Are You Merely an Anti-Antisemite? Shabbat Shalom!

Yesterday I was interviewed by NHK, Japan’s largest public broadcaster, coincidentally, on the very same day that President Herzog welcomed the largest delegation of Japanese parliamentarians ever to visit Israel.

The interviewer asked me a piercing question: has there been any change in antisemitic incidents since December 14?

I wanted to answer with a resounding YES! I wanted to tell the peaceful Japanese public that Australia has learnt its lesson and turned over a new leaf. But I’m afraid that answer would have taken more faith than evidence.

Instead, our news headlines are filled with calls for a Royal Commission. It took open letters signed by tens of thousands – victim families, Rabbi’s, athletes, politicians past and present, security and defence experts, business leaders, medical professionals, and every day Australians – to finally convince the Prime Minister to act.

Even now, new incidents continue to emerge. Just yesterday, appalling antisemitic cartoons depicting age-old Jewish tropes were published by Nine newspapers. Less than two weeks after Bondi, we saw the shocking firebombing of a Rabbi’s car. These are not isolated incidents. They are part of a disturbing pattern which demand more than sympathy. They demand accountability.

Judaism teaches that the path to redemption is rarely smooth. Our story is a rocky road. As seen in this weeks Parsha Shemot. G d instructs Moses to tell the Jewish people that before redemption there will be more exile and more hatred. But also a promise: I will be there with you; I will never abandon you. Wherever you go, walk with your head held high, and I will be by your side.

Parsha Shemot also teaches something else: suffering alone does not bring change. Change comes when injustice is confronted and named.
Jewish history does not advance because modern day Pharaohs suddenly grow compassionate. It advances because leaders and societies find the courage to speak truth, accept responsibility and impose consequences.

In moments like these, we are entitled to ask not whether antisemitism exists – it plainly does – but whether those entrusted with leadership are prepared to confront it honestly. Because redemption, in the Torah and in life, does not begin with denial. It begins with courage.

So when asked whether things have changed since December 14, the honest answer is complicated. The challenges remain. But so must our expectation of leadership. Leadership that reflects the courage of Moses, not the comfort of delay.

We pray that our leaders rise to meet this moment. But until real change is delivered, the responsibility to stand tall, speak out, and demand accountability, rests with all of us.

The Jewish people were not put on this Earth merely to be anti-antisemites.
We were put on this Earth to be Jews, to live with pride, dignity, and determination. Am Yisroel Chai.

Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Levi and Chanie