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For the last year or so, almost all Israelis, and, I would estimate, most Jews worldwide, have been glued to the news. They watch the surreal events playing out in the media with disbelief. Israelis are suffering collective trauma from the uncertainty regarding their personal security. The day-to-day stress is amplified by everyone’s constant need for updates on ‘the situation’.
Even those who have not donned a military uniform - (or been injured, or known victims who were murdered or injured in the current conflict, or those who have lost their income or their entire business due to the collapsed economy in the north, or others whose family relationships have fallen apart, or who are internal refugees that fled their homes in the border areas and sought shelter in suffocatingly cramped hotel rooms for over a year) - suffer trauma from an uncertainty about their future.
This, among other things, is what I discuss in my public talks exposing life in Israel in the face of current challenges.
But the knock-on effect is experienced beyond Israel. Wherever I am, I try to learn and document the impact of current events in the Middle East. Today I'm in Australia.
Australian Media
Members of the local Jewish community, and I daresay of the local Arab communities, are also thirsty for every morsel of information from “over there”. This is amplified by the plethora of news items covering Gaza (as opposed to Sudan and Yemen and a myriad of other miserable places suffering conflict and human tragedy far beyond the scope of the Gaza conflict).
Some local news sources do, indeed, understand and explain to their consumers Israel’s position as a western victim of Jihadist debauchery. See Sky News Australia and The Australian newspaper, for instance. But it sometimes feels like those with sympathy for Israel are equipped only with a garden hose to fight a forest fire.
A non-Jewish fellow I met at a cafe asked me how to resolve the Gaza issue.
“What do you mean by resolve, and which issue do you mean?” I asked.
He immediately started talking about dead Gazan babies he has regularly seen on the national broadcaster and what he called ‘the genocide’.
“I know what’s going on” he told me adamantly. “I’m not stupid. I can see it for myself”.
The power of the media strikes again.
I'm not able to say that Gazan children are not dying, and of course they shouldn’t be. And I cannot justify their suffering, except to say that ‘it’s either me or them’, a difficult and delicate argument, especially without context. But I can argue against the lack of care or attention given by critics to beheaded Israeli toddlers. Before even trying to respond to the issue of suffering Gazans – that is so eloquently and repeatedly, and perhaps justifiably, broadcast on the news - one must insist that such critics FIRST explain why the horror of Hamas soldiers putting our babies in ovens and walking away to shoot and dismember their parents did not/does not merit their outcry.
I recall how, during the Lebanon-Israel war of the 1980s, reporters talking of Israeli ‘aggression’ were always standing in rubble. We all thought this represented Beirut after being hit by nasty Israel. Only later did I discover that media reports were often filmed in a particularly damaged neigbourhood, cynically called ‘news street’. It did well to serve the anti Israel media agenda.
So too, today, the lack of local airtime to the suffering of Israelis who are instead, by insinuation, painted as non-emotional land-grabbers. This reporting approach constitutes evil in itself.
Personal Experiences
Since October 7, anti-semitism in Australia has reared its ugly head in a manner more vicious than anyone could have imagined. My friends here have confided in me their personal experiences.
One woman had glass bottles tossed at her and her child from a passing car as they walked to synagogue.
An academic related the difficult atmosphere at universities here, where Jews are quietly mistreated and their work sanctioned by senior staff members.
Two young teenage girls were called horrendous names and then threatened with beheading by other passengers while riding on public transport.
Obscene graffiti against Jews has proliferated around town.
A couple of weeks ago, a young man told me he could never live in Israel. He is an Aussie through and through and committed to life in Australia. He hopes the tense atmosphere will calm down.
Another friend made it clear that the golden age of Jewry in Australia is over. According to her, it’s 1937 Germany all over again, time to go.
I disagreed. “In 1930’s Germany, violence against the Jews was instigated by the government. That’s not the case here. Government inaction in combatting antisemitism is different to inciting it.”
My friend looked at me sternly. “You’re deluding yourself. Clear inaction is tacit incitement”.
Another fellow told me of his 20-year-old son who, after October 7, had raced over to the holy land and enlisted in the IDF to fight among his brethren. “I’m very scared for him and I wish he’d come home”, he confided in me. “But you won’t find a father anywhere who is prouder than I am.”
A few days ago I ran into an acquaintance I had not seen for a few years. She looked at me excitedly. “Since October 7 I just knew. There’s no point being here anymore. I’m sorting out my affairs and preparing for Aliya.”
Her comments reminded something a South African immigrant to Australia told me a while back. “Jews are the canary in the coal mine. When society breaks down, they are the first to flee. The non-Jews either heed this sign or are next in line suffer. Indeed, much of the SA Jewish community fled during the last 40 years, and many of them make up the Melbourne community today.
Anti-semitic Violence in Australia
Physical attacks on the Jewish community have skyrocketed. A synagogue, cars and even a kindergarten have been bombed, all accompanied by antisemitic graffiti. The police are slow at finding culprits. A local reporter here told me that when part of the local racecourse was burnt down, the arsonists were arrested within two weeks. But when it gets to an attack against Jews, police have been instructed from above not to stir the pot.
In Sydney, a caravan was found containing large quantities of explosives with details of Jewish targets.
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/jan/30/nothing-like-this-happens-here-dural-residents-thought-mystery-caravan-could-be-part-of-council-cleanup-until-bomb-squad-arrived-ntwnfb
Assessments are that Australia will experience a terror attack in the next 6 months.
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/stopping-anti-semitic-terrorism-in-australia/
Growing up, we all believed Australia was one of the safest places in the world for Jews. Sure there was antisemitism, but it was quiet, not vicious. After visiting Israel one year, my secular parents returned home to find a swastika painted on their garage door. It wasn’t reported, they simply painted over it and got on with their lives. I believe that most incidences today are also not reported. Despite that, statistics are scary.
In 2025, things have become dangerous. I feel safe walking down the street, but I’m not sure I would have the guts to wear an Israeli T-shirt.
The latest incident involved two nurses in Australia who spent part of the night shift at work chatting with strangers on an internet program. One such stranger was from Israel. After misrepresenting themselves as doctors to the stranger, the latter shared that he was from Israel. The conversation became nasty. The nurses told him he would go to hell, and that they would kill any Israeli who came to them for treatment. They also claimed to have done so to other Israeli patients in the past.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuv2GF1X0r8
The nurses, seemingly Arab muslim immigrants, have since been stood down from their positions and are the subject of a police investigation. They found quantities of morphine in his work locker. He had requested a workmate to clear it out before the cops found it, but instead the workmate reported the find to the authorities.
The Silent Majority
There is a silent majority, of course, who I believe is against all this “nonsense”. I recently visited Marysville, a small town in the mountains for a few days. When chatting with a local in his late 60s, he suddenly turned to me and asked “Are you Jewish?” Surprised, I answered in the affirmative.
“I knew it! I want you to know that we hate what those bastards (Hamas) did when they attacked your people, and we’re behind you.”
Later, I photographed visitors at a local tourism centre. They saw from my website that I’m from Israel. “That’s cool!” someone said. “My Dad studied in Haifa. He was with the British mandatory forces. He was on a panel that paved the way for a Jewish state.”
An elderly, non-Jewish couple I know had hosted their daughter and her muslim husband for an extended period. But this came to an end when their daughter became inflammatory against Jews. Unable to accept this behaviour in their home, they expelled the daughter and her husband. I’m sure this was not easy, and the impact on the family has been difficult.
I am not of the opinion that the Australian experience is comparable to Europe of 1937. But an insidious anti-semitic atmosphere pervades the country and some of its institutions. This atmosphere has been allowed to fester and grow for a variety of reasons. Australia has a struggle ahead to root out parts of its rotten core, but it can be done.
Let’s hope that the proper resources are dedicated to this end.
There is reason to be positive for Australia. The following article appeared in newspaper.
