long before the time of Jesus, rejection of the Jewish religion had already turned into irrational loathing for the Jewish people. In the 20th century, this loathing evolved into a hatred of the Jewish state. Since it was founded in 1948, Israel has been under continual attack. To this day, Hamas is committed to replacing Israel with an Islamic state.” Writing “Far from being simply an attempt to urge the Israeli government to change its policy on the occupied territories, the campaign really amounts to a denunciation of the Jewish state itself. After all, if BDS is so concerned about ”basic human rights” and ”violations of international law”, why was it so oddly silent when Syrian forces loyal to President Assad shelled the besieged city of Latakia, forcing more than 5000 Palestinian refugees to flee a refugee camp? And why doesn’t it threaten boycotts against any of the human rights-violating, non-democratic regimes around the world? Fortunately, many of our leading political figures are already on to this. ”They’ve got rocks in their heads,” union leader Paul Howes has said of BDS attempts to equate the chocolate protest with the campaign against apartheid in South Africa. The BDS has crossed the line between a protest which is anti-Israeli policy and one which is anti-Semitic. And by failing to denounce such anti-Semitic protest, the Australian Greens are a party to hateful intolerance. The health of a civil society depends upon a complex web of reciprocal and mutual obligation. Once we become complacent about protests directed at Jewish people and businesses in Australia, the political and civil freedoms we all enjoy are threatened. A new age of intolerance is dawning upon our society. Sadly, the Greens look set to be heralds of that dawn.” (Canberra Times, 6/9/11). 

 

4.15  There are two distinct concerns with the use of Holocaust analogies in political debate. The first is when Jews/Israel/Israelis are labelled Nazis. The second is the invocation of “Nazi” as a generic term of abuse and/or the Holocaust as a synonym for many inappropriately-covered events or situations.

 

4.16 Outside the political fringe groups, the Nazi/Jewish analogy was restricted to a section of the anti-Israel boycotters. This group exploited a handful of self-identified Jews who asserted their opposition to Israel was based on their belonging to the group which collectively experienced the Shoah.

 

4.17 Gerard Henderson (Sydney Morning Herald 5 April 20110) wrote persuasively “Australia is a democratic society noticeable for its relative lack of political violence and relatively low level of ethnically motivated crime. Yet the language in political discourse is at a different level altogether, at times replete with hyperbole and ready comparisons to the most violent dictatorships. Take the past couple of days. On Insiders on Sunday the Herald Sun columnist Andrew Bolt said democracies sometimes make errors and this was the case with those Germans who voted for the Nazi party in 1933. His point was that Australians who vote Greens today also err. The NSW Greens MP Jamie Parker then upped the ante by maintaining Bolt had said that the Greens were like the initiators of Kristallnacht, the Nazis’ 1938 pogrom against the Jews. Last week, in the Federal Court, Bolt was accused by Ron Merkel, QC, of making comments on Aboriginal identity that were akin to anti-Semitic Nuremberg laws introduced by the Nazis in 1935. Merkel declared: ‘The Holocaust started with words and ended with violence.’ It is difficult to imagine a more serious allegation. However, like virtually all attempts to link modern democracies with totalitarian regimes – whether by the extreme right or the extreme left – the comparison fails. As Richard J. Evans documents in The Coming of the Third Reich, the Nazi Party was a violent revolutionary force even before the 1933 election. Germany was not a democracy like Australia in 1933. And the Nazi reign of terror did not start with words. It started with violence. Merkel should know this…Like Bolt or loathe him, it is both ridiculous and ahistorical to link him – directly or by implication – with the Holocaust. In January 1996 Amanda Vanstone drew some comparisons between Paul Keating and the Nazi propaganda chief Josef Goebbels. Last month, the Gillard government parliamentary secretary Mark Dreyfus accused Tony Abbott of engaging in ‘Goebbellian cynicism’ in his anti-carbon tax campaign. Goebbels was more than a mere propagandist. He was into street violence as early as the 1920s and was one of the chief advocates of what was called the ‘final solution’ for the Jews and Gypsies of Europe. Before he died by his own hand, Goebbels murdered his children by poisoning them. Yesterday, in a letter to The Australian, the Melbourne academic Robert Manne linked the journalist Greg Sheridan with ‘Julius Streicher’s notorious anti-Semitic Nazi periodical Der Stuermer”, Manne was responding to a considered piece by Sheridan on why he had changed his mind and become a critic of multiculturalism. Manne is entitled to criticise Sheridan. But his comparison is over the top. In Who’s Who in Nazi Germany, the historian Robert S. Wistrich described Hitler’s friend Streicher as ”corrupt, dishonest, sadistic, obscene and brutal in manner”. Convicted of murder, Streicher was hanged in Nuremberg in 1946. . . In modern Australia there are no Hitlers and no Stalins. These days the only real political violence is found in the abuse of language. This is best treated by a reading of history.”

 

 

4.18 The frequency with which the Holocaust was being invoked in Australian public debate led to The Executive Council of Australian Jewry issuing a Media Release (14/9/11) which noted “Whilst hyperbole is to be expected in any free-flowing political discussion in Australia’s robust democracy, special care is needed to avoid comparing any Australian political leaders or members of parliament to “Nazis” or comparing any political party in Australia to the former Nazi regime in Germany. There is, thankfully, nothing in Australia’s history and experience that is even remotely comparable to the unique evil and horror of the Hitler period in Germany and Europe. Yet the use of inappropriate analogies with Nazism has crept into political discourse in Australia with increasing frequency. This has the effect of trivialising Nazi totalitarianism, particularly in the thinking of younger people who have no personal point of entry into understanding the realities of life under the Nazi jackboot.”, arguing “Some BDS supporters have also been guilty of making inappropriate comparisons with the Nazi era. It is not uncommon to see placards at their demonstrations which depict the Israeli flag with a swastika at its centre in place of the Star of David or contain other images which, as referred to in the Working Definition of Antisemitism, draw comparisons between Israel and the Nazis. Clearly, BDS leaders and supporters are in no moral position to accuse others of lacking rhetorical virtue. Rejecting inappropriate comparisons between the BDS campaign and Nazi Germany does not require us to accept the claim that the BDS protesters are merely opposed to Israeli government policies and actions with regard to the Palestinians, but are not in any way animated by anti-Jewish prejudice. The BDS protests do not have to rise to the level of seriousness of the Nazi era in order, on occasion, to qualify as antisemitic.”

 

 

4.19 The influence of the media should mean that there is a concomitant sense of responsibility. In most cases this responsibility is taken seriously. There are no overtly antisemitic radio stations, newspapers or television broadcasters with a mainstream audience, but there are a number of reasons for concern which have arisen during the reporting period.

 

4.20 In Australian society, a major factor in limiting the growth of racism in general can be unambiguous opposition to it from the mainstream media. It is therefore a matter of concern to all Australians who value a tolerant and democratic society when sections of the mass media disregard this fact.  It should be emphasised that these cases were exceptions to the rule, and that in the overwhelming majority of cases the media outlet involved was far more likely to report fairly, challenge racism and sub-edit offending pieces rather than give open slather to antisemitism.

 

4.21 Given the way in which Australian racists have behaved over a long period, there is considerable evidence to support the contention that when they believe their activities are tolerated or even rationalised and encouraged by sources of authority, which can include the mainstream media, they seem far more likely to act on any antisemitism they already harbour. This is particularly the case when antisemitic views are broadcast on the ABC, as in the minds of racists this signifies that bigotry has received government imprimatur. (in his “Corporate Engagement” Blog, Trevor Cook noted the freedom enjoyed by antisemites on ABC platforms, in a piece “Gaza invasion ‘unleashes’ ABC fruitcakes” (1/1/2009)

 

4.22 There has also been occasional comment within the mainstream media which has given cause for concern. This situation is compounded by the ability of some individuals and organisations to have letters published and talkback calls aired which foment prejudice.  A third concern is lapses in journalistic standards which allow antisemitic comments to be published and broadcast, resulting more from a lack of sensitivity than anti-Jewish intent. Anti-Israel documentaries and news reports have been used by racist organisations and individuals to demonstrate to their followers and potential supporters that anti-Jewish activity had some level of public endorsement.

 

Examples of the types of comment in articles, letters and postings on mainstream platforms, including newspapers and on-line sites of established media organisations, included:

• After an article was published in The Sydney Morning Herald “Save Auschwitz so it can forever challenge our conscience” by Dr Piotr Cywinski, director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial Site,” comments published on the on-line version of the paper included “Should we all just focus on one very small part of human history for one very small group of people? History is full of similar stories of genocide. What is different though is that other groups that have suffered from attempted genocide do not have the power of the media on a global scale to force feed us this time after time. . . This is not about humanity, it’s solely about Jews. This tugging at the emotional heart strings is meant to offset the horror we see perpetrated by Jews against people who fight for their land, land they have occupied for hundreds of years.” (Rob Banks, Stanmore NSW, 10/11/10); and “Auschwitz is a propaganda tool used by Jewish interests to deflect attention away from atrocities committed by the State of Israel against the Palestinians. If it was not then why do we never hear of talk by the Jewish groups of the Killing Fields in Cambodia or mass murder (and in terms of numbers nearly triple those of the “Jewish” Holocaust) of Russians by there own leader, Stalin, or the millions of Armenians killed by the Turks. No it is always the Jewish Holocaust and all other Genocides are not worth a mention. The Jews had the opportunity to be a shining light against repression and genocide around the world because of the horrible events long ago. But instead they continue to use the sympathy of those dark days to mask terrible deeds committed to another marginalised people today. (Zionism Sucks, Frankston 10/11/10)
• Far left activist and low-polling Socialist Alliance electoral candidate Pip Hinman was given space by the ABC Drum to falsely claim “The argument that any criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic is ridiculous but it is routinely used by supporters of Israel to try and silence its critics.” Proving her ignorance, she added “Antisemitisim – a hatred of people of Semitic “race”, which includes Palestinians and some Jews – is of course racist.” (1/4/11). In comments on the article “Marilyn Shepherd” wrote “Why the hell we have to let jews focus only on them and ignore the other 94 million as if they don’t count is beyond me. It was over 70 years ago, you don’t get to dine off it for another 70 years. 9 million kids die of hunger every year, now that is a holocaust a year that is completely ignored. And the nazis were not the only bad guys, many zionists collaborated with them to kill other jews.” (2/4/11). “Mulga Mumblebrain” submitted “The vicious vilification of the Greens illustrated, yet again, how totally the Zionist Lobby in this country controls the media and the major parties. No Israeli atrocity, not even the murder of hundreds of children in Gaza in 2008-9 will draw even a peep from any mainstream politician. Instead we get enthusiastic support for the killers and vehement contempt for the victims. This is a moral disaster of epic proportions made even worse by the fact that it is routinely denied even as it happens in broad daylight, and those with the basic honesty to point out its existence, if not silenced, are subjected to a torrent of vile, vile, abuse.” (3/4/11).

 

 

• In a commentary on a court judgement under Australia’s anti-racism legislation, Binoy Kampmark, in Eureka Street, referred, approvingly, to “(Norman) Finkelstein’s claim about figures in the American Jewish community who have trafficked in a currency of past suffering to obtain a position of worth and favours for Israel“, and claimed that “Holocaust memory” had become “a civic religion” in the USA.

 

 

• In a discussion on Drum Opinion website after the posting of a pro-Israel article, “Murray Alfredson” wrote “Benjamin Netanyahu and doubtless many others take umbrage at the comparison between the State of Israel and Nazi Germany. The analogy is not altogether correct, but there are similarities with both outward behaviour and the more extreme ‘chosen people’ ideologues. … And I speak as one who was totally appalled at the Nazi holocaust (including the ones Jewish folk rarely talk about). I went to school with Jewish kids, some of the horribly traumatised by the Nazis. That the Jewish State is inflicting similar suffering on the Gaza ghetto equally horrifies me.” (7/7/11). “Politically Incorrect” wrote “Wow, I got my comment censored for pointing out similarities between Zionists and Nazi’s for both being forms of nationalism based on the perceived superiority of a race. For the Zionists it’s the Jews and for the Nazis it was the Aryan’s.” (7/7/11).

 

• On the website the National Times, readers supporting an article by Paul McGeough “Controlling the Narrative in Israel and Palestine” wrote “Nothing will ever happen in that part of the world. The Nazis killed Jews for about 8 years. The Israelis have occupied Palestine and killed Palestinians for about 62 years. The West Bank and Gaza are like concentration camps with walls and barbed wire. The US, Britain and AUS are doing nothing because they too have occupied other peoples land and therefore are reluctant to stop the Israelis. The Germans can’t do anything because if they open their mouths the Israelis play the holocaust card. Only the French, of the West, occasionally speak out. The Arabs do nothing because they want Israel to be occupied with Palestine to ensure they are left alone. The UN is helpless as it always is…” (“having fun”, 5/10/10); “Israel will continue to colonise the West Bank, we will continue to watch and do nothing and in 50 years time the West Bank ans Gaza will be reduced to a small reserve fenced in and we will look in shame at the soon to be extinct race that was the Palestinians and applaud Israel at their refinement of the tools that were used against them 65 years ago in Europe.” (Zaid, 5/10/11); “Most of Israelis are people from East Europe and they should return to their native land as per your logic. Apartheid is on its last leg, get used to new situation.” (“agha” (5/10/10). In a later posting “Marilyn” identified herself as Marilyn Shepherd,and “they are and have been committing ethnic cleansing – even today the call is for transfer of arabs, arabs are having their citizenship cancelled arbitrarily and the Exodus was in July 1947, three years after the end of the nazi regime in Europe. I have here a copy of Giles McDonoghs book “After the Reich”, the jews of Europe were simply illegally migrating to Palestine in 1947 to fulfil some Zionist wish list. They had plenty of places to go and had the protection of the west as well throughout Europe. The true catastrophe of that time was the slaughter of up to 9 million German civilians under the Morgenthau plan – a plan Morgenthau believed should end in the deaths of 40 millions Germans in revenge.” (“Marilyn” 5/10/10).

 

 

• In response to an article in The Punch advocating a State of Palestine alongside Israel (23/9/11), “Marilyn Shepherd” wrote “PROBLEM IS THIS Shlomo Sand debunked the whole bullshit story of jews being long term in Palestine. The Palestinians have been there for centuries but the European jews only converted in the 8th century and have zero connection to Palestine. Enough with the fairy tales. The country is Palestine, the jews are illegal immigrarnts.” (23/9/11). “TChong” added “well, as long as the Israelis tell us they have been chosen, we simply have to believe them, otherwise “god” wont be happy.” (23/9/11). “MarkS” wrote “Zionism = Nazism The Nazi’s believed that they were the master race which lead by their fuhrer would conquer the lesser peoples & take the growing space land that was their right. They are also very xenophobic & hated one group of people who lived among them in particular, the Jewish people. Zionists believe that they are the chosen people of god which lead by their messiah will conquer the lesser peoples & take the Promised Land that is their right. They are also very xenophobic & hate one group of people who live among them in particular, the Palestinian people.” (23/9/11).

 

 

 

4.23 On the death of long-time antisemitic blogger and talk-back radio caller Faruque Ahmed, Sun-Herald columnist Alex Mitchell wrote of the deceased antisemitic campaigner “Many journalists make the mistake of regarding their contracts as their friends. They aren’t, and this error leads to ethical and professional calamities, especially as deadlines approach and news executives become twitchy. That said, there are occasions when a contract does become a friend. It happens when the bond has gone beyond the exchange of information and reaches a level of personal affection based on shared values. Sydney taxi driver Faruque Ahmed was my contact and my friend.” (2/1/11). As noted in Australia/Israel Review, amongst Ahmed’s writings was an item “Who Deserves the Gas Chamber?” (Title “Zio-Nazis, Moderate Muslims Muslim Women Priests and others). He also called for “the Jews” to be denounced for “conspiring to murder Jesus”, “Harlot, Mishnah and Sex with Children” and “Rabbi’s teachings on sex with infants and animals” (Australia/Israel Review, March 2011).

 

4.24 With the period in review including the tenth anniversary of the “9/11” attacks there was some entry also saw the entering in to public debate of so-called “truthers“, advocates of a conspiracy theory which posits that the September 11 2001 terrorist attacks were myths and that governments and//or other evil agencies perpetrated a hoax for devious political ends. This trope has been current for some time in sections of the far-right and to an extent within Islamic circles, with both of these generally having Jews as central or significant conspirators.

 

 

5 MUSLIM AND ARAB COMMUNITIES

 

5.1 Australia’s Arabic-speaking community is large and vibrant. Jews are not a major issue or pre-occupation for this community, but when Jewish matters are considered it can give rise to concerns, particularly when discussion of the Middle East departs from vigorous political debate and enters the realm of religious and racial stereotyping. The Arabic speaking community is religiously, nationally and culturally diverse and has grown through a number of waves of immigration. The largest group consists of Australians of Lebanese descent, and this includes a substantial number of Christians, as do the Arabic-speakers from Egypt, Iraq and the areas of Mandatory Palestine.

 

5.2  There is even greater diversity amongst Australians who practise Islam. There are wide gulfs in belief, cultures, integration and attitudes towards Anglo-Australian culture. A variety of attitudes towards Jews is identifiable, with the purview of this section the antisemitism present in this segment of the Australian population.

 

5.3 The Muslim personality in Australia who has the greatest notoriety for promoting and justifying anti-Jewish slanders is Sheikh Taj Eldinne El-Hilaly, an imam associated with the Lebanese Muslim Association, who for more than a decade had used the title “Mufti of Australia”. In 1988, in a public function at the University of Sydney, Hilaly had, in the course of presenting Jews as the existential enemies of the rest of humanity, called Jews the cause of all wars and accused Jews of using sex and deviancy to control the world. Even prior to these comments, he had been criticised for insulting and derogatory comments concerning women and Christian Lebanese. The story of his Australian residence and the failure of otherwise responsible community figures to dissociate from him is long and complex, and can not be properly canvassed in this report, but it was a cause of considerable concern for a number of years.

 

 

5.4 On October 21, 2009,  Hilaly was eclipsed for notoriety, temporarily at least when”Sheikh Haron / Ayatollah Manteghi Boroujerdi” of Sydney, was charged with seven counts of using a postal or similar service to menace, harass or cause offense.  In The Australian (22/10/09) report of the charges, it noted “Three days after their son was killed by a Taliban rocket attack in Afghanistan, the Sher family received a phone call.  The caller, a woman who identified herself as Sister Amirah, asked if she could send a letter offering condolences over the death of 30-year old Private Greg Sher, who had served with the Sydney-based 1^st Commando Regiment.  Numb with grief and fielding dozens of telephone calls a day, the family agreed, then thought no more of their caller.  Until the letter arrived.  “A Jewish man who kills innocent Muslim civilians is not a pig, he is a thousand times worse,” the letter said.  “Some people don’t eat the meat of a pig, they are dirtier than pig.  What’s the point if some people don’t eat pork while their behaviour is worse than dirty animals?  Why should we call a pig a hero?””  This issue was revised in the media in the period in review as “Haron” appealed his sentence.

 

5.5 Another prominent personality, Sheikh Feiz Mohammed of the Global Islamic Youth Centre in Sydney, gained notoriety in 2008, when he sold and posted lectures and videos on YouTube, such as one “In it the Sheik tells a parable about a Jewish man who deflowers and impregnates a Muslim virgin only to kill both her and the baby.  The Jew then renounces his faith in a deal with Satan and is crucified by the girl’s three Muslim brothers.  He goes on to compare modern western society with a stinking toilet.” The Sunday Telegraph (13/3/11) reported his re-emergence: “A radical Muslim preacher – who has likened Jews to pigs, denounced Christians and urged children to die for their religion – is teaching Islam to young followers in Sydney after years in exile in the Middle East. Despite Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd previously telling Sheik Feiz Mohammed never to return to Australia, the firebrand is delivering sermons at the Ahlus Sunnah Wal Jama’ah centre in Auburn. The article noted “The Sydney born cleric and former champion boxer created a furore in 2007 when his Death Series DVDs were uncovered by the The Daily Telegraph. In them he likened Jews to “pigs” and urged Muslim children to become martyrs. “Teach them this: There is nothing more beloved to me than wanting to die as a mujahid (holy warrier). Put in their soft, tender hearts the zeal of jihad and a love of martyrdom.” The Sheik said in one taped sermon. In another lecture, he said “every single non-Jew is a slave created to serve the Jew“, adding that “their time will come like every other evil person’s time will come”.

 

5.6 Over a number of years, there has been a cross-pollination of ideology and material between some sections of the Australian Muslim community and the extreme right wing political organisations. Racist groups such as the Australian League of Rights have hosted speakers such as Keysar Trad of the Islamic Friendship Association, due to the perception that Jews and/or Israel is a common, serious enemy.  In 2007, The Sydney Forum, arguably the most significant annual gathering of the Australian far right, featured as a speaker anti-Israel, left-wing polemicist Rihab Charida, who spoke in the company of a number of anti-multicultural extreme right wingers, on the subject of Middle East politics, prior to becoming the Australian correspondent for Iran’s notorious Press TV.

 

5.7 Blatant antisemitism, including promotions of The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, was current on the web-site of The Mission Islam during the period under review. One of the pages on Mission Islam linked directly to the home page was “New World Order”, which identified “Freemasons / Zionists” as the “Dajjal“. It linked to a number of overtly antisemitic audio files such as “the lies of the Jews“, “USA’s Rulers: The Jews in the US Government. There’s so many of them it’s like a cockroach infestation. Add some to your hit-list”, “The Truth About the Talmud” and “Who is the Evil Dajjal (the anti-Christ)”.  It not only links to the overtly antisemitic www.jewwatch.com site but “The Truth About the Talmud” ,for example. contained a list of fraudulent and out-of-context statements designed to portray Judaism as ridiculous and violently hostile to all non-Jews.  Under the sub-heading, “Sick and Insane Teachings of the Talmud“, the following appears: “Yebamoth 63a. States that Adam had sexual intercourse with all the animals in the Garden of Eden; Yebamoth 63a. Declares that agriculture is the lowest of occupations.; Sanhedrin 55b. A Jew may marry a three year old girl (specifically, three years “and a day” old); Sanhedrin 54b. A Jew may have sex with a child as long as the child is less than nine years old; Kethuboth 11b. “When a grown-up man has intercourse with a little girl it is nothing.”; Yebamoth 59b. A woman who had intercourse with a beast is eligible to marry a Jewish priest.  A woman who has sex with a demon is also eligible to marry a Jewish priest; Abodah Zarah 17a.  States that there is not a whore in the world that the Talmudic sage Rabbi Eleazar has not had sex with.”; Other sub-headings included “Genocide Advocated by the Talmud” and “Moses Maimonides: Advocate of Extermination“.

 

5.8 Anti-Jewish books, games and DVDs available at book stores serving the Islamic community were an on-going area of concern. While books promoting terrorism in an overt manner were subject to official censorship, anti-Jewish material can only be dealt with under the various State and territory anti-racism legislation and these laws are generally not well-framed to deal with this type of situation. Despite public criticism, including some from prominent Islamic groups, some Muslim bookshops continue to stock material such as copies of The Protocols of Zion.

5.9  The Lakemba mosque, in western Sydney sold copies of the inflammatory anti-Semitic book The Protocols of the Elders of Zion on the same weekend it opened its doors to the wider community to dispel some of the myths surrounding Islam. The Australian reported  (11/4/11) “On a large table in the middle of the room was a jumble sale of books ranging from early childhood education to cookbooks, including a couple of stacks of The Protocols among the piles of Islamic literature. When asked by The Australian why the mosque was selling The Protocols, the bookshop volunteer hurriedly grabbed the books and said he would take them off the table. …A spokesman for the mosque and organiser of the open day, Diaa Mohamed, was surprised to learn The Protocols was for sale in the bookshop, which he said was stocked by volunteers who brought in books to sell. “No one really knows what’s in that bookshop. It’s more of a holding space and a lot of the books are just dropped off by volunteers. There’s no stocklist; it’s just to raise money for the mosque,” he said. Mr Mohamed said he hoped the sale of The Protocols would result in organisers exerting more control over the bookstore and its stock. . . The books were also on sale on Saturday, and one visitor told The Australian he was enjoying the ”harmonious” open day until he spotted copies of The Protocols.” Similarly, at the Multicultural Festival and Fair (MEFF) which included many positive themes of harmony, dialogue and understanding, antisemitic books were sold at a stall hosted by the Islamic Bookstore, and visitors were directed to its website, on which a prominently advertised title is “Dajjal: The Jewish King“. Another stall advertised the AlKauthar movement, with visitors directed to a website which included the following under the heading “Zionists and Jews”: “Assalamu Alaykum Is it possible that the Zionists and the Jews are two different enemies and there will be two different wars, one against the Zionist/Israel and the other against Jew? According to the “Coming of the Mahdi” – First there will be a war where the Romans and Muslims fight together against a common enemy in Philasteen. The enemy seem to be the Zionists, but it seems that the war against the Yahood is still going to happen when the Dajjal comes out. The Dajjal will be followed by the Jews of Asphahan in Iran… The Mahdi Army will fight the Dajjal Army and every stone and tree will tell the believers that there is a Jew behind. Only a certain type of tree will protect the Jew behind. This is a clear indication that the Zionists and the Yahood are different and that there will be a war against the Zionists before the Mahdi and Muslims will be victorious, then there will be war against the Iranian Persian Yahood/Pharisees in the time of Dajjal as describe above.” (MEFF was held on 4/9/111).

5.10 The newspaper Crescent Times, which has print and internet versions and includes a number of paid advertisements and also contributions from well-known Muslims in Australia has  carried extreme anti-Israel commentary and also items such as the article  (issue 15 January 2010), in which Adam Parker quoted Matthais Chan and Neturei Karta, defended Holocaust denial and claimed “all is not what it seems to be” regarding the Holocaust or “any other matter which favours the Zionist”.   The Crescent Times has also published an article by Jamal Daoud which argued “The repeated vicious attacks on multiculturalism from the major parties, combined with no meaningful challenge to them by any parliamentary parties, have been constant features in Australian politics.  In the absence of equal representation of non-anglo-saxon and non Judeo-Christian communities, the attacks on ethnic and religious minorities will continue unabated.”  (March 2010); a piece by Rashid Alshakshir which asserted “The suffering the Jews experienced at the hands of Hitler doesn’t make it acceptable for them to recreate a Holocaust on others.  The use of the same victim card has become boring, and frankly embarrassing for the Jews.  While they try to convince the world they were the victims in the past, people are realising they are currently the perpetrators.  As Mordechai Vanunu, former technician at the Dimona nuclear plant in Israel said, “[Israel] used to remind the world ‘holocaust’ every hour, every day, but in fact Israel have a holocaust factory.”  (March 2010). The Crescent Times (issue 24, October 2010), published an article by “Melbourne-based civil engineer and community activist” Hasan Alshakshir which claimed “Forty one years ago, in August 1969, four thousand square metres of Al-Aqsa mosque and the unique pulpit were burned down by an Australian Jew from Grenfell, NSW by the name of Denis Michael Rohan. It took 35 years to refurbish Al-Aqsa and 13 years to rebuild a pulpit similar to the one destroyed.”; “Burning one of three holiest places for Muslims was not the last crime; massacres, land confiscations, turning mosques into night clubs and cattle shelters, uprooting trees, eradicating historic graveyards and landmarks and demolishing houses, shortage of drinkable water, refusal to issue travelling permits without the risk of loss of ‘right to return’ and exile of more than eight million Palestinians. To forge history and wipe out the Palestinian identity, the Jewish Israelis stole the stones of demolished buildings in the Moroccan suburb in Palestine and other demolished ancient houses to build fake places; they engraved Jewish symbols and removed any marks that would indicate the material’s connection to Islamic history.” And “Zionism used the religious dimension to attract Jews from all over the world to participate in institutionalising their occupation and strengthening their government on the invaded land. They also successfully managed to shift the church’s belief. The Christians believed for centuries that the Jews murdered Jesus. It was against Catholic teachings to establish an Israeli state, thus it was hard for the Vatican to recognise the Israeli state. The Catholics believed that the Jews’ high status was stripped from them by God and given to the Catholics, and as punishment of their sins, they were scattered. It was not until 1994 when official relations started with Israel.”

 

5.11 The internet discussion forums on the Aussie Muslims site had many examples of anti-Jewish threads and contributions in the period in review. These included:

 

• In a discussion on AussieMuslims on a forest fire in Israel, “ThRilNs” wrote “Only a small number of jews are free from Allah’s curse. The majority of them are wicked.” (3/12/10) and “ISCIAE” wrote “look at your evil Jewish pirate people” (4/12/10).

 

• In a discussion on AussieMuslims “australian flag”, “Muwahidah” wrote “has anyone else noticed the jewish star inside the large star of the australian flag? When gillard speaks on the news in front of the flag u can see it. this is the first time ive noticed it, has it always been there?” (23/2/11).

 

• In a discussion on AussieMuslims on Libya, “Falah” wrote “the protocols of the elders of Zion say that Gaddafi must fall for the sake of Israeli supremacy.” (6/3/11).

 

• In a discussion on AussieMuslims “Facebook shuts down page calling for intifada”, “At Mawtu Qareeb” wrote “Other pages are left on FB even when they go against policy. I really hate this bias displayed and cowering to what the Jews want, whilst pages which incite hatred and intolerance against Muslims are left on FB.” (1/4/11).

 

• In a discussion on AussieMuslims, “Love the Israelis”, “abdraheim” wrote “its sad how delusional some can be. the problem with the Jewish supremacists is that thtye feel they have god given rights over all other nations, like a master over serfs to be used and gotten rid of at their will. no amount of “love” and even peace will ever work. there is a reason why they have been run out of just about ever country they have ever lived in just about every century since before even the birth of the prophet Jesus and it will continue until Gods judgement falls upon the neck of every last one of them. guess the sad reality is that they know their fate will eventually catch up with them but they are to far gone in their arrogance to see clearly” (8/4/11), “sarah” wrote “WE DON’T HATE JEWS, we don’t hate anyone, in face the prophet was most kind to them and he never hated anyone, we just don’t LOVE THEM. go ask any jew if they love hitler? quite frankly the jews are a million times worse than hitler, the jews are a hitler remake to us musllims, you just don’t know/hear about what they do to us (unlike the continuous holocaust history we are taught in school over and over and over and over again)” (8/4/11).

 

 

5.12 Muslim Village Forums also published a number of threads which included antisemitic comments. Some examples of material, which it should be noted were often the subject of responses by other participants on the forums, are:

 

• In a discussion on Muslim Village “Figured I’d Ask But I Think I Know The Answer”, “AdnanUK” wrote “The belief that Jesus Christ PBUH was sacrificed for the sins of people, is an idea that is totally rejected in Islam. Firstly as you are already most probably aware, the Quran declares that Jesus Christ PBUH was not killed, nor crucified. He was sent as a test to the jews and the vast majority of them failed this test, therefore, it was made to appear to them that he was crucified. They then boasted how they killed him, and for them this was confirmation that he could not have been the messiah. The still await the coming of their messiah and with the jews recent return to the holy land to reclaim it as their own and the establishment of a jewish state, the arrival of the false messiah in this imposter state of Israel is imminent.” (9/12/10).

 

• In a discussion on Muslim Village “Islam and Jews” “Ahmad E” wrote “Allah has cursed the Jews in the Quran many times, for their disobedience to him and for the murder of countless Prophets and Messengers he sent to them, this is after he gave them many bounties such as a kindom that the world had never seen i.e the kindom of David (AS) and Solomon (AS), he saved them from Pharoah and literal spit the eRed Sea to give them access and after that they left the message and worshiped a golden calf, he rained for them food and kept a cloud over them to give shade, why are the Jews so deviant? Also can you please tell me why do the Jews hate Jesus (AS) for? Jesus (AS) was one of the mightiest Messengers sent down by Allah (SWT)? He was also of the children of Israel, like you, why the hatred?” (17/12/10), “AdnanUK” added “jewish people at present are being deceived by Israel on a massive scale. This is the most unholy godless state that the Earth has ever witnessed, and yet many jews feel it is their right to move and live there. As far as the hatred towards Jesus Christ PBUH, well that is highlighted in the Quran first at them refusing to accept him as the “Messiah”, and then at their attempt to kill him, after which they openly boasted “we killed the Messiah”, as if to mock. I think personally God has made the test quite easy in this respect – Israel is so utterly violent, ruthless and arrogant, that anyone with a shred of humanity inside them can see something is badly wrong, it couldn’t be any less like the holy Israel of David and Solomon PBUT. Finally, in the Quran God has promised that just as in the past, if the jews return to the holy land with their wickedness, He will return with His punishment. History is soon going to repeat itself.” (19/12/10). “Ahmad E” responded “The Jews claim the Jesus was not born miraculously and that his mum Mariam was raped by a Roman soldier and thus his father was a man…The Jews attempted to kill Jesus by telling the Romans that he claimed he was a King, had not God saved him he would have been crucified.” (20/12/10).

 

• In a Muslim Village discussion “The Middle East Post Mubarak”, “Nowzad” wrote “Yes it can be very easily proven as to who controls the media and the banking system. Do a search on who owns all of the major newspapers and banks, and you will see the majority are pro-zionist and/or Jews. The majority of media outlets, banks, and large corporations around the world donate billions of dollars (in total) to Israel annually. Their allegiance is to their master – Israel.” (13/2/11); “And yes we believe that many Jews will take the Antichrist (Dajjal) as being their Messiah. It seems as though whenever you don’t like someones comments regarding Jews or Israel then you label it as antisemetic and/or conspiracy theory. Is that all you got? Is it learnt behaviour or part of your DNA as a Jew to constantly be calling people antisemetic? Your labelling is a really cheap way of engaging at an intellectual level. How about being abit more articulate and giving me a proper rebuttal?” (14/2/11); “May I add, it seems the religion of Judaism is primarily focused on a piece of land rather than other fundamentals such as perfecting ones creed, worship, etc. You’re wrong … Semites does in fact include the Arabs too. … I can understand that your people have to always be an exception to the rest of humanity because you’re supposed to be “The Chosen Ones” – a concept which historically meant being the best example unto mankind – not somehow better than the rest of us where you deserve special privileages. Its a fact that Jews control the majority of the media and banks so why would that be antisemetic if it’s a true fact? Have you ever heard of the ‘Big Six? Its an ‘Ownership Chart’ of 6 Jewish companies who own and control 96% of the worlds media. Here they are: General Electric, Walt Disney, News Corp, Time Warner, Viacom and CBS. Have you ever heard of the International Banking Cartel? A group of Red-Jewish family owned banks who own and control some of the worlds major banks including the U.S Federal Reserve Bank which is a consortium of 9 Jewish-owned and associated banks with the Rothschild at the head: Rothschild Banks of London and Berlin; Lazard Brothers Banks of Paris; Israel Moses Seif Banks of Italy; Warburg Bank of Hamburg and Amsterdam; Lehman Brothers of NY; Kuhn, Loeb Bank of NY (Now Shearson American Express); Goldman, Sachs of NY; National Bank of Commerce NY/Morgan Guaranty Trust; Hanover Trust of NY.” (15/2/11). “Shenayeshan” wrote “It seems as though Jews on the whole feel they are entitled to this sort sympathy and in turn a free run to do things off the back of the Holocaust yet they themselves are participating in practices that are as bad as (if not sometimes worse)….how is it they can allow themselves to remind us in the big wide world what they have been through yet find it okay to then perpertrate such violence and savagery upon another downtrodden people? Of everyone they shouldknow better they should be the ones striving to say NEVER AGAIN, but not just for themselves, for everyone….it reflects a sad truth really doesnt it that when once they were abandonded theynow use that pain as a tool to get what they want….and the truth is so many people in society do this now dissregard others for the sake of only themselves.” (17/2/11). “Xmarksthespot” wrote “The support from Israel for Mubarak is because his mother was a Jew.” (18/2/11) and “5. 100% worse than Nazi’s. Their reign of terror lasted how long in comparison to Israel’s reign of terror?. 6. You have some nerve claiming that after watching the way Jews and Israeli’s behave towards other people. Post no 918 of this thread to refresh your memory of how much care you have: http://muslimvillage…346#entry922346 Regarding Mubarak’s mother, you’re ignorant if you didn’t know this. Every Arab in the world knows this. Genealogy is something Arabs take very seriously and everyone knows his asl is a Jewish mother. Kind of makes sense the way he acted though now…all these years he was only playing out what was in his blood.” (18/2/11).

 

• In a Muslim Village discussion “Racism, Rabbinical and Otherwise”, “Nowzad” wrote “The Zonnist lobby has wrapped its tenticles around the world” (21/2/11) and “But Jews still see themselves better than the rest of humanity because you believe you’re a “Chosen People.” (3/3/11).

 

• In a discussion on Muslim Village on the Marrickville Council boycott of Israel, “Nowzad” submitted forged “Talmud” quotes “Libbre David 37: “If a Jew be called upon to explain any part of the rabbinic books, he ought to give only a false explanation. Who ever will violate this order shall be put to death.” Schabouth Hag.6d: “Jews may swear falsely by use of subterfuge wording.” Szaaloth-Utszabot, The Book of Jore Dia 17: “A Jew should and must make a false oath when the Goyim asks if our books contain anything against them.” (26/4/11), then promoting Michael Hoffman as an expert on Jews. “Ahmad E” wrote “Jews are powerful, the evidence is there, if the council boycotted any other nation say Iran, the Prremier would NOT have threatened to sack the council. How is it that a terrorist apartheid state such as Israel gets away with killing all those people and get away with it all the time?” (26/4/11). “Nowzad” added “It just seems that whenever a person (Non-Jew/Goyim) criticizes Israel or Jews then they are labelled as Antisemetic and/or Jew-Haters respectively.” (27/4/11). “JPritchard” submitted “The thing I don’t like about Jews, is that they are not really a race, not really a religion, and not really a culture. It’s all just a mess. You can’t be a jew (religion) without being a jew (race) but to be a jew (race) you must also be a jew (culture) then for some stupid reason you have to live in Israel (even though god said you can’t) the whole thing is just a load of crap if you ask me. It’s just people who want land for nothing. No other religion in the world denotes itself to only one race. The fact is that jews (race) and not really jews (religion), the average jew (race) on the street is an atheist not a jew (religion). (27/4/11). “Nowzad” wrote “My understanding is that Jews are still under the curse of God and not permitted to return to Israel until the Messiah establishes Jerusalem. The other point is that the God of the Jews seems to be only interested in realestate to contrast to developing a moral and just society. The Jews have also historically worshipped a golden calf after Moses had returned from Mount Sinai. (27/4/11).

 

• In a discussion on “Dutch Anti Muslim Politician To Visit Australia”, “Kostas” wrote “We know the legend says 6Million, I know of it, you know of it, everyone knows of it including our children. Auschwitz had a sign once “4 Million Killed Here” which was later revised down to “1.5 Million” for their new sign, and now there;s no sign claiming a figure. The only court case I know of where the question of ZYKLON B used to poison people, was in the case Of “holocaust Denier” Ernst Zundel in Canada, he showed with forensic evidence that we’ve been had. The so called Gas Chambers are “reconstructed” and Spielburg’s film on the Jewish holocaust has been shown to be a scam too. It has been abundantly demonstrated that Eli Wiesel is a scam artist. And there are no Nazi “documents” confirming a policy to exterminate Jews, except ONE which is loaded with German spelling and grammar mistakes on paper and with seals marks which the Americans would have had in abundant supply after Germany’s occupation. It’s a crime to discuss this issue in a critical and objective manner in many countries, and other countries have deportation agreements with those countries in turn so there is, apart from evidence, a suppression of information, and yet the information is out there. But I can’t be bothered much with this issue, I’m over it. See Erst Zundel, if they haven;t killed him yet, as they’ve tried on numerous occasions. Or David Irving. (7/9/11). Kostas posted overt holocaust denial also in other places in the same thread and in a subsequent thread “Exposed: Today Tonight’s False Depiction of Muslims” wrote “How is it that the men he mentions are in jail for questioning the Jewish holocaust. Frederic Toben of South Australia…yes that’s right South Australia was jailed…and for what rues…Not holocaust denial per-se but for failing to obey a court order by removing items from his website which were offensive to Jews. That’s right boys and girls! He broke no laws per-se (as I understand it), but a resourced body went after him complaining of taking offence, and so the Judge ordered Toben to desist; to desist from nothing illegal per-se…But he didn’t; so he did time, and I’ve read it cost him over $50G’s to boot for legal fees.” (24/9/11).

 

5.13 It must be emphasised that the Jewish and Islamic communities in Australia enjoy a generally positive relationship and there is little evidence that anti-Jewish sentiment is widespread. At the public, leadership level, Muslim and Jewish Australians regularly meet, and promote understanding and tolerance.  Joint declarations supplement stand-alone condemnations of racism and discrimination.  Even in times of high tension, such as in the wake of comments by a lecturer in Australia as a guest of Jewish organisations, that Muslim migration be selectively capped, the overall relationship remained positive.

 

5.14 The Muslim community includes individuals active in opposing antisemitism, in one or more of its manifestations. While some organisations, such as the followers of the Gulen movement, devote energy and resources to interfaith dialogue, others are involved in educating other Muslims about antisemitism.  A good example in the period in review was the following “On the web-log Austrolabe, which hosts debates about public affairs matters, a posting “The Truth about the Truth about the Talmud”, in August, addressed one stream of antisemitism in discourse amongst Muslims. It began with the quotation “The Jews are called human beings, but the non-Jews are not humans. They are beasts.” and continued ” Heard that before? According to numerous websites, including this Australian Islamic website, it’s from the Jewish holy book. It forms part of a collection of quotes, reportedly sourced from Jewish religious texts, that are supposed to show a Jewish contempt for non-Jewish life. Needless to say, these quotes have been given a good airing in recent weeks on mailing lists and other forums as some sought to explain the Israeli attack on Lebanon by referencing Jewish sacred texts and associated exegesis. The problem, of course, is that whilst the quote makes a compelling caption for some anti-Israeli posters, it doesn’t exist in the text to which it is referenced. As British blogger Kashif discovers: ‘ I started off with this quote, according to the article, found in Baba Mezia 114b. “The Jews are called human beings, but the non-Jews are not humans. They are beasts.” Hmm… i thought, i can’t find that anywhere here. Nevermind, could be a simple mistake; onto the next one: “Sexual intercourse between Gentiles is like intercourse between animals” in Sanhedrin 74b. Again searching through the text, i found nothing that even remotely sounded like the above.’ Kashif points to an interesting quote-by-quote discussion of the document which is worth reading. It seems that all of these supposed quotes are fabricated, mistranslated or taken grossly out of context. The irony is that these are the very things that Muslims ¬ quite rightly ¬ complain about. Particularly in discussion of issues such as jihad, the marriage of the Prophet Muhammad (saw) to Aisha, the status of non-Muslims under Islamic law, or al-wala’ wa’l bara’, it is not uncommon for those with an axe to grind to take verses of the Qu’ran or hadith out of context or apply to them a meaning that does not exist in the classical texts. In discussing other religions, we should make sure that we apply the same standards that we would expect others to apply to our own faith. As Kashif reminds us: The embarrassment was compounded afterwards when i realised that you could find this article on Muslim sites. Where is the research from Muslims before sticking this stuff online? Verifying the authenticity of what we communicate to others is not only part of our religious heritage (the isnad/chain of narration) but it is also a command from Allah: “O you who believe! if an evil-doer comes to you with a report, look carefully into it, lest you harm a people in ignorance, then be sorry for what you have done.” al-Qur’an 49:6.”

 

6  ANTI-ISRAEL FRINGE GROUPS

 

6.1  The volume of antisemitism in public discourse, particularly in the wake of the 2001 and 2002 terrorist bombings, Israel’s battles with Hezbollah and Hamas in mid-2006 and Operation Cast Lead in December 2008/January 2009, had few precedents in Australia.  The most disturbing feature of the debate in Australia on the Middle East was the way in which overt anti-Jewish comments went uncriticised by those who proclaim that their criticism of Israel is in no way related to criticism of Jews. Paul Sheehan reported that at a Melbourne anti-Israel rally (4/1/09) signs included “Chosen dirty people of the earth”, but that these were not treated as problematic by most participants.

 

6.2 During the period in review most of the examples of antisemitism featuring in these debates was in the course of discussing the “boycott” strategy from some anti-Israel activists. The generally low volume of anti-Jewish commentary when Israel’s behaviour was a focus of media attention would be counter-intuitive if one accepts the view that antisemitism is a result of, or primarily due to, Israel’s actions.  The reality is that these issues prompted little antisemitism beyond that emanating from those individuals and organisations who already were hostilely disposed towards Jews and whose jaundiced understanding of reality apparently led them to conclude that these were not episodes of particular note.

 

6.3 As noted above, there were a number of examples of the use of the historically ridiculous analogy of Israel with Nazi Germany, using Jewish suffering under the Nazis as a stick with which to beat Australian Jews who support Israel’s right to protect the security of its citizens. A previously unprecedented volume of letters to editors and other commentary of this nature had come while Israel was fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon in mid-2006 and the situation reached new depths in January 2009. In the period in review, this appeared on a number of occasions.

 

6.4 Some of the activities of concern, where anti-Israel activism went beyond civil debate to stereotyping, demonisation and antisemitism were: Postings on the Australian Friends of Palestine AFOPA Facebook page, which included”Israel’s illegal wall creates Apartheid conditions, imprisons Palestinians, cuts them off from the rest of the world, denys them basic human rights” (11/7/11); Zionists are a Satan worshipping Cult! www.youtube.com To help you understand the difference between the “true Israel” and the Synagogue of Satan.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wOvWR_1-qiU”   (10/7/11) a link to a site containing: “Barauch Levy 1928: “In this NEW WORLD ORDER, ISRAEL will furnish ALL leaders without opposition. Governments of the different peoples forming the world republic will FALL INTO THE HANDS OF THE JEWS. It will then be possible for the JEWISH RULES (bankers) to abolish private property everywhere to make use of the resources of earth. Thus the promise of the TALMUD be fulfilled, in which is said when the Messianic time is come, JEWS will have ALL the property of the WHOLE WORLD in their hands” The American Hebrew, Sept 10, 1920: “The Bolshevik revolution (COMMUNISM) in Russia was the work of JEWISH brains, of JEWISH dissatisfaction, of JEWISH PLANNING, whose GOAL is TO CREATE a NEW ORDER in the WORLD (NWO). What was performed in so excellent a way in Russia. Thanks to JEWISH brains, because of Jewish dissatisfaction & BY JEWISH PLANNING, shall also, through the same Jewish mental & physical forces, become a reality ALL OVER THE WORLD.” ZIONISM=SATANISM” and Postings on Students for Justice in Palestine UTS Facebook page, which included “i don’t give a fuck, jews are pricks!!!!! (12/7/11), with the moderators declaring “Bigoted comments of any nature have been consistently deleted” an hour later.

 

6.5 The anonymous writer of Middle East Reality Check (MERC) regularly used or hosted extreme and offensive rhetoric, for example,

 

• In comments on the MERC blog following an item attacking criticism of BDS, Syd Walker attacked a critic of MERC writing “1/ In your big-minded opinion, is Australia doing enough for the God-approved people of the Chosen Land? (forgive me if my words are clumsy; like MERC, I am only a bear of small-to-medium-sized brain).” (16/1/11). MERC responded “Yes, Syd. Im glad you know your place. As Rabbi Ovadia Yosef recently fatwa-ed: “Goyim were born to serve us. Without that they have no place in the world – only to serve the people of Israel…Why are gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat.” (Yosef: Gentiles exist only to serve Jews, Jonah Mandel, Jerusalem Post, 18/10/10)” (16/1/11) and Syd Walker added “This is Gilad Atzmon’s take: And What About the Sperm? Even though Gilad’s dad had the right stuff, he’s not too sure about it all, good on him:-) Yet one has to pity the Israeli leadership really, because chosen is never quite chosen enough it seems – especially if the babies are chosen but dark-skinned. They are working on that problem scientifically, according to reports.” (16/1/11).

 

• In a post “Mugged by the Analogy”, MERC referred to “Israel’s Nazi-style blockade of Gaza.”, adding “How, other than ‘Nazi-style blockade’, would you describe a deliberate policy of ghettoisation and enforced malnourishment reminiscent of the Warsaw Ghetto?” (2/7/11). Despite the absence of any reference to any individual, “Anonymous” added “Tis ol’ Mark Scopus Freiburg. Don’t u think u should give him a rebaptism as an Australian, unfortunately, the moyle cant go to work for a second time, or can he?” (3/7/11).

 

• In a post “Holocaust Studies Make the Grade” MERC wrote “A campaign by elements of the Israel lobby to have the Jewish component of the Nazi genocide, aka “The Holocaust”, included in Australia’s national history curriculum” and “Ah, but “Pratt Foundation chief executive and AJN columnist Sam Lipski earlier this year cited concerns about how the syllabus might be delivered if the Shoah wasn’t contextualised. ‘Without also studying who the Jews were, how they began, and what they’ve had to say about themselves and to the world over 3 millennia, a generation of Australians will gain a misleading picture’, Lipski wrote in an AJN column.” (ibid). OK, Sam, we fully understand your concern, and you’ll be pleased to hear that we’re seriously considering dropping the history syllabus altogether and replacing it with Jewish/Israel studies. Seriously though, if dunum by dunum, goat by goat is your mantra and modus operandi, can enough ever really be enough? Not that I’m the only one ever to have had reservations about The Holocaust being used to promote Israel. Even acclaimed Nazi hunter and Zionist Simon Wiesenthal, in Jerusalem for the 1961 trial of Eichmann, had initial misgivings: “Wiesenthal did not object to the tendency to present the extermination of the Jews as a vindication of Zionist ideology and as justification for the existence of the State of Israel. But Israel’s goal of gaining a monopoly over the legacy of the Holocaust aroused a sense of discomfort in him.” (Simon Wiesenthal: The Life & Legends, Tom Segev, 2010, p 153)”

 

• In response to a MERC post alleging SBS television provided journalist Sergei Pianella with “Zionist talking points” (12/2/11), “brian” commented “SBS has long been ziionist central…that was made plain by the ‘reporting’ on the Zionist attack on the Mavi Marmara” (12/2/11) and “watch SBS, and you will see a ton of Hitler and nazi documentaries…but not one on Palestine…now how does that sort of programming happen?” (13/2/11).

 

• A posting on MERC (6/4/11) read “Look here MERC, just how easy do you think it is to promote a revival of Medieval Talmudic ghettoism at the expense of the indigenous population AND call it a democracy?“

 

 

6.6 The shallowness and intellectual dishonesty in some of the debate on the Middle East in Australia was evident in the reception accorded a book written on Israel and Australia’s Jewish Community by Antony Loewenstein, an individual with no particular expertise, experience or skills but who identified himself as a Jewish critic of Australian Jewry and of Zionism.  While the book was riddled with factual inaccuracies and sloppiness, it was speedily given iconic value by a range of critics of Israel, including overt antisemites.  It has been promoted and sold by extreme right wing political organisations, available at a bookstand which otherwise exclusively sold fundamentalist Islamic texts at a Muslim fair and the author was promoted by a variety of far-left groups existentially opposed to Israel.  The author’s personal moderated internet discussion forum published a series of items making offensive comments about individuals opposed to Holocaust denial and others accusing critics of the author of using  “every weapon in the Jewish armoury of self-victimisation”, while  the author himself used offensive anti-Jewish language, but the utility to anti-Israel groups and individuals of having a self-identified Jewish person who was eager to criticise Israel and Australian Jewry seemingly over-rode any concern with factual accuracy or concern with racism. In the period in review:

 

 

• On his moderated blog, Antony Loewenstein published a submission by “Kevin Charles Herbert”, which read “Australia’s far right militant Zionist boards of deputies, leadership groups, bigoted boosters et al must share the blame for supporting the successive apartheid Israeli Governments since 1948. Just how these groups supported by cashed up, Aussie fascist frock floggers, retailers & property spruikers propose to continue their support for the intellectually & morally corrupt Israeli government, will be a sight to see in the coming months as Israeli security unravels further. Gaza Gillard & Torah Tony must also share in the blame via their fulsome support for these odious Aussie race supremacist Zionists who continue their support for the corrupt Israeli system.” (8/2/11).

 

• On his moderated blog, Antony Loewenstein published a submission by “Mallee” which argued ” The ‘holocaust mantra’ is like a broken record, that overwhelms the many more Ukrainians starved by the mainly Jewish Bolsheviks, but ignored with all the other genocidal atrocities. Some historians are suggesting that Hitler was urged into war by circumstances deliberately manipulated by the Zionist bankers. The “Transfer agreement” with Hitler occurred well (about 1933?) before the Holocaust. Why was it not continued? For some weird historical based reason, mainly interloper Jews (Zionists) from Mongolia wanted an empire in Palestine, a place that was Arabic/Semitic. Albert Einstein was not keen on the idea as with many other Jews.” (6/1/11).

 

 

• Antony Loewenstein tweeted an article which contained a (subsequently disproved) claim a protester had died due to IDF tear gas “How Israel gasses Palestinian protestors and sometimes kills them. No historical irony here at all:” (4/1/11).

 

• Apparently unaware of the irony, Antony Loewenstein posted: “The debate around Israel/Palestine in Australia has descended into calling critics (1) (and backers of BDS) Nazis. Yes, that dignified. And the Zionist establishment is leading the charge, completely undermining its argument that the memory of the Holocaust should be holy. For them, Israel must be protected no matter what, even if dead Jews must be used as fodder. I was interviewed last week on Press TV (2) about this issue, discussing the apparent attempts to criminalise the legitimate civil call for boycotts against occupying Israel.” (28/8/11), Press TV is an Iranian government vehicle for promotion of antisemitism, including Holocaust denial.

 

“Larry Stillman” made the following observations in J’Wire: “Anthony Loewenstein in his blog has referred to New Zealand’s Prime Minister as “Jewish” in a clear ethnic slur in commenting about Key’s support of Hosni Mubarak and a ‘conservative’ policy by the Kiwis. Given that that Keys, whose mother was Jewish, is an agnostic and an occasional church goes, Loewenstein’s way out of line. Unless one thinks that there is a biological cause and effect relation between Key’s ancestry and his foreign policy it is an irrelevant, facetious and insulting remark, particularly since as far as I know, there is no relationship between Key’s mother’s religion and NZ’s foreign policy. It is true that Key is acknowledged by the NZ Jewish community and Israeli press as a friend of Israel, but Loewenstein has engaged in the same tactic as the extreme right when they talk about Key – that being a Jew is prima facie evidence of a particular “loyalty”. Never mind that Malcolm Fraser’s mother also had a Jewish background. One does not have to be critical of Israel to play with anti-Semitic tropes. Even some of my Palestinian contacts are not at all impressed by Lowenstein’s latest. I’ve defended Loewenstein’s right to be critical of Israel in the past, but I’m not falling for this game of his. Loewenstein has made a habit of using inflammatory language to appeal to his international audience. It’s his right to do so, but he should get his facts right and apologize to John Key.” (6/2/11).

 

7 THE LEFT

 

7.1 The centrality of anti-American and anti-Israeli grand theories for a number of different left-wing groups has resulted in an unseemly tolerance of anti-Jewish activity. This manifests itself in a number of ways, including promotion of discriminatory academic and cultural boycotts, promoting material by antisemites who adopt anti-Zionist language, singling out Jews for harassment, justifying anti-Jewish terrorism, actively collaborating with individuals and groups which have demonstrated themselves to be antisemitic and failing to seriously address manifestations of anti-Jewish prejudice.

 

7.2 It has become commonplace for some in the political left to claim that charges of antisemitism are used to restrict debate on Israel. In most cases, the complained of charge had not been levelled, as supporters of Israel are perfectly capable of arguing on the basis of facts. On the rare occasions when the charge is levelled, it is done so cautiously and only when it appears the only or a significant contributing cause and/or result of the behaviour in question.

 

7.3 Although the many small groups which comprise the Australian far-left often make declarations critical of racism, demonisation of Israel is a common thread and the extremes of language used to condemn Zionism and Israel promote a mythology of Jewish internationalism, powerful and evil, almost indistinguishable from the far right. It should be noted that most of the groups in this sector are ambiguous, if not internally contradictory, on questions of Jews and of Middle East politics, but the fact that material was published promoting the concept of “Zionism” as an “international conspiracy” and of Jews as Nazis warrants criticism. It is also significant that playwrights, authors and other cultural personalities who would be censured by the left for racism in most circumstances are very often excused from racism when Israelis and/or Jews are the subject of the offence. Significantly, the experience of Jewish university students of antisemitism is almost totally attributed to perceived left-wing antisemitism.

 

7.4 A report on Antisemitism on Campus: Contemporary Jewish experience at Victorian Universities, published by the Anti-Defamation Commission of B’nai B’rith, summarised the fifty responses received to a publicly promoted survey and concluded “”More than two thirds (68 per cent) of students had experienced or witnessed some form of antisemitism. Written material, such as posters and signs, were the most common form of antisemitism, followed by verbal attack and prejudice.”; “Many students cited individual examples of antisemitism but did not consider antisemitism a problem on their campus.”; “Most students made no distinction between traditional antisemitism and anti-Zionism. There was a strong crossover between abuse of Israel and abuse of Jewish symbols and individuals.”; “The political left, particularly the Socialist Alternative, and activist groups, particularly Students for Palestine, are the main source of antisemitic behaviour on  university campuses.”; “Some faculty members use their positions to launch polemics against Israel or make antisemitic statements in ways which intimidate Jewish students” and “Swastikas and antisemitic graffiti are used by a range of groups to attack Jews and Israel.” (November 2010).

 

7.5 In an article on The ABC Drum Unleashed (27/5/11),Melbourne academic Philip  Mendes wrote “Historically, anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism were two separate ideologies. Anti-Semitism is a racist prejudice that exists independently of any objective reality. It is not about what Jews actually say or do, but rather about what anti-Semites falsely and malevolently attribute to them. As reflected in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories such as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, it is a subjective stereotyping based on notions of collective Jewish guilt. In contrast, anti-Zionism (particularly prior to the creation of the State of Israel) was based on a relatively objective assessment of the prospects of success for some Jews in Israel/Palestine. Opposition came from both Jews and the international Left. However, in recent decades anti-Zionist fundamentalism and anti-Semitism have increasingly converged.” . . . He went on to argue “Of course, left-wing attacks on Zionism and Israel incorporating anti-Jewish prejudice are different to the traditional anti-Semitism of the far Right. They constitute a form of political, rather than racial anti-Semitism. And most of their key proponents deny being anti-Semites. Nevertheless, this group arguably create an anti-Jewish discourse and the potential for an openly anti-Semitic movement by demonising all Israeli Jews and all Jewish supporters of Israel as the political enemy.””The anti-Zionist fundamentalist discourse quickly decays into openly anti-Jewish rhetoric. Firstly, there is a pathological and obsessive hatred and demonisation of Israel unrelated to the actual actions and reality of that State. These include absurd claims that Israel is the world’s worst human rights abuser, or that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians. “Secondly, there are proposals for academic and other boycotts of Israel based on the ethnic stereotyping of all Israelis. The aim of such caricatures is to impose pariah status on the whole Israeli nation. These proposals single out Israelis in that no such boycotts are proposed against other countries or nations involved in territorial expansion or human rights abuses. Thirdly, there is the extension of the denunciation of all Jewish Israelis to all Jews – Zionist or otherwise – who are supportive of Israel’s existence. These Jews are collectively denounced via group libel as accomplices of racism and genocide whatever their actual ideological and political position on solutions to the conflict. Fourthly, there are stereotypical descriptions of Jewish behaviour, and attacks on alleged Jewish global power, wealth and influence. Conspiracy theorists accuse Jews of controlling western governments, finance and the media; planning the 9/11 attacks; and responsibility for the US-led war in Iraq. Finally, deliberate attempts are made to diminish and trivialise the extent of Jewish suffering in the Holocaust by comparing Jews with Nazis. These analogies do not appear to be used in regards to any other international conflicts, and seem to be motivated solely by a desire to offend and hurt Jews.”

 

7.6 Within what is broadly defined as the Left, a number of small political groups which describe themselves as communist, socialist or anarchist have been part of the Australian political landscape for many years. Although the groups often appear indistinguishable to outsiders, their differences and rivalries are often circulated with passion. Amongst a number of the groups, evidence of ideological purity is very important, with accusations of pragmatism levelled at opponents as a means of denigrating their activities.

 

7.7 Although there are some differences in the approach to Israel taken by these groups, the general attitude is that Israel is clearly in the camp of their enemies and is therefore a fair target for abuse, delegitimation and defamation.

 

7.8 Some far-left groups have made common cause with extreme anti-Israel Islamist groups, which promote social and economic agendas which would logically be repugnant to social progressives. Even more common is the drawing of precise analogies between Israel and Nazi Germany. Many of the small far-left groups publish newspapers or magazines, which generally follow limited political agendas and include extreme, maximalist anti-Israel material.

 

8  CHURCHES

 

8.1 The history of the relationship of Judaism and Christianity over 2,000 years should be a compelling reason for representatives of Churches to exercise care in pronouncements concerning Jews, Judaism and Israel.

 

8.2 In some areas, there is residual supercessionism which leads to derogatory references to the Jewish religion. Anti-Jewish imagery in the Christian Testament is invoked, not always maliciously, as part of the language of some Churches. For example, a booklet published to promote interfaith dialogue by a church figure friendly to the Jewish community, contrasted the “hospitality” of Jesus with “those who seemed to be stricter followers of Jewish law” and included references which reinforced anti-Jewish stereotypes. Religious visions for the Land which was the setting for the development of both Judaism and early Christianity can lead to confusion between legitimate or unambiguously political commentary and negative and irrational depictions of the role of Jews and Judaism. The way in which Church representatives discuss Israel and Middle East issues from time to time is a cause of considerable concern.

 

8.3 The rhetoric emanating from Sabeel in Jerusalem, which has included supercessionist language and tendentious discussions of what is happening in Israel and between Israel and its neighbours, has echoes in Australian Church debate. Other Church leaders adopt broadly Leftist political agandas which can result in seepage of anti-Semitic language and material in to religious discourse.  It is important to emphasise that the formal attitude towards antisemitism from the mainstream Australian churches is overwhelmingly hostile and that the most vocal condemnations of anti-Jewish prejudice in Australia often come from Church leaders or public figures connected to mainstream churches.

 

8.4 One area in which antisemitic voices are heard emanating from Australian Church figures has been in discussions and deliberations concerning Israel. In public debate at Marrickville Council concerning the intended boycott of Israel, the language used by a local priest who participated in the debate had historic antisemitic resonances. Some Christian organisations have accepted, uncritically extreme anti-Israel propaganda presentations as long as these came from self-identifying Christians even when there is reason to suspect an agenda steeped in prejudices.

 

8.5 It is a particularly sensitive matter when identifying Christians in Middle East debates include questionable and/or offensive religious rhetoric, selective use of Hebrew texts and overtly political agendas which do not receive scrutiny, and Jewish voices are strenuously belittled or dismissed.

 

9 ONLINE MEDIA

 

9.1 In an environment were so much discourse takes place on-line and where virtually every interest group has online media available to it, there are regular reports of antisemitism being made public when, in previous years and without the availability of the internet, the comments may have remained as part of private conversations.

 

9.2 Computer communications technology, which has become increasingly part of the lives of Australians, is relevant to any discussion of antisemitism in Australia today.  In addition to allowing neo-Nazis and antisemites in Australia to receive information and produce professional-quality, up-to-date propaganda, on-line services are of concern for a number of reasons.

 

9.3 Jewish Australians are affected by the way antisemitic groups and individuals have used social networking media and also suffer the consequences of distorted and false material located via search engines. On a regular basis, members of the Jewish community report concerns regarding these, as well as websites and newsgroups located outside Australia. While the global context must be recognised, material emanating outside Australia is not within the ambit of this report.

 

9.4 Antisemitic and threatening e-mail is the most common means of antisemitic harassment in Australia. As more members of the Jewish community, including Holocaust survivors, established e-mail accounts, the greater has been the prospects of hate, abuse and intimidation being sent to them this way. In addition to material transmitted by electronic mail, many un-moderated newsgroups dealing with Australian issues have allowed for individual bigots and anti-Jewish propagandists to promote material to a new and potentially larger audience.

 

9.5 Internet newsletters, sent to individuals with an interest in a specific subject, also can serve as vehicles for hate propagandists, as do websites maintained by extremist groups.

 

9.6 The internet has also been used as a means for racists to promote and purchase material such as neo-Nazi computer games.

 

9.7 Material published on the Internet can be relatively simply adapted to form the base of hate mail and abuse and there have been reports received during the past year of members of the Australian Jewish community being e-mailed (always anonymously) slabs of anti-Jewish material downloaded from anti-Jewish websites.

 

9.8 Antisemitic individuals, groups and organisations continue to maintain high visibility on Australian-based newsgroups during period in review.  Whenever the possibility arose, one or more individuals made interventions on public affairs issues with an anti-Jewish slant.

 

9.9 Some discussion forums cater specifically to the agendas of racist, but the lack of any reasonable form of control over postings in many other groups made them particularly useful to individuals and groups who represented extreme and eccentric viewpoints or who engage in racism and anti-Jewish defamation.

 

 

• A thread “Jews and the Australian media” in the Australian Forum (13/11/10) began with a question by “John W of Houston” “I’m curious. Do Jews control the Australian media the way they control the American media?” which was answered by “denis mulheron, Brisbane, Australia” who wrote “yes jews also pwn 85% of abortion clinics and control both political parties via hughe donaios that’s why Australia supports a criminal state like isreal jews also own most commercial real estate that’s why rents are so expensive. frank lowy organised 9/11 it was a jew stock ttake jews also tell lies about the gallant germans to get money the germans treated jews far more humanely than jews treat Palestinians whose land they stole, also Australia jews got dr. Frederick toban jailed for speaking the truth, jews also change their names to those of white races the head jew is Australia is called Jeremy jones a welsh name not a jew name to sum up jews are truly evil“, (13/11/10); by “scooterman of Melbourne.” “The wealthiest ones here do.” (14/11/10).

 

• In a discussion on Australian Identity forum “Jewish Group urges Australians to accept more third worlders” “Jaxxen” wrote “Without doubt. Jews learned a long time ago that practicing racial apartheid in their own country whilst encouraging divisive multiculturalism in Western countries, was the best way to empower themselves and exploit European weakness. And no they don’t see anything wrong with the double standard. They are Gods Chosenites after all.” (11/12/10).

 

• In a discussion “Anti-Semitic incidents drop in Australia” on “alt.revisionism”, “le mot juste” wrote “Most of these anti-semitic attacks are perpetrated by Jews themselves. trying to get air time and publicity. They have been caught out on so many occasions I wonder why they continue with the insanity.” (23/12/10). “Ben Cramer” added “Because the hebes have been too busy counting their shekels to create anti-semitic ‘events’ – as they do.” (28/12/10).

 

• On OzPolitics, “Jan” wrote “We merely follow AmerIsrael and screw our farmers and genuine Aussie manufacturers in favour of the fascist American government who fund the State of Israel to the tune of 5 billions dollars annually. Check out how many Zionist jews are involved in our politics and that’s doen’t mean just politician but lobbyists, the media and multinational corporations’ …” (31/1/11).

 

• On OzPolitics, “Jan” wrote “These jews (the filth and slime of humanity) are involved in OUR government and helping to form OUR laws and wars. They teach and preach with love and understanding while implementing terror through their allies …like the ministers of war who never face the enemy themselves. They wreak out pity for the holohoax yet preach that the past is past and IRRELEVANT in todays world … they even have laws that can send you to PRISON for criticising them or dare to speak the truth … It’s called anti-semitism … even the concept is wrong and a lie because Arabs are semites too but you wont go to prison for criticising them, they’d probably give you a medal.” (31/1/11).

 

 

 

• On OzPolitics, in a discussion of Zionists, “Karnal” posted “These peoples own the world, USA, everything. They are ruled by Moloch. Many are demons and come to this world to spread evil. They rule the world through US dollar, eye in pyramid. We must defeat this Zioinist, insh’allah, and free the world for will of God.” (9/2/11), “These peoples do the will of Moloch. They cause the evils of the world. They wish to make much money, frien.” (9/2/11), “These Zionist own the IMF and World Bank. Look at who is CEO of bank: Paul Wolfowitz.” (9/2/11) and “Zionist is Jew. Long arm, short pocket. Be careful with him.” (10/2/11).

 

• On OzPolitics, “Abu rashid” wrote “I don’t think anyone can deny that there’s a very disproportionate amount of Jews in very high places in many countries around the world. We need look no further than our own government, and the immense influence that Zionist lobby groups have within it, especially in light of the recent events like the deposing of Rudd and the rise of Gillard (a public Zionist sympathiser). And our government doesn’t even come close to the U.S. and their subservience to groups like AIPAC.” (7/3/11) and “Jews annoy Europeans -> Europeans gas Jews -> Europeans feel sorry for Jews, and thrust them upon Arabs -> Arabs end up in refugee camps and wanna blow Europeans up for causing all this tyranny….” (7/3/11).

 

• During a discussion on Facebook of the UNWRA teachers’ union threatening to strike if they were directed to teach about the Nazi Genocide, Khaldoun Hajaj referred to “the Gaza concentration settlement” (23/3/11), “Israel apartheid” (23/3/11) and “the Nazis in tel aviv” (24/3/11).

 

• A Yahoo user “Jael”, a male from Brisbane in his early fifties, posted antisemitic comments on yahoo articles on Israel or Jewish topics, including “The Federal Reserve is privately owned by Jewish bankers as listed in an earlier post.” (3/4/11); “Your argument that there is no Jewish conspiracy does not hold …”; (3/4/11); “JEWISH BANKERS PRINT MONEY at heavily-armed & guarded Federal Reserve Bank buildings throughout the US. Then these Jewish bankers of the Federal Reserve Bank “loan” the money to the US government at …” (3/4/11); “According to the yids, gentiles (goyim) are not human. Goyim are “beasts of the field” are are to be used and abused as yids see fit.” (2/4/11) and references to Natalie Portman as the “spoilt Jewess”.

 

• Gideon Polya posted an article “Pro-Zionist Australian Holocaust Denial”, which was based on the argument “The first World War 2 atrocity to be described as a “holocaust” (by N.G. Jog in his 1944 book “Churchill’s Blindspot: India”) was the “forgotten” man-made Bengali Holocaust in which 6-7 million Indians were deliberately starved to death by the British under Winston Churchill. This atrocity has been white-washed out of British history by Churchill himself and by several generations of cowardly, lying, and holocaust ignoring English-speaking politicians, academics, journalists and editors. In contrast, everyone is aware of the WW2 Jewish Holocaust (5-6 million dead, 1 in 6 dying from deprivation) but due to Zionist perversion of our culture few are aware that the Jewish Holocaust was part of a wider WW2 Holocaust in which 30 million Slavs, Jews and Gypsies died because they were all regarded as untermenschen (sub-humans) by the Nazis just as the British until recently regarded Indians and indeed all non-Europeans as untermenschen. The Zionists in their lying, murderous, ends-justify-the-means prosecution of the ongoing Palestinian Genocide have been the World’s worst anti-Semites and holocaust deniers for a century.” (MWC News, 9/6/11).

 

• Indymedia published the comment by “Genrikh”, “If you look up the Australian Oxford Dictionary the word Zionist you will see a member of a movement founded in 1897 that has sought and achieved the founding of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. So if that is the meaning of a Zionist then a Israeli is someone who lives on this stolen land that is called Israel can’t see much difference between the two here can you? Now for the Jew this is a religion that preaches from it’s holy book that Gentiles (thats you and I) were made by god to serve the Jew and it is not a sin to kill a Gentile. I did not make any of this up check it out for yourself, but if you read what is fact it is safe to say they all can be described as Pigs. The Jewish person you had at your meeting is what Jews in Israel call a self hating jew. Heres another fact that Jews like to hide from the public we all get told and taught in school that Hitler was behind the most Murders of a single religion in the 20th century he was responsible for the deaths of 6000000 jews even though Auswitz reduced the number of deaths from 4,000,000 to 1,500,000 which would make the figure more like 3,000,000 Jews died in the holocaust don’t get me wrong I think one jewish person to die at Hitlers hands is one too many. But at the same time Hitler was killing Jews a jewish Russian Bolshevik by the name of Genrikh Yagoda was killing 10,000,000 Christians, all up the Bolshviks murdered and tortured to death 60,000,000,+ Christians it is also worth noting that except for Lenin all top ranking Bolshviks were Jewish I wonder what it would take to get a real Holocaust museum in Australia?????? I would like to say one last thing FREE PALESTINE don’t let the jewish people keep on killing and torturing innocent people it must stop NOW!!!!!!” (2/8/11).

 

• “Jim” wrote in Indymedia (8/8/11) “You can’t beat the Jews they run the world!!!!!!” which said “you will never get support from the government no matter how hard you try and here is why all Israeli defense force are Jews, 98% of Israels government are Jews.The media is run by the Jews,America is run by the Jews,Banks run by the jewish Rothchilds and Rockerfeller Families have the power to crush a country.Yes it is true Jews run the world and you got no chance of getting our government on side. If you delete this comment you may as well pack up and go home if you dont want the truth out there.It is amazing how the jews cry about the holocaust then turn around and treat the Palestinians just as bad as Hitler treated them I can’t work it out. I wish you all the luck in the world for your fight, you are going to need it.”

 

9.10  The importance of the results various search engines produce for keywords should not be under-estimated. The results of searches for “Jew”, for instance, will include helpful information but also overt antisemitism. The architecture of the internet can lead a person with genuine interest but no  expertise to Holocaust denial rather than Holocaust history sites.

 

10 ANTISEMITIC ORGANISATIONS AND PUBLICATIONS

 

10.1 Australia is home to a plethora of organisations which promote antisemitism, including some who have this as their primary purpose.  The groups vary greatly in their membership, their activities and their target audiences.  Some of the individuals who lead far right-wing and antisemitic organisations have been involved in extremist political activity for decades. The organisations which they have led are supplemented by a changing group of individuals and minute groupings of individuals, including some who have established their presence primarily through their activities on the internet (which permits the small organisations to maintain an existence and gives potential recruits a point of contact).

 

10.2 The existence of Labor state governments federally and in a number of Australian States fed the paranoia of “socialist” control which is so important to the extreme right wing organisations.

 

10.3 It should be noted that not all antisemitic organisations can be accurately classified as “far right”. There are conspiracy theorists who are identified with quasi New Age or political Islamist philosophies which also have promoted antisemitism. These groups continue to feed a steady stream of anti-Jewish propaganda to their followers.

 

10.4 The miniscule Australian far-right fringe is internally dynamic and in a constant state of flux. Individuals who promote, for example, a return to policies which actively disadvantage Indigenous Australians, have shown a mobility between overtly antisemitic groups, populist movements and pseudo-militia groups. The extremist element of the anti-immigration movement divide their time and attention between these groups and neo-Nazi or quasi-nationalist movements.

 

10.5 For those who have antisemitism as their prime concern there are alternatives such as the various Identity Churches, conspiracy propagandists with no firm affiliations, as well as groups who have social division high on their political agendas.

 

10.6 In addition to organisations, although not necessarily totally separate from them, are a number of individuals who are involved actively in distributing antisemitic material on the Internet, through leaflets, sending hate mail or seeking to make interventions in the mainstream media. In many cases these individuals act in the name of an organisation in which they are either the only member or the only active member.

 

10.7 Much of the far right’s activity is conducted “under the radar”, but between them, the various antisemitic organisations have:

 

• A number of Internet sites which are permanently available to users of online services

 

• Facebook Groups, Newsgroups and online clubs which regularly post their views

 

• Newspapers and newsletters, in a number of languages, which are published as often as weekly

 

• A number of monthly and bi-monthly magazines some of which are available at news stands

 

• The ability to e-mail large numbers of recipients, in addition to mass mailings and leafleting of material to both selected recipients and to members of the general public

 

• Meetings which pay varying degrees of attention to the antisemitic elements of the respective agendas.

 

10.8 The annual Sydney Forums have provided a meeting place for far-right wing activists in Australia. Individuals associated with National Action, the rump of One Nation, the Adelaide Institute and small pseudo-nationalist groups gather for mutual reinforcement to swap conspiracy and racist theories.

 

10.9 The far-right nevertheless engage in seemingly endless power struggles, some ideological and tactical but more often personal.

 

10.10 In addition to the far-right, there are organisations and individuals who represent a New Age or other fringe, alternative lifestyle element.  The rhetoric of these groups is heavily laden with conspiracy theories, as they seek to portray their views as rational alternatives to lifestyles imposed by forces acting to suppress or control “natural” behaviour. There is a large overlap between fringe far right-wing organisations and those more directly concerned with promoting stories of visitations from other planets, non-conventional medical alternatives and an opting out of the organised economy. This group comes together with some more traditional extreme right wing Australians at the annual Inverell Forums.

 

10.11 The paranoia and political extremist views concerning what each believe to be the political and economic establishment has drawn together far-right, far-left and some anarchist groups, in opposition to “globalisation”, various government policy proposals which they perceive as empowering a State which they view 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.

 

10.12 The elements of the Islamic and Arabic-speaking communities which promote intense dislike of, and hostility towards, Jews find themselves in the position of drawing on some of the same material as White Supremacists, “Identity” groups and other overt racists, purely because of their common hatred of Jews.

 

10.13 The small political party, One Nation, has been a cause of ongoing concern. With its continued electoral failure, which coincided with the antisemitism advocated publicly by some members and party organs, it is now surveyed in this report in the section on antisemitic organisations.  One Nation members and party organs   have continued to published antisemitic material.  The place of One Nation in the far-right, as against the political mainstream, was articulated in One Nation Network News (November 2009), which  printed a “report from the Forum secretary” of the Eighth Sydney Forum.  The report noted “The Forum brought together people as politically diverse as New Right Australia, Australia First Party, One Nation, National Anarchists, the music scene groups Volksfront, Blood & Honour & other independent people, including some who attended the Inverell Forum on a regular basis.  The BBQ on day two was a great moment in getting all these folks to talk.”

 

10.14 The Australian League of Rights, at one time accurately described by the Federal Government’s Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission as “undoubtedly the most influential and effective, as well as the best organised and most substantially financed, racist organisation in Australia”, continued to hold meetings, conduct action campaigns and seek publicity for its antisemitic analysis of domestic and international affairs.The League publishes weekly newsletters (On Target and On Target Bulletin), monthly magazines (Intelligence Service, New Times and Social Creditor), and a quarterly journal (Heritage) and a website. Most of the overt antisemitism is found in On Target and On Target Bulletin. The League established a website, on which it posts many of the articles which have appeared in its journals. The League recognised the usefulness of its antisemitic propaganda armoury of the activities of self-described “Independent Jews” who promoted anti-Jewish mythology.  The League has described Antony Loewenstein as “an Australian Jewish intellectual”, promoting and advertising his book to readers and the Jewish born English-Israel antisemite Gilad Atzmon featured repeatedly in League’s publication.  The distribution of books, cassettes and videos, often of League of Rights’ functions’ speakers, or antisemitic works such as The Protocols of Zion, is an important League of Rights core activity.  Journalists interviewing leaders of the Australian League of Rights  have reported report “a small room off the main office where their literature is displayed” which is referred to as “the Jew room”. “A visitor showing interest is told the Talmud . . . endorses intercourse with children who are non-believers and permits bestiality. The three men minding the bookstore laugh about being not politically correct“.

 

10.15 Small groups of neo-Nazis, sometimes including violent skinheads, have come to attention during the recent past in a number of cities. Racist skinheads not necessarily aligned to any formal organisation are known to be present in small numbers in cities and towns spread around Australia and have allegedly been involved in racist violence against Asian students and harassment of members of left-wing groups. Attempts to exploit these groups or direct their violence towards Jews and other minorities are common. Even more than in the other sub-groups within the broad far-right, the neo-Nazis seem to be involved in endless and undetermined battles for supremacy, with Jewish organisations regularly receiving information concerning the members and activities of these groups from rivals and ex-members. Sometimes the internecine warfare reaches violent proportions, but more often it is restricted to claiming responsibility for vandalism and harassment, forming allegiances with neo-Nazis interstate and overseas, and asserting purity of racial make-up and ideology. “Southern Cross Soldiers” was exposed as promoting racism in an article in Melbourne’s Sunday Herald Sun in November.   These groups, which are little more than gangs, are notable for their acceptance and promotion of ideology to rationalise and justify their anti-social behaviour. One such group, “Southern Cross Soldiers”, gained some further media attention when a member of its Youth Network, Tyler Cassidy, was shot dead by police after threatening members of the public, and the police, with a knife, in a Melbourne shopping centre.

 

10.16 Some groups and individuals  define themselves by their antisemitism. For example,the blog   Whitelaw Towers  claims “Our basic mission here is that of Watchman.  We watch the enemies of the White Race, both those from outside our movement and importantly those within it, and report on which we have seen a soon as is practically possible right here on your computer screen where the entire world might access it.  Unlike certain other elements we do not make deals’ with perpetrators or sit on’ any vital information, ever.   We cannot be bought.”  In September 2008, the site linked to chapters from Adolf Hitler’s Main Kampf.  “Whitelaw Towers”   wrote “This group FDB who are always playing the victim are the willing left hand of the Modern day Zionist Enforcer.  The tactics they use do differ from the past but in the end they are still breaking the law just like the old days.  Some of the tactics they use: Blackmail; False witness; Computer hacking; Intimidation; Racial Stereotyping; Threats of violence; Staling; Actual violence (well not of late but they did try it); Illegally collecting information on Australian Citizens (Sayanim).  Yet to this day they openly boast on the FDB forum and other Anarchist sites with zero repercussions.  This is when the Jeremy Jones types come into play.  These Jews have been given the nod from the highest levels of our Government and Legal systems.  Supported by a bias and corrupt media.  Sorta makes the playing field a little uneven don’t you think? ”  (11/5/09) “The inconvenient fact is that if your mother is a Jewess then you are a full blooded Jew and you are compelled to adhere to the Laws of the Babylonian Talmud and all its Kabbalistic Rabbinical claptrap passed down through the centuries via the filthy Pharisees through the parasitic Khazar ‘converts’ and on into Eastern European Yiddish babbling Ashkenazim ‘Jews’. No matter that these Black Sea Nomadics and Caspian Sea refugees have not a drop of Abrahamic blood in their veins, they still claim ‘right of return’ to a wretched patch of desert that was stolen from a bunch of flea bitten Bedouin Arabs.” (2/8/11); Loading…

 

Whitelaw Towers wrote “First contact with Mr. [Brendon] O’Connell was to only point out that the same identities that  persecute us persecute him. They all move in the same circles and are all predominately Jewish. . . Brendon wholeheartedly believes that the fight against Zionism is lost unless those of an anti-Zionist persuasion become as organised, effective and as pro-active as the Zionists themselves. While Brendon believes that Judaism, not Zionism, is the problem, (4/2/11).

 

10.17  The bizarre antisemitic site Rebel News/Ziopedia  continued to be updated regularly with major antisemitic sub-directories such as “Holocaust” (promoting Holocaust denial), “Israel/Palestine” (promoting antisemitic books, such as “The Jewish Religion: Its Influence Today”, “Jewish History/Jewish Religion”  and “The Talmud: Scalpel that bleeds the Mideast”) and “Ziopedia”, which claimed to be “a one-stop repository of information on zionism, its history, ideology, supporters and opponents”. Much of the material was on “the Holo-cult”. Both of these web-sites have numerous sub-sections, are regularly updated and are overtly antisemitic. The Freedom Liberation Movement issued a new version of its “Database on Israeli/Jewish Issues”, which included in its contents “Jewish manipulation of the World Wars”, “Jewish supremacism in general”, “Jewish terrorism and aggression”, “Jews were behind communism and bolshevism”, “Jews and their bloodlust”, “Jews run Germany”, “Jews attacking Christianity”, “Jewish war against historians”, “Jewish ritual murder/child sacrifice” and “Jewish sex perverts”. “Ziopedia” featured an article “Filthy Jewish Lies about Iran” by Patrick McNally, which referred to the “Joosmedia” and claimed “Elite Jewry has had millennia of experience lying and deceiving . . .”. Ziopedia is updated many times each week, and includes links to a selection of antisemitic works as well as any news story which can be interpreted in a way which casts Jews, individually or collectively, in a bad light. A small site, “Zionisation of Australia” was maintained, and continues to make post available such as one on the  activities of what it calls the “National Australian Zionist Institute”, which attacked “Yarmulke-wearing Christian Zionist, Mr Kevin 07 Rudd”, “Jones (Jackboot Gerry) and politicians it claimed were part of the “occupation of Australia”. Zionisation of Australia” carried an item “In Memoriam” which claimed that “Jeremy Jones” of the “National Australia Zionist Institute” has “finally succeeded in putting the ‘Jew in Judiciary’” with the contempt conviction of Fredrick Toben.  Another item on the website was titled “Zionism – The Economy Within”. The “Zionisation of Australia” website included articles “At 10:15 am on May 13, 2009, free speech in Australia was put to death by judge Bruce Lander in The Federal Court of Australia, Adelaide.  At long last Jeremy Joes of the National Australian Zionist Institute has finally succeeded in putting the “Jew in Jewdiciary.”  The tragedy is, the local media are so obsessed with the sexual exploits of the “Footy fraternity this item will go largely unreported.” and a series of other items, many of which were on the theme of “The Australian public must wake up to the fact that as long as the Zionist Puppets in Parliament House, Canberra, show blind obedience to Israel and the Israel Lobby/Neocons in Israeli occupied Washington and their massive financial and military backing of Israel’s war crimes and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, they are all in the terrorist’s sights.” A posting “wikipeeks” on “Zionisation of Australia”, included comments such as “Blair, a so-called Peace Envoy to the Middle East, would only talk to his ‘paymasters’ in Tel Aviv, but ignored HAMAS, the democratically elected body in Gaza; the world’s biggest concentration camp. Which brings us to the point as to why he was in Australia; it was to collect his ‘thirty peaces of silver’ for ‘services rendered’ to the Zionist cause, from the Pratt Family (Visy) and the Zionist Lobby in Israeli occupied Melbourne.”; “Despite Australia suffering its worst disaster in 100 years, it is worth having a PEEK at the activities of some of the ‘Quislings’ masquerading as democratically elected members of the Australian Parliament in Canberra. Known as ‘The Enemy Within’, their ‘Dear Leader’ is The Hon Julia Gillard, Israel’s (Very Temporary) Chief Administrator.“; “The Australian public must wake up to the fact that as long as the Zionist Puppets in Parliament House, Canberra, show blind obedience to Israel and the Israel Lobby/Neocons in Israeli occupied Washington and their massive financial and military backing of Israel’s war crimes and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, they are all in the terrorist’s sights.” And “I have not yet heard a public statement from Israel’s Ex Chief Administrator in Australia, The Yarmulke wearing Christian Zionist, Mr Kevin 07 Rudd (Photo left on a recent visit to his ‘bosses’ in Israeli occupied Palestine.)  The National Australian Zionist Institute”. (21/9/11).

 

10.18  On the internet, the highest volume discussion group which hosted discussions/debates/feuds between Australian far right extremists is Stormfront Downunder. Some examples of the discussions which took place during the period in review include:

 

• In a thread “Holocaust added to Australian national education curriculum” on Stormfront Down Under “SouthWesterner” wrote “I wonder when they’ll add the Russian holocaust and the Armenian massacre to the educational curriculum? RUSSIAN HOLOCAUST, 20 MILLION DEAD, KILLED BY ZIONIST JEWS ARMENIAN MASSACRE, 1.5 MILLION DEAD, KILLED BY ZIONIST JEWS” (19/12/10); “occasus” wrote “What the hell does the holocaust have to do with Australia!” (20/12/10).

 

• In a thread “Holocaust Propaganda” on Stormfront Down Under, “Groton” wrote “Not a day goes by without the media mentioning the alleged holocaust and using it to attack and demean any patriotic white people even those from countries that were at war with Nazism such as Australia. These documentaries www.holocaustdenialvideos.com prove that the holocaust is not true and that the 6 million death toll is a gross exaggeration used as a sympathy ploy by the Israeli lobby.” (27/4/11). “SmittyROA” added “People are scared to be called “Racist” or “NAZI” So they don’t question what is taught to them, especially when Jews are involved” (28/4/11). “SouthWesterner” commented “How many people are aware of the fact that the number of 6 million jews is mentioned in their Talmud? The term “6 million jews” was being used even before world war one! Bogus charity groups were using it to scam money out of people in the states and in Europe during the late 1800s and into the 1900s. So after WW2 was over the Zionist propaganda machine went into effect once again using the magic number of six million. Then with the help of Rothschild in London the Zionists were able to get jews into Palestine and thus began 60 years of bloodshed.” (28/4/11). “Erick the Red” said “We don’t see eye to eye at times SouthWesterner but I 100% agree on this one, I’m sick of the Jewish lie about the so called million dead. If it’s true then why do we need laws to stop questioning it. And by questioning what I think is a lie then make’s me a criminal, Maybe I can get 6 million carbon tax points if I beleave in that as well.” (1/5/11), “AussiePatriot” added “I admire Hitler for his attempt to rid Europe of Jews, not disbelieve it. Give the man some credit. But on another note I can also see why the Jews would deliberately make the number higher than what it actually was, for sympathy and to stigmatise Germans or anyone who believes in purity of ones race. Sooner or later the world will again become sick of the Jews, as the saying goes; history often repeats itself.” (3/5/11).

 

• In a thread “Will Dr Toben be Bankrupted ?? On his 67th Birthday ??”, moderator “revision” asked supporters to give “encouragement” to “jailed Revisionists” (2/6/11). “Quejumpingafghan” wrote “Mr Jones successfully used Toben for defamation for uploading articles that implied Jewish people offended by Holocaust denial were of “limited intelligence”. Well…would you go into a shop and buy everything just because it is for sale? I’d say a person who does that is a fool! I guess the media pide pipers the people as well as public school system. Why should Dr Tobin have to owe king Jew boy $$$ ? If I am not mistaken this Jeremy Jones character had a shot at dragging Nationalist , Carl Thompson from QLD into court? Sounds like he’s ZOG’S official deputy in Australia.” (22/6/11).

 

• In a thread of “Jews trying to take over Sydney” on Stormfront Down Under (regarding the Eruv) “88aussie” wrote “My own mother was pro jew until she saw this on the news. When I went around there the other day she said ‘you know what —- I think you may be right about this whole jew thing’, that’s why one should always preach to other family members, it does sink in.” (278/11); “Haight” added “I first heard about the St. Ives issue months and months ago (was on ACA)….typical arrogant Jews. Pffft! These Kyckes don’t have enough (any) fear of us in their hearts and minds, that really pisses me off!!! And we are to blame for that. If they did, they would want to build a 30ft cement wall or leave! What also pisses me off about a large proportion of “Australian Jews is, they look like everyone else and blend in, visually only. This is no surprise though as they have been stealing the native peoples identity of the host nation for thousands of years so they can play people for fools and take advantage of them with usury and politics etc.” (31/8/11).

 

10.19  The Adelaide Institute, a loose conglomeration of individuals brought together by self-styled “Holocaust Revisionist” Fredrick Toben which has its primary activity the publishing of material on the internet, has in recent year disseminated arguably the most vicious and malicious anti-Jewish propaganda of any Australian group.  Even David Irving, in his Action Report, wrote that Fredrick Toben’s “(blatantly) ‘anti-Semitic Website” was a liability to Holocaust revisionists.  In 1996 Jeremy Jones on behalf of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry lodged a complaint with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission concerning the content of the Adelaide Institute’s internet site.  In November 1998 the matter went to a public hearing. Frederick Toben appeared at the hearing, then walked out, which meant he did not face cross-examination.  In February 1999, Frederick Toben commenced an overseas trip, which he described to a regional newspaper’s journalist as a mission during which he would challenge the German laws on denial of the Holocaust. While travelling, Toben continued to distribute antisemitic material through his web-site and also to write a number of letters to public officials which contained his advocacy of Holocaust Denial. In Germany, Toben was arrested and jailed under the laws which he had announced he was planning on challenging. Although he received verbal support from his closest allies at the Adelaide Institute and from the English writer David Irving, his arrest did not receive a great deal of media attention and most of the reporting on the case included the perspective that he had announced before leaving that he knew of the German law. While in jail and on his release he was active in promoting Holocaust Denial through his web-site. He and/or his supporters also mailed his material to a number of recipients, including Holocaust survivors. During the period of his incarceration, Geoff Muirden, David Brockschmidt and Jack Selzer used the Adelaide Institute name to promote Holocaust Denial and other elements of antisemitism. The Hearing Commissioner released her findings in October 2000. The Hearing Commissioner found, amongst other facts, that: “The material contained on the Internet site is material which consistently presents Jews as a group of people who are engaged in a manipulation of the truth or an attempt to conceal or pervert the truth in order to obtain political, economic and other power. It consistently presents Jewish people as at the heart of “Stalinist crimes”, and “Bolshevism”. It suggests that sensitivity about matters relating to what is known as the Holocaust is an attempt to impose guilt on non-Jews, in particular Christians. It presents the circumstances known as the Holocaust as allegations or assertions, made and held by persons acting maliciously, dishonestly and manipulatively. Those persons so acting are unmistakably identified on the website as Jews, and further they are represented as so acting because they are Jews. The material has at its heart the proposition that the events of “the Holocaust” have been constructed, distorted and manipulated to create a myth for the promotion of the social, political and economic interests of the Jewish people, and suggests there is no evidence to support the existence of this interpretation of events“; “Material on the website also contains insulting and offensive expressions in relation to Jewish people and “the Holocaust” which are intended to be offensive and intimidating, and indeed have caused offense and anxiety:” “There are many aspects of that material which are quite explicit in their denigration of Jewish people, and many other aspects of the material which make this clear by imputation. The central theme of the website is the assertion that the Holocaust is, in the terms in which it is generally understood, “a myth”.” and that: “None of the material contained on Dr Toben’s Adelaide Institute website is of an historical intellectual or scientific standard which is persuasive on these issues, and is largely expressed  in highly tendentious and often offensive and insulting language about Jewish people which makes it difficult to give serious consideration to the propositions contained in it. It is this language which characterises the website and its material, and leads me to be satisfied that the material contained on the website has a consistent theme of the vilification of Jewish people”.

The Commission found that Fredrick Toben engaged in unlawful conduct and ordered that he “remove the contents of the Adelaide Institute website from the World Wide Web and not re-publish the content of that website in public elsewhere” and that he should also make a public apology to the Complainant, which he would publish on the World Wide Web, and undertake not to “publish any such material in the future”. In 2001, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry applied to the Federal Court of Australia for enforcement of the orders against Fredrick Toben and  the Federal Court subsequently brought down a determination which effectively upheld the findings of the HREOC commissioners. The Human Rights & Equal Opportunities Commission, on 17 September 2002, issued a media release headed “Landmark Decision on Race Hate and the Internet”, which read: “In the first Australian court decision on race hate and the Internet, the Federal Court today found that a website that denied the Holocaust and vilified Jewish people was unlawful under Australia’s Racial Discrimination Act 1975. Federal Court Justice Branson ordered Adelaide Institute director Fredrick Toben to remove offensive material from the World Wide Web, saying she was ‘satisfied that it is more probable than not that the material would engender in Jewish Australians a sense of being treated contemptuously, disrespectfully and offensively’. She ordered Dr Toben to remove the document ‘About the Adelaide Institute’ and similar documents; and other material that cast doubt on the Holocaust, suggested homicidal gas chambers at Auschwitz were unlikely, that Jewish people offended by and who challenge Holocaust denial are of limited intelligence and that some Jewish people, for improper purposes, including financial gain, exaggerated the number of Jews killed during World War II and the circumstances in which they were killed”. Fredrick Toben challenged the judgement, and his Appeal was heard by the Full Bench of the Federal Court in May 2003. On 27 June 2003 the Federal Court unanimously rejected Toben’s Appeal.  The judges were damning of his material, of his motives and his “sophistry”. For example, Justice Carr wrote “In my view … he was attempting what might be described as a very sick inversion and an exercise in sophistry…” and ” the appellant was conscious that the reader might see its contents as being antisemitic or racist…”.

Fredrick Toben was ordered to remove offending material and to pay costs. Toben subsequently continued to participate in international gatherings of Holocaust deniers in the USA, in which many of the keynote speakers made overtly antisemitic comments, and also spoke at an anti-Jewish conference in Iran.  Fredrick Toben and his colleague Richard Krege, participated in the Holocaust denial conference in Iran, The Australian reporting “In his opening remarks, Dr Toben thanked the Iranian people for “having brought forth a leadership that is fearless of Jewish pressure, a leadership that courageously sets out to clarify the fundamental human values lost in most of the Western ‘democratic and free world.'”  He then called evidence of the Nazi gas chambers “the products of a feverish pathological mind filled with pure hatred, most directed against Germans and anything German … the product of an appalling state of ignorance of natural and chemical processes.”  Toben posted his speech on his website.  During the period from the hearing of the Contempt complaint and the judgement and sentencing, Fredrick Toben was arrested in London due to a European Union arrest warrant issued by German authorities, but after  periods in detention and then at liberty with restrictions, the German government did not proceed with extradition and Toben returned to Australia.

 

The website went through a series of modifications and alterations, but due to the retention of links to earlier items found to be unlawful and the publication of new anti-Jewish material, contempt proceedings were launched, resulting in Fredrick Toben being found to be in contempt of court and sentenced to three months in prison which, after he exhausted Appeal options, commenced in August 2009. He served his prison time and after re-emerging established a website linked to the Adelaide Institute but with unique content. Both prior and subsequent to the finding of Contempt, there were items of concern published on the Adelaide Institute website, initially by Fredrick Toben and later under the alleged auspices of Peter Hartung.

 

In the period in review, The Adelaide Institute website did not generally publish original material (unlike the Newsletters) but linked to antisemitic books such as “The Nameless War“, “The Rudolf Report“, “The Secret Rabbinical Teachings Concerning Christians” (By I.B. Pranaitis), “The Jewish Religion: Its Influence Today” (by Elizabeth Dilling and “The Holocaust LIE made in America“; contained sub-headings such as “Holocaust Garbage” and, regardless of whether the link was to a legitimate news story or on antisemitic hate site, titles items “HoloLies study mandatory in southern Brazil city”, “Silly Germans keep Jews for two years before gassing, humane guards help them escape, grandson spreads this garbage in Australian parliament”; “Ahmadinejad” US Orchestrated 9/11 to save Zionist regime:; and “Predators All” (“Jewish hatred of non-Jews is part of the text and subtext of practically every hollywood film“) (all 3/11/10).

 

When Fredrick Toben was issued with a bankruptcy notice for unpaid court ordered costs, Adelaide Institute ran a picture-story “Jeremy Jones wants his pound of flesh. Will Jones remove Toben’s heart?

Jeremy Jones – self appointed gardian of The Holocaust Lie” (8/11/10). The website regularly railed against Holocaust education, with items such as “The Victimhood of the Powerful: White Jews, Zionism and the Racism of Hegemonic Holocaust Education”, and “HoloLies added to Australian national education curriculum” (23/12/10). The site was also supportive of anti-Israel activity, echoing the rhetoric of Ahmadinejad and the local anti-Israel activists. For example, the site proclaimed “Israel Must Perish! It’s a Cancer Eating Up the World” (The site also promoted the writings of Julius Streicher: “The Battle with the Devil: Pan-Jewry Reveals its Destructive Plan” (14/6/11). In one of its most bizarre postings, the site was updated (1/7/11) with ‘Holocaust revisionist’ Fredrick Toben reveals politics plan”; “Fredrick Toben tells court he has the money to pay Jeremy Jones’ court costs” and “will Dr Toben become the next Prime Minister of the Talmudic Puppet State of Australia? Will Toben appoint the Great and Learned Rabbi Jeremy Jones as his Deputy Prime Minister? Will Jones be sporting a new $56,000 Solid Gold Yarmulke?”

 

In the course of the period in review pdf versions of on the Adelaide Institute newsletter were added to the site. Some extracts follow:

 

• Adelaide Institute Newsletter (October 2010 No 533), published an article by Arthur R. Butz “A Short Introduction to the Study of Holocaust Revisionism” which included I see three principal reasons for the widespread but erroneous belief in the legend of millions of Jews killed by the Germans during World War II”

 

• Adelaide Institute Newsletter (October 2010 No 533), published an article by Amelia Aremia “The Denial Twist” which included “Is there any hard scientific evidence to substantiate the ancient Hebrew tales of Israelite supremacy in the Holy Land? A huge number of scholars have quietly come together agreeing on the historical fact that the various tales of “ancient Israel” are largely fictional. Based on known facts of geography, history, archeology and even biblical scholarship, many of them argue there was no such entity as “ancient Israel” –that it never existed. If a hoax, then clearly “ancient Israel” is the most profitable hoax in history, with the exception of what happened to Jews of Europe during WWII, that 6 million were gassed to death by the German government. However, there is no evidence of any of this either.“

 

• Adelaide Institute Newsletter (November 2010 No 538), published an article by Rev. Ted Pike “TALMUD ENCOURAGES JEWS TO DECEIVE” which included “What kind of religion sanctions deception and immorality for the sake of political goals? Orthodox Talmudic Judaism. The Babylonian Talmud encourages Jews to cheat and deceive Gentiles whenever necessary! In fact, “by way of deception” is the motto of Israel’s spy agency Mossad. Official license to deceive and even commit sexual immorality was seen in Israel this week… Talmudic Judaism encourages Jews to ensnare and deceive Gentiles in order to advance Jews and Jewish causes, as long as they can get away with it.”

 

• Adelaide Institute Newsletter (October 2010 No 535), included an article by Jeff Prager “What Is The One Subject We Are NOT Allowed To Discuss? Damned If I Do And Damned If I Don’t” which argued “Auschwitz had a large outdoor swimming pool INSIDE the prisoners quarters, the prisoners played soccer, put on shows in the theater and had stores of various types. There was even a brothel located INSIDE the prisoners quarters, inside the fenced in housing area. The prisoners were afforded a half hour for lunch and worked 8 hours each day. They bought jellies, jams, stamps, cards and paper at a kanteen… I’ve checked out Churchill’s Second World War and not a single mention of Nazi ‘gas chambers,’ a ‘genocide’ of the Jews, or of ‘six million’ Jewish victims of the war. This is astonishing.

 

• Adelaide Institute Newsletter (January 2011 No. 542) printed an article by Fredrick Toben which included “The attempt to re-set this fading post World War Two dialectic was attempted on 9 September 2001 when the Talmudic-Marxist-Feminist death dialectic of win-lose was set, thereby replacing the older and worn-out Cold War dialectic between capitalism and communism, which officially ended with the dismantling of the Soviet Union

  

• Adelaide Institute Newsletter (January 2011 No 545), printed a review by Fredrick Toben of “Guantanamo my journey – by David Hicks” which included “I can relate to that process of being subjected to an injustice, in my case it is one that comes from my having a German background, which quite involuntarily subjected me to the Holocaust-Shoah nonsense-propaganda that slanderously asserts Germans during World War Two systematically exterminated European Jews in homicidal gas chambers. Such an assertion is horrendously grotesque and sadly, the propagators of this war-time and post-war propaganda have enacted laws within certain so-called ‘free and democratic’ countries that prevent me from questioning any aspect of such allegations – a massive injustice because it is impossible to defend yourself against such allegations, i.e. the allegation that my parents were a part of a murderous death machine during World War Two.

 

On Fredrick Toben’s “personal” website, he made comments such as “9-11 and the HolocausShoah Ponzi Scheme are the hard issues” (14/12/10); “I’m a denier – and proud of it! I’m a denier – it was all a HOAX – a Ponsi scheme – there was no debate – just a lie . . . ” (14/12/10); (Quoting Arthur Butz “Noting the obvious ways in which this legend is exploited in contemporary politics, notably in connection with the completely illogical support that the U.S. extends to Israel”, as a motivation for Holocaust denial (20/12/10) and, in his response to the July 2011 massacres in Norway said that Breivik had a world view which included “the Jewish-Talmudic factor, which means predatory capitalism also gets covered as a compromise to Internationalism/Globalising” and “using shut-up words to stifle an open debate, such as ‘hater’, ‘Holocaust (climate change) denier’, ‘antisemitic’, ‘racist’, ‘Nazi’, ‘xenophobe’, will not be accepted by the younger generation that devours information via the Internet.” (25/7/11).  Speaking to an Iranian newspaper, “Toben highlighted the anti-Holocaust rhetoric of IRI President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as an effective campaign for the restoration of a real place in the Middle East.” (1/3/11). In another interview with an Iranian journalist, Toben said “Iran can make the Middle East a safe haven by working towards the dismantling of this racist state – and if it does not succeed, then the Middle East will be dominated by Jewish interests – and such interests are based on TALMUD values, and that is a horrifying prospect for all peoples” (in Veteran’s Today, 10/3/11), interviewed by Kourosh Ziabari). Fredrick Toben published on his website “It is my moral, social and legal duty to proclaim that the Jewish Holocaust-Shoah is built on lies of such huge proportions that one finds it difficult to understand how this massive lie has survived over six decades” (13/3/11).

 

Although material on both websites had been found to be in breach of Australian law by the Federal Court, the Australian Communications and Media Authority defended its decision to give “M” ratings to The Adelaide Institute and the Toben.biz websites due to the lack of “real depictions of actual sexual activity, child pornography, depictions of bestiality, material containing excessive violence or sexual violence, detailed instruction in crime, violence or drug use, and/or material that advocates the doing of a terrorist act.”  (19/2/10).

 

On 27 August 2011, Toben alerted supporters that his YouTube account had been terminated as he had violated the Community Guidelines for the third time. The third offense was caused with a video “Talmudic inspired political action leads to Holocaust in Communist countries”. On 29 August 2011 he posted an email with a banner “JewTube – Broadcasting deception” styled after YouTube – Broadcast Yourself”.

 

10.20 The Australian Civil Liberties’ Union (ACLU), which undoubtedly benefits from having a name which would sit comfortably on a respectable “free speech” group such as the mainstream Australian Council for Civil Liberties, predated other Holocaust denial groups in Australia.  Although John Bennett, who is the Union’s motivating force, sits on the editorial advisory committee of the Journal of Historical Review published by the Institute for Historical Review in California, there is little real activity from this group, which maintains a content-thin website and produces annual editions of  Your Rights. The website of ACLU which is still on-line contains no material written later than 2005, but provides contact details for John Bennett and sells older editions of Your Rights. One of the items current on the ACLU webside is “the Middle East War: Power of the Jewish lobby. Israel’s Proxy war. History Coming Up. Iraq etc‘. It included: “As long as the “very powerful” Jewish lobby remains entrenched, there will be no end to the systematic Jewish distortion of current affairs and history, the Jewish-Zionist domination of the U.S. political system, Zionist oppression of Palestinians, the bloody conflict between Jews and non-Jews in the Middle East, and the Israeli threat to peace.”Another item “Whose War?” by Patrick J. Buchanan included “They charge us with anti-Semitism-i.e., a hatred of Jews for their faith, heritage, or ancestry. False. The truth is, those hurling these charges harbour a “passionate attachment” to a nation not our own that causes them to subordinate the interests of their own country and to act on an assumption that, somehow, what’s good for Israel is good for America.” A third item “Midas Ears” by “Israel Shamir” argued “A new spectre haunts America . It enters the well-protected boardrooms of newspapers and banks, shakes the deep foundations of its towers. It is the spectre of glasnost: the dark secret of Jewish power is out. . . . the Jews rule supreme.. . . Some people perceive every suggestion that Jews are able to act together as a mad conspiracy theory. If it is proven now beyond any reasonable doubt that the Jews of France secretly bought and subverted French media for many years in order to distort the national discourse and eventually push unprepared France into the horrible and unneeded World War Two, is it impossible to consider that the Jews of the US have secretly taken over their national media and are now pushing the US into a horrible and unneeded World War Three?

 

10.21 The Citizens’ Electoral Councils (CECs), based in a well-staffed office in suburban Melbourne, engage in mass mailings of literature reflecting the views of their guru, Lyndon LaRouche, containing bizarre and offensive antisemitic conspiracy theories.  The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Anti-Defamation League of the B’nai B’rith, the Anti-Defamation Commission of B’nai B’rith Australia, Australia/Israel Publications and anti-racist groups in general have been amongst the CEC’s favourite targets. The LaRouche organisation spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on electoral campaigns, with tens of thousands raised in Australia from donations of more than $1500 each.

The CECs established a new political party, the Curtin Labor Alliance, in an attempt to attract votes from the Labor Party’s constituency. The move was condemned by leading Labor Party figures, who were able to take advantage of the announcement of moves to register the party to highlight the true nature of the LaRouche cult. The Australian Electoral Commission’s report on party finances for 1999-2000 revealed that the LaRouchite CECs, who received 0.089% of the vote in the 1998 Federal election, raised nearly $1.5m in donations (compared to less than $1m raised by the Australian Democrats who have 8 senators) and that it owed almost $1m to the LaRouche organisation in the USA On the web-site maintained by Lyndon LaRouche’s supporters, a list of Australians who had given “endorsements” to the campaign of “Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr, Democrat for President” appeared. The list included Dr M.A. Morsey, Vice President and General Secretary, the Australian Arab Association, and eight trade union officials, mainly based in Western Australia. The LaRouche cult has been plagued by internal disputes, during which information came to light regarding the obsession of their officials with an international conspiracy which, in Australia, gave certain tasks to Jewish community figures.  More disturbing than its paranoia are continuing revelations that the organisation had worked with elected officials to further anti-Jewish propaganda campaigns. In recent years, members of the Jewish community in Victoria, ACT, Western Australia, Queensland and New South Wales complained about activities of LaRouchite propagandists distributing conspiracy theorist propaganda. It was particularly active on campuses and outside venues hosting Jewish community functions. In the period in review, it is notable that One Nation branches, Hard Evidence, the quasi-Christian “Bible Believers” and others republished and/or promoted LaRouche cult material.

 

10.22  One of the most visible of the plethora of eccentric pseudo-Christian groups in Australia is the “Bible Believers“. For a number of years Anthony Grigor-Scott of regional New South Wales maintained a bulletin board on which he published long antisemitic tracts.  He has also been a long-term participant in discussions on unmoderated newsgroups.  He has an internet site which includes a huge volume of antisemitism, including The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem, A.H. Ramsay’s The Nameless Jew and Zimmunism, which quotes extensively from League of Rights texts in an attempt to prove that “the Jewish race operates” by “hypnotism which has been exercised over the whole world”. A complete copy of The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion available on his home-page. Grigor-Scott has also operated a weekly radio program, on a low frequency local station, in which he delivered antisemitic sermons. A Complaint under the Federal Racial Hatred Act lodged in  2005 resulted in a judgement on  February 2 2007 ordering that the Bible Believers’ Church  remove material from the website denying the Holocaust took place. In the judgment, Justice Richard Conti ordered Anthony Grigor-Scott to remove claims Jewish people deliberately exaggerated the number of Jews killed during World War II for improper purposes, including financial gain. He also ordered the removal of material denying the existence of gas chambers in the German concentration camp in Auschwitz. Justice Conti further ruled that Mr Grigor-Scott should be restrained from publishing similar material in the future, particularly his claim that there was serious doubt that the Holocaust occurred. Grigor-Scott successfully appealed the judgement, on a procedural technicality  –  not on whether his material was in breach of the law.

 

• Bible Believers Newsletter 653 (10/10/10) included an item on Iran: “I believe these difficulties result in large measure from Iran’s just concerns over the agenda of the Judaeo-Roman Catholic church and Zionism for global hegemony foretold by Daniel and Jesus, plus the predatory activity and lying propaganda against Iran and other Islamic states by the USA and other colonies of “the City of London.” Whereas Mr. Ahmadinejad boldly declares the truth and is lambasted by the corrupt controlled media, the best leaders money can buy declare themselves Christians when they are not and peddle cowardly lies on the world stage; as well as items “A Brief History of Khazars in the ‘Goldene Medin’. “The Khazars­or Ashkenazis (Hebrew for German) how they call themselves today­ are actually the descendants of ethnic Turk tribes that entered Europe as part of Attila’s hordes and their Germanic rape victims. For speed and logistical reasons they couldn’t bring their women along, all the way from Mongolia, and had to ‘source’ them locally, usually by killing everybody else in the tribe. Given how busy those Huns/Khazars were raping and pillaging, the fruits of those rapes ended up speaking Yiddish, a medieval Germanic dialect mixed with Turkish elements, and weren’t too attached to the traditional Hun/Khazar phallus cult, although some remnants of that obsession with the male genital can still be seen today in Ashkenazi subculture, especially Ashkenazi dominated pornography and male ‘enhancement’ products. Eventually, the Huns/Khazars converted to Talmudism, because that creed was far more palatable to both their Christian and Muslim neighbours, at a time when the Khazars were dominating the Eastern European part of the ancient silk road” (Andrew Winkler)…Years ago Benjamin Freedman said, “They rule America as monarchs.”; “Dear Gentle Reader How well do you understand the Bolshevik Revolution?” – “The First World War and the Second World War can be seen as part of a long-range human drama with its roots a long way back in history but we are yet to experience the conclusion.” So the worst is still ahead. For those who are somewhat more politically aware, I have said several times that the conclusion will be worse than the Bolshevik Revolution. . . [The Jew Winston Churchill wrote: “This movement is not new. From the days of Spartacus (Weishaupt) to those of Karl Marx (Moses Mordecai Levi), and down to Trotsky (Russia), Bela Kun (Hungary), Rosa Luxembourg (Germany) and Emma Goldman (United States), this world conspiracy for the overthrow of civilisation and for the reconstruction of society on the basis of arrested development, of envious malevolence and impossible equality, has been steadily growing” (The Illustrated Sunday Herald, February 8, 1920)]. … To understand the problem you must familiarize yourself with the blueprint for Lucifer’s totalitarian one world government, The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion, and expose them to help others to understand…”; “from the days of Martin Luther, Jews meddled with the Reformation of their Roman Catholic system of false worship until today people are absolutely confused by conflicting denominational creeds and Jewish fables. And the revelation of the Seven Seals has indicted ministers and students of seminary theology for ignorantly worshipping in vain. They can no longer hide behind denominational walled cities and Christ’s mediation, and unless they repent and are born-again by thepresent Truth, they will be guilty of crucifying the Son of God in the house of His (so-called Christian) friends . . . After a thousand years of warfare Russia was overcome by non-Semitic anti-Semitic self-styled Khazar Jews and Judaeo-Bolshevism because the Orthodox Catholic church had icons, ritual and a form of godliness but denied the power thereof. Thus Judaeo-Bolshevism became Judaeo-Communism, then Judaeo-Socialism; finally their Hegelian controlled two-party sham Democratic system has defeated the once Christian world and is now being imposed on the rest of humanity out of the barrel of a gun. It was devised by the accursed race John Hyrcanus assimilated with Judea where it denied the power of godliness and polluted the Law and the prophets with the Talmud, causing the Israelites to murder their Messiah (Matthew 15:9). Today the Christ-rejecting nominal Christian world has a form of godliness, and having turned from truth to fables, denies the power thereof and is overcome by the spirit of Laodicea, which means “rights of the people” or Judaeo-Communism. Brother Branham said Judaeo-Communism and Judaeo-Catholicism will unite together in apostasy and service to Lucifer, as they have “in the house of His friends.”

 

• Bible Believers’ Newsletter 658 (10/11/11) included: “Mayer Amschel Rothschild convinced Adam Weishaupt to wholly accept the Frankist Cabbalist doctrine, and afterwards financed the Illuminati, a movement dedicated to destroying all organized religion, all organized Governments and also the family unit. This movement has increased in strength and success ever since. Every war and revolution for over 200 years can be attributed to their interference with natural human progress. Rothschild gave Weishaupt the task of reestablishing the old Alumbrados movement for the Cabbalist Jews. . . . The Sabbateans and their descendants are hidden from view. They were behind the so-called “Enlightenment,” secularism, modernism and Chabad Lubavitch-all steps to Satanism-and decisive in world events today. They believe sin is holy and should be practiced for its own sake. Since Messiah will come when people either become righteous or totally corrupt, the Sabbateans opted for debauchery: “Since we cannot all be saints, let us all be sinners.” Like Talmudists and Judaeo-Jesuits, they believe the “end justifies the means.” Their blasphemous benediction “who permits the forbidden” later became the Illuminist “do as thou wilt” (Rabbi Marvin Antelman, To Eliminate the Opiate,Vol. 2, p. 87).”; … Christian organizations have been so ‘Judaised’ with Pharisaical ideas that the Muslim world now see us as Zionist rather than Christian-the true basis for the ‘Holy War,’ a War that George W. Bush gave no indication of understanding, although it must be conceded that his faceless advisers behind the scenes do understand. Benjamin Disraeli, the Jewish British Prime Minister, in his book “Conningsby,” claimed “the world is governed by very different personages from what is imagined by those who are not behind the scenes.” . . . It is crucial for the survival of the last remnant of Western Christian civilization that it be understood that the Talmudic Khazar philosophy gave rise not only to the International Banker, but also to the International Revolutionary. The myth that these two forces are enemies has been perpetrated for generations. Because these two forces are both conspiratorial in nature, the two work together in perfect harmony. In fact, one could not exist without the other. The revolutionary arm has destroyed governments, property and countless lives in numerous wars and revolutions for generations, always financed by the international banking arm. . The views of the Scribes and Pharisees have been transmitted down through the ages via a number of ‘isms’. To list a few for example, but leaving out a great many we could write Pharisaism, Talmudism, Judaism, Bolshevism, Communism, Socialism, feminism, racism, and now ‘Globalism’ which is causing much concern and reaction in some quarters. A great many individuals and groups who should know better have been influenced by the philosophy of the Talmud without ever having heard the words or knowing anything of the content of those 63 volumes. . . And so, the generations pass and so do the centuries. Talmudism continues to flourish but no longer under that name. The ancient philosophy emerges as “The Illuminati” funded by a Rothschild bank which hired Jewish-born Adam Weishaupt (a Jesuit-trained Professor of Canon Law, who had defected from Catholicism) to organize a group which subsequently unleashed the horrors of the French revolution on Europe. After provoking the First World War to weaken the Christian nations of Europe, Bolshevism became firmly established in Russia after murdering the Royal Family, followed by the murder of sixty million Christians.”; . . .Plans for conquest are: To use monetary and sex bribery to control those in high places in government, business etc. with threats of exposure, harm to loved ones, financial ruin and such, if they do not co-operate.”

 

• Bible Believers’ Newsletter 672 (14/2/11) incuded ” You will not possibly fail recognize the domineering influence of the Babylonian Talmud over the Judaeo-Roman Catholic church and its abomination, the Judaeo-Roman Catholic religion of Islam. . . .” and “The Coming Jewish ‘Utopia’ ruled by Noahide Laws” by Reverend Ted Pike and Sister Harmony Daws: “In this ideal Jewish world, what happens to the rest of us? What is the status of Gentiles, especially Christians? The Babylonian Talmud, the highest ethical and religious guide for observant Jews, says Gentiles can join Judaism as proselytes today or in the future messianic kingdom, as long as they sincerely follow seven commandments. These “Noahide laws,” says the Talmud, form the basic moral code God gave Adam; they prohibit idolatry, blasphemy, murder, theft, “illicit relations,” eating meat with blood, and “failing to establish courts of justice”.

 

 

10.23 A number of small organisations which claim to be “Christian” but emphasise race more than religion, continue to serve a small constituency.  In Australia they conduct services and ceremonies, publish newsletters and leaflets, sell books and videos  and use the internet to reach much larger audiences in Australia and internationally.  Some of these are “Identity” Churches which are overtly antisemitic while a much smaller number adopted some of the teachings of “Identity” Churches, such as the racial link between Jews of the Bible and White Anglo-Saxons, while rejecting the program elements of these organisations. The “Identity” Christians believe that they are the only “true” Christians and that Jews are fundamentally, genetically evil. Their influence in “White Supremacist” circles internationally and in Australia is out of all proportion to the number of their core believers and both influence and numbers appear to be growing.The Christian Identity Ministries of far north Queensland promote a particularly nasty and extensive catalogue of literature for sale by mail order. Material which they disseminate includes Holocaust denial, attacks on “Judeo-Christians”, promotions of booklets and tapes by Sheldon Emry, advertisements for the Nation of Islam’s The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews and promotions for Jack McLamb, US Militia personality. The CIM served as both a resource for, and propaganda arm of, a variety of far right- wing organisations. Its output includes reprints of US material from the most extreme of the antisemitic Identity Churches, Holocaust denial and “classic” anti-Jewish texts.The Church of the Creator variety of antisemitism is most publicly represented in Australia by Creativity South Australia. The Australian chapter of the World Church of the Creator, which had no more than three identifiable supporters, has established a presence on the Internet as well as taking part in a minor way in public debate in online newsgroups and in the Queensland regional media. The World Church of the Creator Australia refers on its homepage to “the parasitic Jews”. “Shaun Simmonds” of the WCOTC urged “creators” to take action in Australia in the battle to “re-take” Australia from Jews and “non-whites”, in an internet discussion group.

 

10.24 At various times over the past two decades, New Age/alternative magazines Nexus and New Dawn have published and/or promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories. Nexus (February/March 2011) which published a letter “Against Atheism & Zionism” signed “Ian C., UK” which argued “What is becoming more known is the crime against humanity that Zionists have perpetrated, and continue to perpetrate, by ethnically cleansing Palestine to achieve their mythical racial purity (akin to the Nazis).” In the period in review, however, the conspiracy theories they publicised and advocated did not generally deal with Jews or subjects which of particular interest. However, this was not the case when it came to Hard Evidence. Exposure, a glossy magazine available by subscription and at news stands, advertised in the journals and publishes promotions of the material, of a number of far right-wing Australian groups. By the time, in early 2001, that editor David Summers sold the magazine, it included extracts from US antisemitic newspaper The Spotlight, advertised a video WACO – The Big Lie produced by US militia figure Linda Thompson, the extreme right wing political party “The Australians” and The Strategy.  A key figure who had informed Exposure’s world-view is UK eccentric David Icke. Issues of the magazine had included promotions of The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion and videos of speeches by League of Rights stalwart Jeremy Lee and a half-page advertisement for Nexus magazine. The magazine is now called Hard Evidence, and past issues are advertised aggressively by the magazine’s new owners.  Hard Evidence (November-December 2010) published the second part of “The History of the House of Rothschild“, which included comments such as “1925: This year’s Jewish Encyclopaedia, states of the existence of Ashkenazi Jews (represent approximately 90% of so-called world Jewry), with the startling admission that the so called enemy of the Jews, Esau (also known as Edom, see Genesis 36:1), now actually represents the Jewish race, when on page 42 of Volume V it is stated, “Edom is in modern Jewry.” So what they’re basically saying is that these Ashkenazi Jews, who represent 90% of the so-called Jewish population, are actually gentiles or goyim themselves.”; “1933: On January 30, Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. He drives Jews, many of which were Communist out of Governmental positions within Germany.” and “On November 16, President Roosevelt recognizes the Zionist regime of Stalin in Russia without consultation with Congress even as 8,000 Ukrainians march in protest in New York. Also this year, President Roosevelt, born of a Jewish mother, therefore satisfying Ashkenazi rules of being Jewish, orders the all-seeing eye to be placed upon all new dollar bills along with the motto, “Novus Ordo Seclorum.” This is latin for, “A New Order of the Ages.”; “2946: On July 22 the future Prime Minister of Israel, Ashkenazi Jew, David Ben-Gurion, orders another future Prime Minister of Israel, Ashkenazi Jew, Menachem Begin, to carry out a terrorist attack on the King David Hotel in Palestine, to try and drive out the British. As a result of this 91 people were killed, most of them civilians: 28 British, 41 Arabs, 17 Jews and 5 others. Around 45 people are injured.”; “1948: In the Spring of this year, the Rothschilds bribe President Harry S. Truman (33^rd President of the United States 1945 1953) to recognise Israel (Rothschild owned Zionist not Jewish territory) as a sovereign state with $2,000,000 which they give to him on his campaign train. They then declare Israel to be a sovereign Jewish state in Palestine and within half an hour President Truman declared the United States to be the first foreign nation to recognise it. The Flag of Israel is unveiled. Despite tremendous opposition the emblem on the flag is a blue coloured version of the Rothschild, “Red Hexagram or Sign.” This angers many Jews who realise this Hexagram was used in the ancient mystery religions as a symbol of, “Moloch,” (described as a demon of unwilling sacrifice and is also interestingly the name of the stone owl the elite worship at Bohemian Grove), and, “Astaroth,” (described as the Lord Treasurer of Hell).”; “1951: On 1 April the Israeli Secret Intelligence Agency the Mossad, which will go on to terrorize the world, is formed. The motto of the Mossad is probably the most disgusting secret service motto in the world, it is: “By Way of Deception, Thou Shalt Do War.”; “1976: Ashkenazi Jew, Harold Rosenthal, aide to Ashkenazi Jew, Senator Jacob Javits, states, “Most Jews do not like to admit it, but our god is Lucifer.” and “2000: George W Bush is elected (so they tell me) President of the United States. Bush and his family claim to be descendants of the House of Plantagenet which is descended from the Royal House of Judah.” Hard Evidence (Vol.11 #2, March-April 2011) used Press TV as a news service on “FBI framing Muslims to commit terror”. On the positive side of the ledger Hard Evidence (July-August 2011, September-October 2011) printed a two part article “Holocaust Revisionism”, which deconstructed arguments made by David Irving, Frederick Toben and others. The New Zealand magazine “Uncensored“, available at Australian newsagents, promoted Holocaust denial in a feature article in the December 2010 issue.

 

10.25 Antisemitic activity in Australia is often carried out by very small groups, or by individuals with loose connections to racist organisations but effectively operating on their own.

 

10.26 Brendon O’Connell of Perth publicised his own antisemitism on You Tube and the Web. He posted “These people will not stop until we stop them.  They will continue to “flatter” and “infiltrate”, tell you they love you and bow their heads to you like any manipulating sociopathic human being does.  Once you understand the mind set of the sociopath…you understand the mind set produced from Jewish Culture, Tradition and the twin pillars of Jewish Religion – Rabbinic Pharisaic Judaism and Jewish Mysticism in Kabala.” on the “Toughtalk” website (14/12/08).  He had earlier applauded a person who said he wouldn’t buy from Israeli salespersons, by writing “Heartless of you!  I bet that salesman lost relatives in the Holohoax TM and this is the way you treat the Chosen People?”  (7/12/08). “News From The West” website, which has a large number of antisemitic links, wrote of Brendan O’Connell “Brendon O’Connell’s actions are very straight – forward and effective.  In the age of under $200 high definition video cameras, the age of the people’s journalist is here.  TPTB are particularly afraid of this approach because it unmasks the Zionist J-w completely.  There is no mistaking what you are seeing.  If this caught on and people everywhere started confronted the lying Zionists, maybe we can save them from themselves, shame them into maybe waking up.  At the least, it is a compelling warning to the “Goyim”.”  (14/5/09). Brendon O’Connell, facing criminal charges following his posting on You-Tube of an incident where he harassed and vilified Jews, posted to the “Israellycool” website ” I want to ‘debate’ you on issues regarding the founding of the Israeli state.  The financing of Adolph Hitler by jews.  The financing of Lenin and trotsky by jews.  The worst mass killers in the Soviet Union being jews.  Marx Engles and Hess being jews.  The founding of Communist China by jews including the involvement of Sidney Rittenberg on half of Roosevelts jewish cabinet.  Then we can move onto a whole host of issues including Michael Hoffmans new book Judaism Discovered” and we can talk about the homicidal maniacs of orthodox Judaism and we can especially talk about “Chabad Lubavich”.”   (13/8/09).

O’Connell received a three year sentence for breaking Western Australian anti-racism legislation for posting an antisemitic video on the internet in January 2011. The Brendon O’Connell blog responded by publishing the following comment: “So, in the crazy, fucked-up country that is Australia, you can continually sexually abuse your eleven year-old sister for five years and make her pregnant safe in the knowledge that you’ll get away with a suspended three-year jail sentence should the police get wind of your incestuous perversion. But should you dare make a video wherein you state that Jews have a religion of racism, homicide, genocide and ethnic cleansing whereupon you quote from their own writings such as the Old Testament, then upload that video to YouTube, you will serve a three year prison sentence should some, whiny, lying, Jewish student report this to the police. What kind of “justice” is this? The Australian “justice” system is corrupt and broken, Fuck you judge Wisbey. Fuck you Stanley Keyser and fuck you too “members of Western Australia’s Jewish community” who were in court for the sentence and who “welcomed the jail term.” I hope every last one of you choke on your bagels and Gefilte Fish. The filth that runs Australia.  Friends and supporters of Brendon O’Connell, we are at war. Our freedom of speech and our very liberty is on the line. Brendon O’Connell has been made an example of so to try and frighten and intimidate critics and opponents of Jewry, Judaism, Zionism and Israel into silence. But there aren’t enough jails to hold us. Brendon O’Connell was but the first. This is just the beginning, mark my words. Which of us is next? It could be you, it could be me, or both of us. Our freedom of speech and our very liberty are under attack and they must be defended whatever the cost.” (31/1/11). Commenting on the Brendon O’Connell case, the “Modernity Blog” argued “I would hope that there should be clear blue water between Anti-Zionists and Far Right bigotry, but it’s not so clean cut when you examine the issues and people around the Brendan O’Connell case. Firstly, he was arrested at a Friends of Palestine event against Israeli oranges in Perth. Secondly, I had looked for a notice or something on the web, supposing that Friends of Palestine in West Australia would want to distance themselves from O’Connell, and only if you really, really search can you find something: “Given members of Friends of Palestine WA are shown and identified in the video in question, we feel it is incumbent on you to point out to your readers that we as an organisation cannot be held responsible for the racist views expressed by a rogue individual who unfortunately happened to attend one of our protests. Furthermore, we feel it is incumbent on you to make it known to your readers that we are unequivocally opposed to the vile racist views expressed by Mr O’Connell in his execrable video.” That’s after the event, and Friends of Palestine in West Australia have an unforgivable taste for that nasty racist play, Seven Jewish Children. Thirdly, the picture is further confused when you look at O’Connell’s main supporter, Jeff Kerr’s MySpace page, you see plenty of “anti-Zionist links”, for example, the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy, James Petras and palestineremembered.com Fourthly, there is nothing on the main Australians for Palestine site, but there is a certain shared taste for some web material, Alan Hart’s, the well known racist, Steve Lendman, Jonathan Cook  and Deir Yassin Remembered (which readers will remember is run by a Holocaust denier, Daniel A. McGowan).” (30/1/11).

 

10.27 Olga Scully of Launceston spent decades distributing antisemitic leaflets, cassettes and videotapes. Her persistent campaign resulted in a finding by the Federal Court, delivered in September 2002, that a number of her leaflets and other material was unlawful under Australia’s Racial Hatred Act. The Court declared that she had engaged in conduct rendered unlawful by Part IIA of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) by having distributed a number of antisemitic leaflets in letterboxes in Launceston, Tasmania and by selling or offering to sell such leaflets at a public market in Launceston and ruled that she be restrained from distributing, selling or offering to sell any leaflet or other publication which is to the same effect as any of the leaflets referred to and to pay the applicant’s costs. Olga Scully was unsuccessful in an application to Appeal to a full bench of the Federal Court. She now sends emails which are always ridiculous and sometimes racist, to media, political and religious figures, but her leafleting activities have effectively ceased.

 

10.28 Brian McDermott‘s Queensland regional newspaper Hinterland Voice also developed notoriety during the previous period in review as it published eclectic conspiracy theories and anti-Jewish material. For example, The Hinterland Voice No. 156 (February 2009) included a   an advertisement by “People’s Class Action Trust” for a number of antisemitic DVDs and Audio CDs, including the works of Eustace Mullins and “The Other Israel: An expose of the Talmud and the Cabala”; an article “Media Rules” which claimed any journalists who did not support Israel were branded “highly dangerous anti-Semitic terrorists” and the editorial signed Fiona B. Sullivan included a paragraph condemning “the Jewish people in new (sic) York” for being “happy” during the Festival of Chanuka.  Hinterland Voice No. 157 (March 2009) published a letter from far-right wing activist Olga Scully.  The Hinterland Voice (No. 162 August 09) published a front-page antisemitic article “Anna Bligh is a Rothschild puppet”, a page two extract from the Australian League of Rights “On Target” magazine, an article “Who are the real terrorists?” which claimed “Usury, plus a God-less, corrupt, debt-based monetary and banking system, plus corrupt land and share speculation, together with an out of control, corrupt derivatives industry with all of its corollaries, exacerbated by ignorant and corrupt politicians and public servants, motivated by greed, bad laws, and secretly steered by judeo-masonic political and economic policies, foisted on an indoctrinated, hypnotised, mesmerised, unsuspecting Goy public, have succeeded in smashing from within, what was once the most powerful country in the world – now a bankrupt corpse, waiting to be buried.  If we don’t wake up in Australia, and real soon, we will go the same way.”, advertised antisemitic videos from “Hinterland Voice Trust” and a long antisemitic article “The Jews’ God”. This continued during the period in review, and Hinterland Voice (November/December 2009) advertised DVDs including “The Other Israel: An expose of The Talmud and Cabala” and other antisemitic titles, included a “Christian Voice” page which featured Mordehai Vanunu and Bishop Richard Williamson and printed an article by John Pilger “Iran’s Nuclear Threat to Israel is a lie.”  After twelve years, in April 2010 the Hinterland Voice ceased publication in print form. Brian McDermott began publishing “The Free State Voice“, which he claimed would be updated “daily, sometimes even hourly!”. Material published in the first six months included “Is Lucifer the god of Judaism” (basically, yes).  (28/4/10). During the period in review, Free State Voice posted a series of overtly antisemitic articles and linked to anti-Jewish videos. Holocaust denial was a regular feature, with articles such as “The Jews and the Concentration Camps: No Evidence of Genocide” (30/8/11) and Jews were treated as financial manipulators and an unseen hand behind government evils, (in articles such as “Jewish ? ? ? and the ‘city’ of London” (26/2/11). The site promoted conspiracy theories on many issues, with Jews generally depicted as the group seeking to benefit from disinformation.

 

10.29 Darryl Potts was known to those watching racist activity, but gained broader notoriety when the Daily Telegraph reported “A man declared a white supremacist by police and ruled a possible risk to public safety by a psychiatrist has been granted the right to possess a handgun. Darryl Potts, who believes there is a Jewish conspiracy to destroy other races, had his AB firearms and probationary  pistol licences revoked by police after he expressed “white supremacy views” to officers during an incident involving domestic violence. But, in a landmark case, the Administrative Decisions Tribunal has ruled that, even though Mr Potts might hold extreme and offensive views, that does not mean he is mentally impaired and he is legally entitled to a firearm licence.” (20/1/11). The paper noted, the following day, that Potts faced banning from work at NSW Parliament House due to posts he sent from Parliamentary computers “The posts were written under the pseudonym Kinkyboy and written between 2006 and 2010. In one traced to a parliamentary computer he says: “Jewish Fascists masquerading as ‘Israeli Art Peddlers’, likely inspired by the slippery reptiles at the B’nai B’rith, have visited the family home when the kids were in the house” – the exact same story and phrase Mr Potts told The Daily Telegraph. Under another name on a white supremacist website he claims the Jewish holy book, the Talmud, allows sexual abuse of children. In another post he describes himself as a “6’+ blue-eyed Anglo-Celt, who like some others, wears a kilt, blows the pipes, but refuses to defer to kikes”. Mr Potts wears a kilt and plays in bagpipe band. In yet another post on a white supremacist website he reveals himself to be “KinkyBoy” and likens Jews to flies and maggots.” (21/1/11).

 

10.30  Brian Concannon  has appeared at many venues in Sydney over the years yelling antisemitic abuse at a variety of people, virtually none of whom have any connection to Judaism or the Jewish community. On his “Resisting the New World Order” website  Concannon posted a number of antisemitic and anti-Israel rants, and comments such as “the Zionist agenda for the world is to enslave the masses corrupt justice systems have been designed to keep perpetual high prison populations as part of that enslavement zionism is a satanic cancer upon humanity.” and “the war on terror should be called the war on Islam – the Zionist elites seem to be trying to orchestrate a religious genocide between Christians and Muslims while the sit back and laugh their asses off Islamic banking is the biggest threat to zio…” (26/9/11).

 

10.31 Mohammed Hegazi, a colleague of Fredrick Toben maintains the “Fact not Fiction” website. He  posts articles such as “SHYLOCKS ARE LUSTING FOR TOBEN’S FLESH”, which he introduced with “So Fred Toben was arrested in Germany and sentenced to 9 months in prison for defaming dead rats.  How about those Shylockian Americans who are defaming the living Palestinians by calling them “terrorists”, because they fight the Israeli squatters occupying their country?  Why should the UK pay attention to a German extradition request?  Germany is a country that persecutes scholars if their beliefs are differing from the generally accepted Holohoax dogma?  What does this label “holocaust denier” exactly mean?  It was been invented and propagated by the Skylockian mass media owned by Rupert Murdoch and his ilk.  It is not a crime to refuse to believe in the “historical truth” of the Holohoax lie, neither in Australia nor in the US or the UK.”  (2/10/08). “Fact not Fiction” published a long antisemitic article by Arthur Topham which included “The Zionist owned and controlled “Jewdiciary” of Australia have “held” that Fredrick doesn’t accept the Zionist version of what the Talmudic Jews have mandated as “freedom of speech” and “history” so they have found him “guilty” of “28 counts of contempt”.  Thus Jeremy Jones (a good kosher Jewish handle if ever I saw one), former president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the Orwellian weasel who first launched the complaint against Mr. Toben back in 1996, is now smirking to his Talmudic brethren and telling them how Australia is now firmly in the grasp of the infamous Noahide “Laws” of the Talmudic Lubavichers once and for all.”  (17/4/09). “Fact not Fiction” also featured an article “Holohoax Scam in Britain”.  (14/7/09). New material posted in the period in review included:

“Mubarak Dug his Own Grave” (17/3/11) which included “This idiot of a despot will be remembered as the most inept of all thieves. Together with his own family of gangsters, they robbed the Egyptian people of more than 100 billion US$. One could wonder: What can a person or a family do with one, just one, billion dollars? Bear in mind that the money robbed deprived 85 million people of any hope of a decent future for themselves or their children. . . Mubarak is now waiting precariously on a private resort in Sharm Elsheikh, close to the borders with his sub-human ilk, the Israeli Jews. His loyal generals are gradually abandoning him under pressure from their army subordinates and the Egyptian people. Those generals were hand-picked by Mubarak in order to ensure the loyalty of the army to him.”  “A CALL FOR USA REVOLUTION!” (20/2/11) “popular marches must bring to an end the rule of the oligarchy that governs the US today and comprises of a minority 20% of the wealthy and their lobby groups who are serving corporate interests, the Zionists, the bankers, and media and Hollywood tycoons, the military generals, and the dynasties that govern the United States today and comprise of the likes of the Bush dynasty and Clinton dynasty. Instead the popular masses need to demand that this oligarchy step-down from office. To leave power to a truly popular vote which necessitates we get rid of the two-party system of no choice! And to instill in its place a multi-party system of all political persuasions. From the right to the left. And here I am not talking about the Republican and Democratic parties as the right and leftIam talking about a real right and left. I am talking about a conservative party, liberal party, socialist party, nationalist party, religious parties (Islamic, Christian, and others), atheist party, green party. These Egyptian style protestations will demand an end to the two-party system in the USA to be replaced by a mutli-party system and people Parliament where all political opinions are represented. To demand a popular president who is elected by popular vote and to get rid of the electoral-college which is to be replaced by a true popular voting system that enables participation of the 80% of Americans who largely are currently outside of the election process. In 2008 for example voter turn out was less than 57% which is considered high. Federal voter turnout historically can reach as low as 37% such as that took place in 2006 in non-presidential elections.”; and  “A ZIONIST JEW NAMED JON FAINE” (3/11/10) which included “In Australia, and elsewhere, fanatic Jews creep-on to government owned media, spouting their venom at taxpayers’ expense. “Jon Faine” hosts a talk program on ABC radio. He managed to gain undeserved popularity for years, pretending to be fair and seeking the truth. Faine kept on faring freely until “Kevin Bracken” got-on to his program in order to raise the alarm about the reality of what happened in New York and Washington on 11/09/2001, when the world was conned into the belief that a dozen “Islamic Terrorists” invaded America. The attitude of Faine was rude and dismissive, while Bracken gave him no chance to mislead the listeners. Bracken remained cool and collected, while Faine rudely uttered nothing but nonsense and irrelevant trash.” . . . That was not the end of this revealing incident. Cowardly politicians were quick to condemn Kevin Bracken in the most derogatory terms. Julia Gillard exposed herself as another pale copy of John Howard. Mind you that the main discipline in Bracken’s qualifications is engineering, while the main occupation of those people is gutter politics. They do not represent average honest educated Australians. Bracken knew what he was talking about, and why the official narrative of 911 is scientifically flawed. Those cowardly politicians are representing the interests of Zionist USA. They do not care about the interests and security of Australia.”

 

11 RESPONSES TO ANTISEMITISM

 

11.1.A range of responses are necessary if a society is serious about limiting, let alone eliminating, antisemitism. Political and moral leadership is vital, especially when it is framed in a way to define antisemitism as an issue to be dealt with by the society as a whole, not just the antisemites’ targets. The victims of attacks need to have legal recourse. Education to combat prejudice, informally and formally, provides a basis for a society equipped to respond to what antisemitism may be imported or develop.It is possible to address antisemitism through a legal and social regime which confronts racism, without being specifically identified. In Australia this is the general rule, although through education and coalition building, antisemitism as a specific, archetypal form of racism is directly addressed. During recent years, with the increased volume of antisemitic incidents, the Jewish community paid a great deal of attention to the formal and informal means of responding to antisemitism.

 

11.2 Concern at racism has prompted a counter-reaction from a number of opinion leaders, including a number of serving politicians in state and federal parliaments. Most state and territory legislatures have passed motions condemning racism, calling for Reconciliation and affirming the values of tolerance and diversity, during the past seven years. Racist political movements are publicly condemned and placed at the lowest position on mainstream parties’ “How to vote” lists.The Federal Government has instituted a National Harmony Day, on the United Nations Day for the Elimination of Racism, which is marked by government and the community in many ways, but is generally used to honour individuals and organisations who have been active in promoting Australian multiculturalism.

In a welcome discussion, the Federal Government appointed a Stand Alone Race Discrimination Commissioner to the Australian Human Rights Commission, on 5 September 2011.

 

11.3 Australia’s Federal Governments have, in recent years, been prominent in international forums opposing antisemitism and promoting education against racism. Australia refused to take place in the 2009 United Nations’ Durban Review Conference in Geneva and the 2011 Review Conference in New York, in part due to the antisemitism which was a feature of the Durban Conference in 2001. The Federal and State governments have supported, through funding and other support, a range of projects of Jewish communal organisations designed to reduce prejudice. Laws have been enacted which provide a degree of recourse to victims of racism. Politicians from the major political parties have repeatedly both condemned antisemitism and chastised their political opponents for not being sufficiently pro-active in combating antisemitism.

 

11.4 The Federal Government also recognised the reality of physical threats to Jewish Australians with the allocation, commencing in April 2009, of security assistance to Jewish day-schools, as part of a multi-million dollar package to bolster security to “schools with identified security issues”

 

11.5 The Herald Sun reported, in an article “Hate crime under attack”, that Nazi white supremacists in Victoria will be the target of a crackdown on hate crime. A spate of swastika graffiti and anti-refugee slogans and stickers in Torquay and Lilydale have forced the State Government to act. The Victorian Multicultural Commission will undertake a major investigation into Nazi activity and hate-based prejudice over the past decade. The inquiry will detail the frequency of race attacks and the level of activity among white supremacists. Multicultural Affairs Minister Nicholas Kotsiras said hate crimes and violence were unacceptable and would not be tolerated.” (4/7/11). Additonally, a number of state parliaments are reviewing laws aimed at combating racist graffiti.

 

11.6 The good cooperation between different religious communities has been evident in recent years, with a number of joint statements condemning racism and intolerance, as well as supportive statements by one or another of the Australian religious denominations. AIJAC has facilitated “Conversations” for prominent religious figures, to discuss mutual action against prejudice. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the National Council of Churches in Australia and the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils have made a number of joint calls for tolerance. A number of Christian groups and the Baha’i faith have condemned antisemitic attacks and Jewish groups joined others in condemning racism against Australian Arabs and vilification of Muslims. This is in addition to the statements issued by groups from one or other religion/faith condemning racism and/or antisemitism. Churches were also important proponents of diversity and tolerance, often in concert with the Jewish community. The Uniting Church in Australia is continuing the process of exploring ways of taking joint action with the Jewish community to combat prejudice. The Catholic Church promoted inter-religious and multi-faith understanding as a particular focus in the lead up to the Year 2000 and continues to promote tolerance and understanding in the lead up to Australia’s hosting of World Youth Day in 2008. There have also been signs of movement in the direction of better relations between the Anglican Church and the Jewish community, with the establishment of the formal Anglican Jewish Australian Dialogue. One of the important ways in which Church and service organisations assert moral leadership against antisemitism is by refusing to allow racist and anti-Jewish groups to hire their premises and having policies advising representatives to refuse to share platforms with known extremists. It is pleasing to report that extremist anti-Jewish groups are experiencing increasing difficulty in finding premises in which to meet and in convincing respectable Australians to participate in their activities.

 

11.7 One of the most encouraging recent developments in responding to antisemitism and racism is a broad spectrum of educational initiatives, coming from government, community organisations, the business sector and individuals. The Federal Government, through the Anti-Racism Education campaign and the on-going public awareness programmes conducted by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 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 organisations.

 

11.8 In January 2000 the Australian Government participated in the Stockholm International Forum on the Holocaust. Australia was one of the countries which endorsed the final Declaration which included commitments to strengthen “efforts to promote education, remembrance and research about the Holocaust” and to “promote education about the Holocaust in our schools and universities, in our communities and encourage it in other institutions” as part of the reaffirmation of “humanity’s common aspiration for mutual understanding and justice”. In the period in review, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has energetically pursued curricula around Australia which would constructively contribute to inter-communal harmony. Australia subsequently participated in The Stockholm Forums on Combating Intolerance (January 2001) on Truth, Justice and Reconciliation (April 2002) and on The Prevention of Genocide (January 2004)  and attended the June 2010 meeting of the International Task Force on Holocaust Remembrance, Research and Education as an official Guest of the Chair.

 

11.9 Together with the Government of Indonesia, Australia initiated Asia/Pacific Regional Interfaith Dialogues, with the inaugural Dialogue taking place in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, in December 2004. The Dialogues have proven to be excellent opportunities for the promotion of programmes designed to break down inter-religious stereotyping and to promote co-operation in the cause of communal harmony. The second Dialogue was convened in Cebu, The Philippines, in 2006, the third in Waitangi, New Zealand, in 2007 and the fourth in Cambodia in 2008, with a Dialogue for young/emerging representatives in Australia in 2009. The dialogues now have New Zealand and the Philippines as additional co-hosts. Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd announced, during the period in review, that a further Dialogue would take place in 2012.

 

11.10 Community organisations also increased activities particularly those directed at school-age Australians. These ranged from promoting visits to schools by articulate representatives of the broad spectrum of ethnic communities, visits to institutions such as the Sydney Jewish Museum and the production of teaching materials on tolerance and on the negative impact of racism.

 

11.11 The business sector has also promoted and published the results of research into public policy areas which had in past years often been the subject of confusion and misinformation, particularly immigration.

 

11.12 Individuals opposed to racism, operating alone or in very small groups, have found that the Internet allows them to make a significant contribution to efforts to restrict the ability of hate-mongers to take away from their victims’ quality of life. On newsgroups, a number of individuals devote time and energy to exposing the lies spread by antisemites and other racists. A number of web-sites have been developed which provide useful resources for having informed discussions on topics which are regularly introduced into Internet discussions by racists. These sites make available material which is also greatly beneficial to those combating racism in the general community.

 

11.13 Late in 1995, the federal government introduced legislation to give recourse to victims of racism. The law, administered by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, seeks to conciliate complaints of racial harassment and vilification. If conciliation is not achieved, hearings take place and penalties can be ordered. While details of complaints are not made public, at least seven formal complaints regarding antisemitism were lodged with the Commission during the first years of the new law, and the determinations are beginning to provide indications of how useful the law will prove to be in dealing with antisemitism.  A complaint lodged under the Act against an article appearing in an April 1996 issue of the Arabic language newspaper El Telegraph was successfully conciliated by the HREOC, with the outcome including the publication of articles which hopefully will contribute to the historiography of understanding of Australian racism and international antisemitism. El Telegraph had reprinted articles from a newspaper based in the Arab Middle East, which included extracts from the notorious antisemitic concoction The Protocols of The Learned Elders of Zion.  At least one other complaint, also against a media outlet, was settled without reference to a public hearing. All four cases which were referred to public hearings, against the Adelaide Institute Web-site, anti-Jewish propagandist Olga Scully, The Nation newspaper and Bible Believers/ Anthony Grigor-Scott, have demonstrated the complexities of the process of resolving complaints under the original process, taking more than four years between the complaint and the adjudication. The process for complaint resolution has since been considerably streamlined. The most dramatic impact of the legislation came with the August 2009 prison sentence given to Fredrick Toben of the Adelaide Institute for contempt of court, due to his failure to obey court orders under the Racial Hatred Act.

 

11.14 All Australian States and the Australian Capital Territory had legislation supplementary to the Federal Act. Queensland also amended and greatly broadened and strengthened legislation in this field during the early part of 2001. The success and utility of these laws is a matter of on-going debate. Some shortcomings were brought in to focus in the attempts by a Melbourne victim of an antisemitic assault, in which the perpetrators were swiftly identified, to achieve recourse and have the victims appropriately penalised. In past years there have been actions taken by local councils, public authorities and corporations to ensure that the laws have not been breached, as well as many successful conciliations of complaints lodged under NSW and ACT law. In Victoria, a decision was taken in June 2009 to amend that State’s Sentencing Act to allow judges to take into account whether a particular crime was motivated by hate, after discussions involving Jewish community organisations on antisemitism and other racist activity. Western Australia’s government pledged to reintroduce civil racial vilification legislation.  “The laws, which were originally proposed under the previous Labor government, will make it easier to penalise people who make derogatory remarks about a particular racial group in public, the workplace, in print or on the internet.”  (The Australian 7 September 2010). The jailing of Brendon O’Connell for racist activity was under the W.A. Legislative.

 

11.15 A voluntary regulatory body, the Australian Press Council was, until the passage of anti-racism laws in a number of states and now federally, the most significant body which considered complaints of antisemitism. Although it no longer plays the same key role, it remains another arena for disputes to be resolved over questions relating to racism and antisemitism.  In November 2003, The Australian Press Council “upheld in part” a complaint against The Sydney Morning Herald for publishing, in August 2003, a cartoon that juxtaposed images of the Warsaw Ghetto and the wall being built by Israel on the West Bank.  The judgement said “the council agrees that the cartoon was so offensive as to breach its principles …”.

 

11.16 The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) sets and enforces broad community standards. The complexities of applying the legalistic and bureaucratic procedures to the real-time world of electronic media, however, renders this body problematic as an agency to combat racism and antisemitism. It does speak with some moral authority however and should not be totally disregarded.In a judgement passed down in December 2010 ACMA noted that Al-Manar , broadcast by satellite into Australia, in a programme allegedly on Jerusalem “does not refer to facts and current events but instead responds with a long discourse about Jewish people over history, describing them using such language as: “villains’, ‘fundamentalist’ and ‘extremists’, responsible for the ‘slaying of prophets’ and ‘accusing Virgin Mary […] of committing adultery’ those ‘who want throughout their whole life’ and ‘deliberately offend and insult others’. No balancing or differing points of view are offered during the program. In fact, no real attempt is made to link this racially-based invective to the particular issue that was noted to be the subject of the program (namely, the excavation of the al-Aqsa Mosque), nor is any attempt made to draw out any of the range of complex historical and political issues surrounding the excavation. In describing Jewish people in the above manner, the Sheikh makes generalisations which (at best) conflate the actions of individuals collectively with Jewish people as a whole. These generalisations denigrate the entire group by claiming that all Jewish people share the same negative characteristics. In this regard, the ACMA considers that the program was likely to vilify Jewish people on the basis of ethnicity and religion. Further, given that no real attempt was made to link this discourse to the subject matter of the program (except other than a ‘so what can we expect’ inferential link), the overall context of the program and the statements made by the Sheikh were gratuitous.”

 

11.17  In most of the cases of antisemitism in the print media, the newspapers and magazines published views of readers offended by them in letters columns. However, this was not universal, and even when it occurred, the newspapers themselves rarely acknowledged any fault on their part by originally printing antisemitism.

 

11.18  Individuals who are the victims of some of the more extreme acts of antisemitic intimidation do have recourse to laws other than those specified above. A variety of sporting bodies have introduced anti-racism codes of conduct during recent years. The focus in all cases was also on “offensive language”. A Sydney junior football (soccer) player’s father was banned for six weeks from any football-related activities, for yelling “You should have all been wiped out during the War!” at parents from a Jewish club.  It is important to note that while there have been a number of significant developments in codes of conduct in recent years, there is still a great deal which needs to be done to affirm the unacceptability of racist behaviour.

 

11.19 Despite an acknowledgement that the swastika “is a symbol of the worst of human nature” and that a person had been dismissed etching a swastika into a freezer door at his workplace and allegedly saying “the Jewish people did the wrong thing and crucified Jesus”, a Fair Work Australia Commission ruled that the dismissal was “harsh and unreasonable”. The decision included a finding that swastika graffiti was not necessarily the result of an intention to commit a racist act. (Report in Australian Jewish News, 8 October 2010).

 

11.20 A YouTube posting by Fredrick Toben of Holocaust cartoons was removed by YouTube, after a complaint from the Australian Human Rights Commission (complaint lodged 11/8/10, material deleted 25/8/10). In August 2011, his account was terminated due to his multiple offending against YouTube’s community standards.

 

11.21 Microsoft suspended the account jewkiller@hotmail.com, noting it was “offensive and constitute(d) a violation of Hotmail’s terms of Service” (28/1/11).

 

11.22 A Geelong dentist who was accused by a patient of having made an “anti-semitic diatribe” while she was in the chair was found guilty by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal of unprofessional conduct. (Report 23/3/11; Appeal on 15/6/11).

 

 

Jeremy Jones

THIS REPORT WAS WHOLLY RESEARCHED AND WRITTEN BY JEREMY JONES AM, TO ASSIST UNDERSTANDING OF ANTI-JEWISH VIOLENCE, VANDALISM, HARASSMENT AND PREJUDICE IN CONTEMPORARY AUSTRALIA

 

Jeremy Jones is Director of International and Community Affairs, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council and Honorary Life Member, Executive Council of Australian Jewry

 

 

November 2011