It is a matter of record that, after the Hamas attack on Israel of October 7 2023, there has been a world-wide outbreak of antisemitic demonstrations and incidents. Not the least, Jewish institutions, individuals and Jewish life in Australia have been targeted.
Recently, the Australian government expelled the Iranian ambassador for inciting some of these events and removed its own diplomatic representatives from Iran. Not the least, Australia has declared its intention to recognize the Palestinian Authority as a state.
While antisemitism has always been with us, it has re-emerged with a new intensity as a tool which the enemies of Israel have used as a means of harming Jews and fighting against the Jewish State.
In our desire to understand contemporary events, we tend to focus on the current news cycle and forget the recent past. When considering the reemergence of political antisemitism, I would like to share with the reader a first-hand account of an ugly encounter related by a respected Israeli public figure and journalist several decades ago.
At the end of the nineties, Naphtali Lavie (1926-2014) addressed a small group of community leaders visiting in Jerusalem. He told that on a recent visit to Australia, just as he was leaving his hotel in Melbourne, a passer-by stopped him and declared: “You did not pay your bill!” Lavie asked, “What bill?” The Australian replied: “The bill for the gas!” Lavie elegantly responded: “I will pay for the gas if you give me a receipt.”
One may gather that the experience left a strong impression on Lavie, particularly because he recalled this encounter and chose to share the story. At the very least, he described a case of gratuitous hatred. It took place about thirty years ago and may help explain the underlying cultural environment in Australia.
And, by the way, Naphtali Lavie, elder brother of former Israel Chief Rabbi Israel Meir Lau, is known in Israel as a heroic survivor of the Holocaust who protected his brother "Lulek" (as the future Chief Rabbi was then called) in the concentration camps at great danger to himself.
Joel Fishman is a Fellow of the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs.