Fighting antisemitism

“They came to kill us because we are Jews. Knowing this, it makes it really hard to feel safe as a Jew in Australia.” These are the words of Dina Bloom, who is married to a South African expat, Greg, in evidence before the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion in Australia this week. 

“I make sure my children don’t wear Magen Davids or Chais when they walk out of our house in London. They dare not show they are Jewish because I cannot protect them from those who hate us,” said an expat South African mother who emigrated 20 years ago. “We moved to England because we didn’t want to deal with crime in South Africa, and now we live with more fear” 

These are just two Jewish women in two countries where Jews have felt safe for many decades. It is heartbreaking and devastating to hear them speak. And they are not alone. 

The scourge of antisemitism has grown and continues to grow around the world in a way that most of us never imagined. We are truly living in a different world to the one we thought we were living in before 7 October 2023. 

In South Africa, we are extremely fortunate that our lives have been altered far less. However, we dare not be lulled into a false sense of security. 

The point is, though, that despite what we are witnessing and experiencing around the world, there are still many people in our own backyard who deny antisemitism exists and continue to perpetuate it. 

We have people who do what they can, particularly on social media, to prove that Jews cry “antisemitism” all the time when it doesn’t exist. What’s more, we apparently do it only when it suits us. 

In a recent article, a person who has made it his business to attack the SA Jewish Report, and by extension our community, claims the latter. 

He uses the recent destruction of the Rafi Niya Synagogue in Tehran as an example, which he believed we would otherwise have called antisemitism, but didn’t. 

The shul was hit by an Israeli-United States missile early one morning during the Pesach week and there was substantial damage. What is clear is that nobody was aiming for the shul, and it was what Israel called “collateral damage” in the war. 

I am sure the Iranian Jewish community was extremely upset and angry. Who wouldn’t be? I don’t blame them. However, while it doesn’t justify the damage, ugly things like this happen in war and, thank G-d, nobody was harmed. 

While we published an article about Rafi Niya Synagogue, it was written for and by the international Jewish news service Jewish Telegraphic Agency, to whom we and most Jewish publications worldwide subscribe. 

However, to make this article and awful incident an issue of antisemitism is outrageous. Yes, when synagogues around the world are purposefully attacked because it is where Jewish people pray, it is antisemitic. I would be hard-pressed to find another reason for attacking Jews and their places of prayer. 

But I find it unbelievable that in this day and age, when around the world we are witnessing such blatant antisemitism, people still choose to find ways to refute it or to turn it around and make it the fault of the Jews. 

For those people who find their way to blaming Jews for antisemitism, there is a name for what they do. It’s called victim blaming and it has a long and ugly history in antisemitism. So, blame the Jews for being hated because that hatred is only a reaction to our own behaviour. That way it is easy to hate Jews because we apparently brought it upon ourselves and therefore we deserve it. 

So, if you claim that everything Israel does is evil, it is easy to justify antisemitism that way. Of course, you are going to hate those you have built, in your head, into genocidal maniacs. 

I am so weary of people who claim they are not antisemites but simply replace the word “Jew” in their hateful sentences with “Zionist”. It is true there are a number of outspoken Jewish antizionists, who love telling people, “We are Jews, but …” However, most Jews in the world support the right of the Jewish State to exist and to defend itself. Not every Jew supports the present Israeli government. In any given year or time, many Jews are critical of elements of what the government of the day does. I have many criticisms, but without question I and most Jews in the world want Israel to survive and thrive. 

While I don’t have a say in what the Israeli government does, I am integrally linked emotionally, psychologically, and in other ways to the State of Israel. I also don’t have to agree with what the government does. Much like I am entitled to my opinion on how the government of South Africa rules. I can criticise it as much as I want, but I still want South Africa to survive and thrive. No different. 

There is such a big difference however between demonising Israel and the Israeli people and being critical of the government or a policy or a number of policies. 

Those who demonise Israel aren’t critical minds who believe in human rights. They aren’t good people who see the wrong in the world and want to make it right. They aren’t decent people. They are antisemites. They want to be rid of Israel and the Jews who live in it ‒ and they have been openly against South African Jews who are intrinsically Zionist. 

In South Africa, we are so fortunate to have a close-knit community that is extraordinarily self-contained, with CAP, CSO, Hatzolah, the Chev, and so many other organisations that look after us. 

There are times that, as Jews do, we argue and disagree with one another. That is okay. Like any good dysfunctional close family, we don’t all agree. It is our nature not to do so. 

However, we need to stick together and work together to prevent those cracks becoming crevasses. I don’t have to agree with you, and I can be vocal about it, but we are still siblings, and we need to work together against our real enemies. We all have our strengths and weaknesses, but our biggest strength is our bond with each other. 

Shabbat Shalom! 

Peta Krost 

Editor