Living A Parallel Life At Work

A message for my many work colleagues who are understandably not as preoccupied with the Middle East conflict (and its impact in Australia) as I am.

Like many Jewish friends and colleagues in the Australian workforce right now, I feel like I am living parallel lives. In one life – the one I share with you, my work colleagues, I have been going to work these past 7 weeks in much the same way as always. I attend conferences and do what I always do - stand on stage and host the event with energy and humour and then off-stage chat and engage with my clients and conference attendees. I smile and laugh and as always, I try to be ‘in the moment.’

But I imagine you would not have even noticed that I am actually totally pre-occupied. Living a parallel life to my work life. In that life I‘m constantly thinking about the events in the Middle East, both the barbaric terrorist massacre that started this war and the 100s of innocent international civilian hostages, still being held by the Hamas terrorists.

I am continuously thinking about the inevitable war that Hamas deliberately provoked, leading to the tragic deaths of so many innocent Palestinian people, caught in the crossfire and used as human shields by their ‘leaders.’ Like all Jewish people, we follow the news incessantly and mourn all the tragic, innocent lives that have been lost on both sides.

And while we are obsessing about this regional situation, we are also simultaneously focussed on and terrified by another related (yet actually unrelated) situation beyond that region. One that most people around us in our workplaces are not thinking much about, because they are understandably just getting on with their lives.

The unrelated yet related situation is the terrifying rise of antisemitism around the world and right here on our doorstep, that has risen exponentially since Hamas’ massacre on October 7th.

It is related because, while lurking for years, it has risen to the surface due to the events in Gaza and Israel.

It is unrelated because most of these hate crimes have nothing to do with Israel. They are not anti-Israel hate crimes, they are anti-Jew hate crimes – aimed at Jewish civilians outside of Israel, and the incidence of these crimes is completely off the charts, in fact the highest number of antisemitic incidents in this country ever recorded.

For what it’s worth I happen to be both proudly Jewish and (while devastated at the loss of Palestinian lives), I also strongly support Israel’s right to exist and to defend itself against terrorists who openly say that given the opportunity they will attack Israel again and again and will kill Jews around the world at every opportunity.

I shouldn’t be nervous writing that last paragraph in a public forum - but as a mark of where things are at right now, sadly I am, as it invites the haters and the endless ‘what-about-ism’ that has been going on since Hamas’ October 7 massacre.

Yet I am not at all nervous to say that anyone who shows their (understandable) anger at the loss of Palestinian lives in Gaza, by violently targeting Jews (or more insidiously, attacking Jews via hate speech on social media) is simply antisemitic.

For most non-Jewish people, you would only know about these multiple incidents if you are closely paying attention. And I genuinely don’t blame you if you are not. There’s a lot of other terrible stuff going on in our world. But at the very least please keep an eye out for it.

The history of Jewish people has shown us where ignorance, bystanding and silence can lead. Many of these acts are no longer on the front pages of the papers or featured in your social media feed. But trust me, they are going on around us literally every day. More than ever before in this country. And while Jewish Aussies may look relaxed and ‘normal’ when you see us at work, trust me, we are not.

Every day I read about another incident of horrific antisemitism around the world – synagogues being graffitied or burnt down, as was the case in Tunisia, Jewish people being barricaded by a mob in a US University, a mob storming a Russian airport in search of Jews, endless examples of Jewish Uni students being attacked, Jewish homes being covered in swastikas, an elderly Jewish man murdered at an LA rally, a never-ending stream of revolting racist posts on social media. Incidents of antisemitism have risen by hundreds of percent in the past 7 weeks. There are more sickening cases each day, I can’t keep up. But I need to know that these are happening.

And as history has shown, so do you.

And for the ‘what about’-ers or ‘but also’ people reading this, let me say I am deeply troubled by the Islamophobia which is out there too - and I stand side by side with any of my Muslim or Palestinian colleagues who may be experiencing this. But this post is not about taking sides in the complex Gaza conflict. If your reaction to this post is to point out your concern at the death toll (of course I share your concern) or to start an argument about proportionality, then you are not paying attention to my message. It's not about blame or wars or history. This post is about my own experience and concern with racism in Australia.

Antisemitism has been gradually on the rise for years. Last year when Kanye West went off on social media spouting his vile antisemitic diatribes, I was angered but was able to compartmentalise them as the ravings of a mentally ill man. When some of my friends warned me about the rise of antisemitism in US colleges and local Uni campuses, I was troubled. It made me alert – but I was not alarmed.

We are now all alarmed. I don’t show it work, but I am genuinely distressed by this.

Distressed that one year later Kanye is just one of many. When a TikTok video praising and justifying Osama Bin Laden and 9/11 went viral this week, I was way less shocked than I would have been just a few months ago. The tide has definitely shifted.

And if you haven’t been paying attention, it is equally bad here in our backyard.

A rally at the Opera House chanting “Gas the Jews” one day after the massacre, rape and kidnapping of 1400 innocent citizens, before the Israeli army had even started its moves into Gaza.

As a Jew, that is the scariest thing I have seen in my lifetime in Australia.

Endless cases of Nazi related graffiti on Jewish buildings and businesses in Sydney and Melbourne, a friend’s Israeli restaurant in Surry Hills being graffitied with horrific racist slogans, countless cases of people ripping down posters of child hostages, including in my hometown of Bondi (what possible justification could there be for that heartless act?).

Overtly provocative acts like a mob gathering outside a Synagogue in Melbourne (not the Israeli embassy remember, but a suburban Synagogue for Aussie Jews) forcing the peaceful Sabbath service to be cancelled for the safety of those inside.

A protest motorcade through the Eastern Suburbs designed to scare and intimidate Jews. Why else would you choose that location?

Prominent #MeToo personalities remaining totally silent at the many documented horrific cases of rape on October 7th.

Rallies chanting slogans that mean clearing Israel of all Jewish people and pushing them into the sea. That type of rallying call is very very different from protesting against war or for promoting peace which of course is totally justifiable. I have no issue with the peaceful Palestinian demonstrations, just as long as they don’t feature signs equating with killing Jews, which frighteningly some of them did.

So I might look like I am going to work as I always did. But in my parallel life, when I read the news of the latest hate crime online an hour before my work conference begins, as the child of Holocaust survivors, I can’t help wonder is this what it felt like to my grandparents 90 years ago in Europe in the early 30’s, going about their daily business? Is history repeating itself? We said ‘Never Again’ but is ‘Never Again’ now?

Every Jew has once wondered how the rest of the world allowed Nazism to happen? Surely they saw the signs? Are the multitude of signs around the world the signs? I really don’t think they are – and I am heartened by the support of so many politicians and many of my colleagues. But I’m still anxious.

I trust you can understand why I’m worried, pre-occupied and yes scared, even here in our sanctuary of Australia. After all, there is only about 100,000 Jews living in the whole of Australia. We live and work as proud Australians and I’m sure most of you don’t think of us differently to the way you view everyone else. I am sure those of you that I’ve worked with these past few months would not have even noticed my concern. Which is great. But right now, we feel different and worried.

This is the first time in my whole life when I have felt scared in Australia. Worried about which Sydney suburbs I go to. A little worried catching an Uber. A little worried going to a synagogue. A little paranoid that the tradesman at my house will see our Jewish artefacts. A little nervous to tell you that I have family in Israel that I am worried about. Worried to write this post and worried to talk about my Jewishness in this climate.

We may not show it at work but the truth is we are even worried sometimes that you, our colleagues may not show up for us if required. That might sound absurd in 2023, but again, as a child of Holocaust survivors, I hope you can excuse me for being worried, given the examples above.

Over the years many of my work colleagues have asked me why Jewish schools and Synagogues in Sydney have armed security outside. The last few months are why. But the threat has been there for many years. Because these antisemitic acts are unrelated to Israeli politics or Middle East wars, they are the racist acts of people who hate Jews.

So all I’m asking you is simply to be cognisant of the fact that an antisemitic genie has been released from a bottle, including here in Australia.

Simply to look out for your Jewish and Muslim friends as we are all hugely troubled by this crisis and in many cases, scared to be ourselves. Scared to even talk about an overseas conflict.

And while I know that propaganda can run both ways, please try to be aware of what ignorance and silence has led to in the past. I urge you to be hyper aware of the brilliant, subtle propaganda – and its misleading and obfuscating language - that has poisoned many minds, including tertiary educated ones.

And try to be aware of the often well-intentioned keyboard warriors and their inflammatory sound bites, especially the ones who have become emboldened by silence to express their subtle, disguised antisemitism.

The world’s silence didn’t end well for our grandparents’ generation and we need your voices to help us make sure that never happens again.

I want to get back to living my one life, the one where I’m at work and can just focus on work, and not worry about my safety, my kid’s safety and the safety of my people.

Because that is the double life Jewish people at your workplace are currently living.