Dear Readers:
I encourage you to share this letter with your children and grandchildren.
Please put it on your social media or share mine.
I want Jewish and non-Jewish Australians alike to read the letter.
The letter tells young people that they are not alone and provides them with some advice on what they can do to meet the challenge of our times.
It is also a strong reminder to those who are not taking this seriously enough - antisemitism has significant impacts on our children.
Resilience is part of our heritage. We must all continue to support our children, our family, our friends, and our community as we navigate these ongoing challenges together.
Kind regards
Julian Leeser
Afterword:
Violent Jew hatred in Australia is shocking because Australia was the country to which many Jewish Holocaust survivors and other Jews fleeing prejudice came and prospered. They now fear for their very lives. It began with a pro-Hamas rally at the Sydney Opera House right after October 7th in which demonstrators shoutedl "Gas the Jews," a cry not heard since the Holocaust. It was treated as free speech by the Australian government. Burning a synagogue and child center and a death threat to prominent Jews were not far behind. Arutz Sheva covered the topic here.
Watch Barry Shaw speak with an Australian Jewish leader on this video: