From abuse to attack: why words matter

Once again, we find ourselves reeling from horrendous antisemitic attacks last weekend in Melbourne, with three separate incidents. The East Melbourne Hebrew Congregation synagogue was firebombed with about 20 Jews praying inside. Mercifully, no-one was physically harmed. That same evening, on 4 July, a mob of about 20 masked extremists stormed Miznon, an Israeli-owned restaurant, chanting, “Death to the IDF!”, hurling chairs and glassware, and sowing terror among diners who fled for safety. Within the same 24-hour period, Jewish-owned cars were torched and defaced with vile antisemitic graffiti, including hateful slogans that cut to the core of our community’s dignity.

The chant of “Death to the IDF”, first amplified at the Glastonbury Festival, has echoed across the world including here in South Africa. It’s an example of the speed with which this type of discourse spreads and becomes acceptable sloganeering. We have seen the same “From the river to the sea”; “Resistance by any means necessary”; and “Globalise the intifada.” In fact, even the term “intifada”, synonymous with terror, bombs, and missiles, has been whitewashed through casual use, stripping it of its violent reality. As Jews, we know all too well the power of words to incite and the peril of allowing such hatred to fester unchecked. The tongue, as scripture reminds us, holds the power of life and death, and tacit acceptance of these messages paves the way for acts of violence.

The scene at Glastonbury resonates deeply with our struggle as a community, not only to be heard but to be safe and welcome in public spaces, at concerts, at races, at sports events, and even at medical conferences. It’s about the battle to ensure that we don’t accept sloganeering and statements that we once thought reprehensible becoming accepted forms of antagonism. It’s a fight to protect our right to exist, unapologetically, as Jews in a world that too often seeks to silence us.

Over the past two years, our community’s expressions of grief, personal and collective, haven’t been met with empathy, but with hostility, intimidation, and antagonism. I recall the event we hosted at Great Park Synagogue last year to mark solemnly a year since 7 October 2023, at which an aggressive and destructive mob attempted, unsuccessfully, to disrupt our commemoration. Time and again, our community’s events are disrupted and marred by those who seek to deny us our right to mourn, to celebrate, or simply exist in the public space as Jews.

The scenes in Melbourne resonate for a different reason. They are the physical manifestation of the sanitised slogans we hear far too frequently. This is what “Globalise the intifada” means, what “Death to the IDF” means, what “Intifada by any means necessary” means. These aren’t abstract political phrases, they are a direct threat to our safety and existence. As we have learned all too painfully over the past two years, when such threats are made, we must take them at their word.

As past United Kingdom chief rabbi, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, said, “The real test of a society isn’t the absence of crises, but whether we come out of them cynical and disillusioned or strengthened by our re-dedication to high ideals.” In this time of crisis, we must remain dedicated to our highest ideals and never accept infringement on our identity, our space, or our belief in the power of the tongue.