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- Laws won't kill antisemitism
News about the Bondi terror attack is moving quickly. Paired with the shock and grief, it’s been very difficult to sit down to figure out what I should write to you, what will actually be useful by the time you are reading this.
It cannot be understated just how violently this attack has ripped through the entire Jewish community, which is small and very close-knit nationwide. This is a trauma that will forever change the experience and lives of Australian Jews.
It’s with precisely that in mind that I’m writing today’s newsletter on one aspect of this massacre.
Before we start, a couple of notes that are getting lost in the discourse that we really should be keeping in mind:
Jewish and Israeli are not synonyms. Not all Jewish people are from Israel.
Islamic State (IS, also referred to as ISIS) is a militant group, designated as a terrorist organisation by Australia, the UN and other countries around the world, including many Muslim-majority countries. Islamic State is not a synonym for Islam. The IS ideology is not based on the Quran or the Muslim faith, but primarily on the theories and writing of extremist ‘philosophers’.
IS is predominantly active in Syria and Iraq.
Now that police have charged the younger man over the Bondi shooting, you will see lots of media outlets referring to him as the alleged shooter. This is in anticipation of a criminal process, which entitles everyone to a fair trial and the presumption of innocence until proven guilty (yes, even if there is video footage).
Based on what we know so far: The two alleged shooters appear to have been inspired by IS to commit this act of terror. At this point they do not appear to be members of IS themselves. Antisemitism — a hatred of Jews — is one of the core beliefs of the IS ideology.
The political-legal response at both the federal and state level has been two-pronged. The first is pretty straightforward: tightening Australia’s gun restrictions and licensing requirements to try to stop a mass shooting(or really any shooting) like this from happening ever again.
The second legislative response is an attempt to address the ideological element of this massacre by implementing the recommendations of Jillian Segal’s antisemitism report and making changes to hate speech laws. This is the part I think we have to be really clear-eyed about.
Antisemitism is a violent, hateful ideology. It’s a belief, an idea. And you cannot legislate, regulate or police ideas out of existence. It is just not possible.
You can make actions illegal and you can police symbols, slogans or words. It’s the approach governments have already taken with neo-Nazi groups. For example, in Australia it’s illegal to display Nazi flags or do the Sieg Heil salute and last month a man voluntarily left the country (under threat of deportation) back to South Africa after appearing in a neo-Nazi demonstration in Sydney where members chanted Hitler Youth slogans. After the Bondi terror attack NSW Premier Chris Minns has begun the process of banning the public display of the ISIS flag. Good.
But stopping the public demonstration of these things doesn’t kill the idea itself.
On Monday’s 730 program, counter-terrorism expert John Coyne described one of the radical clerics who the alleged shooter was connected to as “awful but lawful”. These people go right up to the line without breaking the law, but can play a significant role in radicalising other (typically younger) people who do cross the line into violence.
The only possible way to extinguish the ideas at the heart of extremist hate — whether antisemitism, white supremacy, violent misogyny etc — is to make them unappealing to ‘new recruits’ so that they essentially die out. What do they think it ‘solves’ for themselves or the world? And then, how do you stop them being drawn to it?
A potential target has to feel that a life they love in a healthy community that is not worth sacrificing. This is precisely why ‘division’ is dangerous and why security experts talk about ‘social cohesion’ as being legitimately important in protecting against threats.
I don't think this is an easy task, by any means. But it is something that is within our control, and that’s got to count for something.
I’ve been frustrated to see some progressive voices saying that the implementation of the Segal report would not have stopped the Bondi terror attack. No, it would not — but that’s not the point. Trying to eliminate ‘casual’ antisemitism (which lives in the assumptions about Jewish people, rather than overt hate of them) creates a healthier community that doesn’t dehumanise the ‘other’, and therefore is less likely to put anyone on the path to radicalisation. It’s important in the same way that eliminating casual racism, sexism, ableism and homophobia is just one important part of stopping hate crimes against those identities.
For what it’s worth, I have written before about the huge problems with the Segal report. It is based on a flawed definition of antisemitism and should not be adopted in full by the government. But that doesn’t mean we should ignore casual antisemitism just because it did not directly cause this terror attack.
It might sound a bit ‘woo-woo’, but coming together is one of the most important and practical things we can do right now. One of the main purposes of terrorism is to create fear, division and destabilise a population. A divided community helps them recruit and build; a community in solidarity is impenetrable.
That means we have to absolutely reject the disgusting attempts by some politicians and other public figures to score political points. I am no fan of this Labor government, but saying that Anthony Albanese is responsible for this attack is shameless and illogical. Was Tony Abbott responsible for the Lindt cafe siege? Was Jacinda Ardern responsible for the Christchurch massacre? No.
We also have to be steadfast in calling out the hideous Islamophobia that is running rampant. There are violent extremists of every ‘faith’, who twist the religion’s teachings to justify their own hatred — that does not make them representative of the whole community.
Terrorists who are motivated by antisemitism would love for Muslims and Jews to be fighting against each other in Australia, and for the rest of us to take ‘sides’. That is exactly why they commit the violence, to scare people into paranoia and distrust. They would hate it if all parts of the community, including Muslims and Jews, came together to support one another.
That’s why the Bondi paddle out, Indigenous smoking ceremonies, Muslim and Jewish leaders embracing each other at the vigils are powerful and practical for this very reason.
Protect against division in every way you can.
PS: I’ll be out of the country and taking a planned break from the newsletter from next week until late January. In the meantime, you’ll get feature articles from the Zee Feed Summer Issue in your inbox. Take care of yourselves and each other until then. I’ll be writing to you again soon.