What starts with words doesn’t end there

Antisemitism cannot be tolerated – not on social media, at music concerts, at protest marches, or anywhere. Verbal or social media-driven antisemitism is just one step away from torching shuls and ransacking restaurants. It’s reprehensible on every level.

I say that, but every day, we see a steady increase in antisemitic behaviour on social media. It’s astonishing how many people have become almost immune to it and don’t call it out for what it is. Having said that, I know how tough it is to call out people about antisemitism on social media because no sooner than you make your point, you are lambasted by hordes of hate-filled people.

Even though they may not make sense or are throwing fake information at us, being attacked by many indignant and rude people who believe they are righteous and that we are bad and blind, isn’t easy.

It is tough to withstand the mass pressure, especially when our haters maintain they aren’t attacking Jews, only Israel, and appear to be able to cite many instances of Israel soldiers’ genocidal tendencies. So, all too often, we witness antisemitism and just let it go. However, we need to be clear that we cannot do this anymore.

You see, being called a supporter of a “genocidal regime” is easily translated into being a supporter of a state that those who hate us believe should disappear “from the river to the sea”. Simply put, they want no country in which Jews can be powerful and self-sufficient. Imagine if we didn’t have Israel? G-d help us if they got their way!

The answer isn’t to be like our enemies and physically attack them. That wouldn’t work. It’s simply to outsmart them and prove the truth.

When I say verbal antisemitism is one step away from torching shuls, this past week is proof of that. In last week’s edition, we brought you the story of Bob Vylan calling for “Death to the IDF!” (Israel Defense Forces) on stage at the Glastonbury Festival, and this week, another five Israeli soldiers were murdered and 12 injured in Gaza. This time around, one of the soldiers, who was all of 21, had South African heritage. He also lived among many former South Africans, bringing home the devastation and loss of this war.

While the war in Gaza is based on antisemitism, Vylan’s exploits weren’t a precursor to what happened to the soldiers.

However, the type of behaviour shown by Vylan and his ilk on stage, on social media, and in protest marches is directly linked to the upsurgence of violent antisemitism that we are witnessing in Australia and other parts of the Western world.

People on the side of our haters are denying this upswing, but what other reason do you think a person has for setting fire to the oldest shul in Melbourne on a Friday night? The arsonist was aware that there were families inside, and still went ahead, dousing the building with petrol and igniting it to raze it to the ground with 20 people inside it.

This is a pure and utter hate crime against Jews. “Detectives will continue to examine the intent and ideology of the person charged to determine if the incident is in fact terrorism,” an initial police statement read.

The fact that the authorities in Australia didn’t initially seem to be 100% sure that it was terrorism or that the intent was pure antisemitism speaks volumes. What other reason would someone have to set fire to a shul? I get that there are pyromaniacs out there who set fire to anything, but it would be easier to set fire to a forest or something more flammable than a shul in the middle of the city.

Then about half an hour later, about 20 people stormed a partly Israeli-owned restaurant with an Israeli name, Miznon – directly translated from Hebrew as “cafeteria” – vandalising the premises and shouting, “Death to the IDF!” as they did so. Attackers, mostly wearing masks, had the self-same chant as Vylan. Surprise surprise!

In the same area that night, Jewish-owned vehicles were torched and spray-painted with antisemitic slogans, according to local reports.

While the Australian government clearly sees what this is and has condemned it, what exactly is it doing to stop it? These attacks, in which people run rampant attacking one racial group, are all too familiar. And I’m not thinking of apartheid, but rather Kristallnacht, which happened in 1938. It was a clear precursor to World War II, which began the following year. And the authorities looked on and did nothing as Jews and Jewish businesses were attacked. Neither did the Germans. We cannot allow this to happen. Not in Australia, not anywhere.

I say that, but I rue the day that such incidents occur here. Will our government even recognise them for what they are? And if it does, will it do anything about them?

Our government has gone all out to attack the Jewish state, claiming it is doing the most heinous things. The African National Congress cannot seem to separate Israel, the country, and people, from its mission to demonise the Jewish state.

Have we heard much about the failed bomb attack on the building housing Jewish communal organisations in Cape Town at the end of last year? I certainly haven’t. I know the Hawks got involved, but I’m not sure no news is good news in this instance.

We’re fortunate in South Africa to date. Though we’ve been attacked on social media, we haven’t had to deal with the kind of antisemitic violence that Australian Jews have experienced. I’m not sure I would call it luck because we have our own issues here. However, what’s happening in Australia is horrific, and the world cannot stand by and do nothing. We dare not!

We need to recognise that it starts with words, but it doesn’t end there.

Shabbat shalom!

Peta Krost

Editor