What Ails Australian Jewry's Leaders? A Concerned Jew Speaks Out

This is a guest blog by communal personality Shirlee Finn of Sydney, who is no stranger to my regular readers.

She writes:

It appears our Community Leaders in Australia have what is commonly known as the ‘British Disease’ They wonder why people want no part of the mainstream organisations . Instead of standing up and showing that we are strong, they issue weak statements. I and many, many others think it's high time they consulted with the Community to find out what they actually think. They will be unpleasantly surprised that most people don't go along with their views. They will find they are clearly out of step with main stream thinking in regards to Islam and the joke called 'multiculturalism'

In November, in a show of support for Israel in light of Operation Pillar of Cloud, Jewish communities nationwide wide held rallies to show solidarity with Israel. To be honest I have no idea what Perth and Brisbane communities did, but Melbourne and Sydney organised rallies. Melbourne’s went ahead as scheduled in a park.

Sydney’s? That’s a whole other issue. Many people decided to give it a miss because they felt that a ‘park in Bondi’ was hardly the appropriate place for a show of solidarity. They felt the City should have been the venue of choice.

At the allotted time I turned up at the designated park to find Community Security ushering people into the Mizrachi Synagogue. I was quite appalled. Where was this show of solidarity if we were hidden away? I was angry but went inside, but only for a few moments until a man took the microphone and said exactly what I was thinking. I was one of only a handful to leave in disgust. In fact I left altogether. The excuse for hiding us away apparently was a security issue, but what of those who couldn’t get inside?

Angry beyond words, I wrote a Letter to the Editor of the AJN – Australian Jewish News. I was told later that as much as they agreed with my letter, it was very strong and they were worried about publishing it. They even had a meeting to discuss it. Something apparently very out of the ordinary and the consensus was to publish it.

“I thank and congratulate the ZCNSW [State Zionist Council of New South Wales] for organising the Solidarity Rally last weekend so well and so quickly

Though I am ashamed.

Ashamed that it was deemed necessary to hide away one third of the people who attended the rally for supposed security reasons .

Whose security pray tell? Seeing as to how two thirds of people were in the park?

 I enquired about the people outside, to be told they would have to cope!

So then whose security were we speaking of?

The elite few?

If it was such a security risk, why then were there only so few police in attendance?

Haven’t we done with hiding and running away? Haven’t we done enough of that down through the ages?

No more running.

We should be finished with that.

Haven’t enough died?

Why aren’t we openly displaying our support for Israel?

People like my father who proudly and openly proclaimed their Jewishness in the East End of London, in the face of Oswald Mosley and his Fascist Party, must be turning in their graves.

I can still clearly see ‘The Blackshirt’ newspaper sitting on the kitchen table, showing a photo of my father with the words “We have to put an end permanently to this man, not only is he a Communist, he is a Jew”.

My father never hid, he never cowered. He stood proud and tall. He refused protection.

It was instilled into me never to be afraid even whilst the death threats were current and I was only allowed out with Police protection.

Let’s stand up and be counted with no more hiding.”

I waited for the backlash from our Community Leaders – and gurnisht/nothing. Not a peep. I did however hear from people I don’t know agreeing with me.

There should have been some kind of reaction from Leadership in regards to an incident on KKL/JNF -Green Sunday. Did it happen? NO!!

The AJDS – Australian Jewish Democratic Society – despite being a "Jewish" organisation, is virtually like having the enemy in our midst. They are commonly called "the enemy within". They are group with extreme leftist views and do all they can to demonise Israel.

To my way of thinking, and that of many, many others, this is just not on.  If take issue and you want to air it and you live in the Diaspora – don’t. You have no right. You are not an Israeli citizen. If you want that right then go and live there

On January 21st the Executive of the AJDS submitted the following letter to the Australian Jewish News ahead of a major fundraising drive by the Jewish National Fund.

'With the Jewish National Fund (JNF) “Green Sunday” coming up, this year raising money for projects in the Beersheva region, there are some important reasons why we need to think carefully about the role that the JNF plays in Israel. For instance,

* Despite some tinkering due to recent court cases in Israel, the JNF charter prohibits the sale or renting of land to non-Jews. Yet Israel is supposed to be a state for all its citizens. Would we support such a form of discrimination against defined groups of citizens in Australia?

* The JNF receives land from the forced removal of Bedouin villages in the Negev. While the JNF claims that such Bedouin settlements are unlawful, the deliberate resettlement of indigenous populations such as the Bedouin (and they are classified as such) clearly breaches international protocols. One village, Al Araqib, has been demolished 45 times, and its demolition orders are currently facing Supreme Court appeal.

* For decades now, the JNF’s forests have been used to cover up destroyed Palestinian villages. The villagers, many of whom fled and were not involved in hostilities, have no right to return or to claim compensation.

* The JNF continues to plant pine trees even though it is very clear that this is environmentally irresponsible and contributes to devastating forest fires. They are the wrong trees for the local environment.

* The JNF is active in the Occupied Territories, through its involvement with evictions of Palestinians in East Jerusalem. Supporting the Occupation in this way politicises the JNF in a very divisive way.

here are more ethical, non-discriminatory and environmentally-friendly organisations in Israel which deserve the support of the Australian Jewish community. These include the Green Environment Fund and Friends of the Earth Middle East, as well as Israeli hospitals which offer treatment without fear or favour, and of course, social development organisations supported by the New Israel Fund and other organisations. With the establishment of Israel over 65 years ago, it’s past time for us to think seriously about our support for the JNF.'

The paper's editor indicated that he would not publish it.  That being the case, the AJDS then decided that “the Australian Jewish community was being hindered from hearing other voices by a media outlet which considered itself inclusive and authoritative.”

Yes, AJDS, that’s because once again you are demonising Israel, and a Jewish publication won’t do your dirty work!

This group of extreme leftists then decided their best plan of action was to demonstrate, hand out flyers and cause a ruckus outside of the JNF offices, so much so, in their own words

“3 squad cars were called by the powers that be and even more security back up.”

Note: The protesters were initially rumoured to be from the Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS), although this was refuted by AJDS co-President Harold Zwier:

“I know there were some AJDS people who may have taken part in it but it wasn’t an AJDS event”

I question that fact as their President was part of the group and it was after all posted on their Facebook page

As you would expect their version was a far different one to that of the volunteers at the JNF offices:  (See here)
This is just one of the antics the AJDS get up to and yet the JCCV [Jewish Community Council of Victoria] have no issue with them being an affiliate. It’s high time our Community Organisations stood up to the noisy minority and listened to the Community as a whole.

Somehow our Community Leaders felt threatened by the presence of Geert Wilders in this country.

Geert Wilders is one of the most pro-Israel supporters on this planet. What an insult.!

The ECAJ – Executive Council of Australian Jewry – supported by other Community Organisations issued a Statement extolling the virtues of multiculturalism, which we all know is an abysmal failure and has ‘ghettoised’ the country.

Likewise the one released by the JCCV.

The ECAJ is the umbrella organisation which claims it speaks for the entire Jewish Community in Australia. The JCCV purportedly represents the Jewish Community in Victoria, it appears to most that all it does is to pander to the loony left, aka ‘the enemy within’.

As is my norm I blog and comment all over the Internet for Israel and just about everywhere I went I was seeing comments about how the Jewish Community should be supporting Geert Wilders and the statements put out were pathetic.

Andrew Bolt, who is a strong Israel supporter, also made comment on his Blog. (See here)

He says:

“Depressingly, he [Wilders] has even been shunned by Opposition Leader Tony Abbott and Jewish community leaders. [And quotes the pathetic statement from the ECAJ.] It seems to me that political or community advantage is being put before principle – and fear is preventing a rational discussion of Wilders’ message.”

No one was expecting the Community Leaders to come out and say they support Wilders. This is one time they could have said nothing. There was no need for such a pathetic non-statement.

I have firsthand accounts from people who were at the Melbourne and Sydney events. The audience consisting of mainly non-Jews. At both events I am told that when Wilders acknowledged that Israel has every right to exist, it raised a huge ovation.

Wilders has spoken in Israel. He has also spoken at various shuls in the USA and I believe Congress and we can’t support him here? The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) has announced its strong support for him and we are busy having little Muslim/Jewish cooking sessions. How truly pathetic is that?

Haven’t we had enough? Why are we so quiet?

Why aren’t we out there voicing our opinion against Islamic speakers Taji Mustafa and Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, both of whom will be here this month, who are both on record making antisemitic remarks? By that I don’t mean making statements and posting them on J-Wire or the ECAJ website

Whilst I am raving, I have questions which many people are talking about.

Why on earth is the AJDS an affiliate of the JCCV? A group of people who are trying to bring Israel to her knees. I realise we have a very strong representation of the Jewish Extreme Left in Melbourne, but why are we pandering to them? As an extension to that fact, why then is the JCCV an affiliate of the ECAJ?

I think they need to read the extraordinary number of comments on J-Wire to see what people think. I am constantly asked why the Community at large don’t see fit to join our Community Organisations. I think that is pretty clear. It’s for the same reasons I dropped out of the Community for so many years. To tell you the truth, if it wasn’t for the friendship of one person, I too would be long gone, because I feel I am hitting my head up against a brick wall.