Like many Jews in Australia, I am feeling completely numb, filled with deep pain at the loss of 15 of our brothers and sisters in the terror attack on Bondi Beach on the first night of Hanukkah.
But alongside the hurt is seething anger towards those who were complicit in this atrocity. Not just the monsters who pulled the trigger, but to the State and Federal governments who have let us down and created the environment that allowed this to happen.
I, like many others, have been very outspoken in my condemnation of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke and their Labor Government. They allowed antisemitism to explode unchecked over the last two years through their inaction. And their policies further fueled the flames.
The flood of antisemitism in Australia should have been stopped on the steps of the Opera House, when mobs called out "gas the Jews" or, as some claim to have heard, "where are the Jews". This was on October 8, 2023 before Israel’s retaliation, and it was in celebration of the October 7 massacre.
We’ve seen weekly hate-filled marches that shut down our cities. Our icons like the Harbour Bridge were hijacked by mobs baring picture of Ayatolla Khameini and waving ISIS and Hizballah flags. Cars and shops have been vandalized with antisemitic slogans and Synagogues have been attacked and in the case of Adass Yisroel, burned down.
And throughout this, despite desperate appeals from the Jewish community, the Government did nothing. Instead, they welcomed Jihadi ISIS brides to our shores, allowed preachers to spew vile hatred unchecked and with their foreign policies condemning Israel and recognizing a “state of palestine”, they emboldened not only Hamas, but also radicalized Muslims and antisemites here at home.
With the atmosphere that they have created through their actions and through their silence, the Bondi shooting attack was inevitable.
And so, when some of these politicians came to the memorial at Bondi Beach, they were booed. They have been slammed by foreign leaders, including Donald Trump and Bibi Netanyahu and by local Rabbis and communal bodies.
Someone asked me if there is any way that we can forgive them and what would it take for them to regain trust of Australian Jewry.
So, let’s talk about Yosef. Yosef was greatly wronged by his brothers when they cast him into a pit and sold him as a slave. He was failed by the very people who should have protected him.
In Parshas Mikeitz the table turned. Yosef was elevated to become the viceroy of Egypt, in charge of all of the grain supplied in the years of famine. Not knowing that he was their brother, the brothers came before Yosef to purchase grain.
Yosef did not embrace them. He did not reveal who he really was. He was not yet ready to forgive. Instead, he spoke harshly towards them. He interrogated them, accused them of being spies and incarcerated them for 3 days.
But the torment was not over. To prove their innocence, Yosef demanded that they bring their younger brother Binyamin down to Egypt with them. Knowing how beloved Binyamin was to their father Yaakov, the brothers were thrown into panic and turmoil.
Why did Yosef act so callously towards his brothers?
Why did he treat them with coldness and harshness instead of embracing them?
The commentaries explain that Yosef wanted to see that they were truly remorseful for having mistreated him and whether they had sincerely repented.
And his actions bore fruit. Recognising that this must be punishment for having sold Yosef, they declared “indeed we are guilty concerning our brother, that we saw his heartfelt anguish when he pleaded with us and we did not listen.”
The commentators note that their greatest crime was not the sale alone. It was their cruelty; that they could hear Yosef’s desperate pleas for help and ignore them.
Yosef heard their admission of guilt. Hearing their regret, he turned aside and cried. But this was still not enough and Yosef was still not ready to accept them.
When the brothers eventually returned to Egypt with Binyamin, they presented Yosef with gifts, hoping that this would help them find favour in his eyes. They also offered to give Yosef double the amount of money for their grain.
Despite these overtures, in a final act of torment, Yosef hid his silver cup in Binyamin’s sack and accused him of stealing it. Yosef threatened to keep Binyamin as a slave.
Yosef had feared that the brothers harbored the same resentment to Binyamin, who, like Yosef, was also the son of Rachel and was also their father’s beloved child. He feared that the brothers had not reformed and may not protect Binyamin, just as they had failed to take care of him.
Yosef wanted to test them. Was their regret just lip service or would they take action and really do things differently the next time around.
Despite Yosef’s great power, Yehuda confronted him, threatening to turn over all of Egypt if needs be, to protect Binyamin and bring him safely home.
Seeing this genuine transformation, not just in words but in action, Yosef could no longer hold himself back. He revealed his identity to his brothers, forgave them completely and finally embraced them.
I think that the message is the same vis-à-vis our relationship with our Government and its officials.
For over two years, the Jewish community in Australia has been crying out for protection. We have pleaded with the government to address the frightening rise of antisemitism in our streets and on our campuses. We have begged for action against the violent rhetoric by threatening mobs at the Opera House and other icons.
But like Yosef, our pleas were ignored and we were thrown into the pit.
Despite everything that we have suffered, we are a forgiving people. We believe in Teshuvah - that genuine repentance and change is possible. But like Yosef to his brothers, we say to you;
You will not earn our forgiveness with gifts; not with flowers, candles or other symbolic gestures. You cannot buy us off with offers of increased funding. You need to take ownership, to have the guts to admit, “we were wrong”, “we are at fault”, “we failed you”, “we are responsible for this”.
But these words alone are not enough. Talk is cheap and it is easy to make pledges of lip-service.
We need to see real immediate action to support these declarations. We need to see a real zero-tolerance crackdown on antisemitism, with robust legislation and enforcement, so that we can know that we are protected and that this will not happen again.
Now is your silver-cup test moment. If you pass, then, perhaps we can reconnect.