WHAT AUSTRALIA NEEDS TO REMEMBER ABOUT ANTI-SEMITISM. AND WHY DUTTON’S WRONG.
As a student of history, I remember Australia’s vilification of its German community during World War One which saw some German Australians change their names or Anglicize them. Suddenly the German grocer who was as Australian as those who ticked natural-born British Subject on their enlistment forms was “Hans the Spy,” and viewed with suspicion.
During the Second World War, Japanese Australians were interned along with German Australians and Italian Australians, and the Australian Government interned pro-Nazi and anti-Nazi Germans together, and pro-fascist and anti-fascist Italians together, and some Japanese who were actually born in Australia were deported to a Japan they did not know and where they had no support.
I have always opposed interning people because I see it as paternalistic and I also say that just for example, a German may have been living in Australia in 1939 but hated the Nazis as much as the Australians who were fighting them. Yes, there were vigilante attacks committed against people considered “enemy aliens” but the perpetrators should have been dealt with by the police.
I am angry about what Israel is doing, but I know that there are MANY Jewish Australians who feel the same way. It’s understandable that Australians feel angry and decide to boycott goods made in Israel, even if it means paying twice as much for genuine thermostat for your car’s engine, but firebombing synagogues is inexcusable. It would be the same as firebombing a Japanese restaurant or temple because you don’t approve of whaling!
Australia finally made the right call by breaking with the USA and calling for a permanent ceasefire and a two-state solution, and the media is attempting to paint the Australian Government as being anti-Semitic. Similarly, the despicable Dutton is accusing the government of abandoning Jews.
It’s time for Australia to accept that what the USA does is not always correct and we are not joined at the hip with them. Just like they say that a person can walk and chew gum at the same time, Australia can punish those who firebomb or vandalize Jewish businesses in Australia yet call for Israel to be condemned for what it’s doing in Gaza. Supporting Jewish individuals does not mean turning a blind eye to genocide. Had Australia been a more mature country in 1939, it could have said, “Okay, Australia is at war against Nazi Germany, but German Australians have the right to live their lives as long as they’re not harming anyone.” And we all know that Dutton is only being contrarian because he wants votes.