Australia has given Jews so much: it asks one thing in return – obey the law

PHILIP DALIDAKIS: We are not being singled out, we are not being targeted, and we do not deserve a special exemption to do something which others cannot do

THE HIGH HOLY DAYS are usually times of celebration, reflection and renewal. This year, as the fallout continues over high-profile breaches of Covid restrictions from self-indulgent members of the Victorian Jewish community, we have much to reflect on.

These breaches have outraged the broader public and caused division within our own community.

Both the unlawful engagement party and minyanim have reflected poorly on our community and drawn the ire of many at us – including in some instances of ugly and appalling antisemitism – but they have also drawn our own ire at each other.

To those of us who have been postponing simchas and minyanim, and staying home as we’re obliged to, we have been angry that others have chosen to make decisions which are not only selfish but unlawful - and risk the transmission of the virus. We have considered it a shanda, a chillul hashem, or embarrassing behaviour that disgraces God’s name and makes Jews look bad.

These are also decisions that fly in the face of two high Jewish principles – the protection of life and respect for the law of the land.

The anger of some other Jews, however, has been directed not at the rule-breakers but at others - Jews who report or “call out” other Jews.; at health authorities and governments for not allowing prayer gatherings; at our communal leaders and rabbis for not fighting hard enough for prayer gatherings to be exempt from these restrictions.

The growing sentiment among some people in our community that we are being unfairly singled out and targeted as a community is simply wrong.

They have implied and, in some cases alleged outright that somehow, Victoria Police are antisemitic because they are doing their job. These attacks are offensive, to the men and women who risk their lives for us as much as to those of us who have genuinely suffered antisemitism personally.

We are not being singled out. We are not being targeted. And no, we do not deserve a special exemption to do something which others cannot do.

Our rabbis, perhaps driven by this pressure, were wrong to ask the Victorian Government for an exemption to health restrictions for Yom Kippur. And the Victorian Government was right to say no to them.

Of course, we all want to be together again with our families and our congregations. Of course, it is heartbreaking to be in lockdown for the High Holidays for a second year in a row. And yes, I attend Shule and also take my children to family services, so I do speak from experience.

Rabbi Gabi Kaltmann said it best: “Let’s not forget the mitzvah of the day is to fast and do teshuvah which can be done safely and meaningfully in our homes.”

Rabbi James Kennard, who continues to step up and show leadership when it’s needed, said: “It is possible and permitted to pray at home. It is inappropriate to ask for an exemption on the basis that we are somehow special, especially when it is clear that it is not going to be granted.”

Clearly, at a time when Victorian case numbers and hospitalisations are on the rise and vaccination rates are still too low to safely unwind restrictions, the chances of an exemption were extremely slim.

Were we granted a special exemption to gather on Yom Kippur, on what basis could the Victorian Government tell others they cannot gather? We cannot expect to be granted special privileges that others can’t, and nor should we ask for them.

This saga asks questions not just of how we exist as a Jewish community, but as members of a broader Victorian and Australian community.

We live in a time where community has never been more central to our lives, to our health and to our fates and freedoms. After all, the decisions that we all make – to get tested or not, to get vaccinated or not, to follow the rules or not – impact not just ourselves but others around us.

They impact who gets infected, who gets hospitalised and in the most tragic circumstances, who dies. They impact the length and severity of our lockdown.

And they impact not just Jewish people, but all people.

We do not live in a ghetto. We live in Melbourne, Victoria one of the great cities of the world and arguably the greatest exponent of multiculturalism anywhere.

To see people within our community hurl insults at each other over whether they are secular, reform or ultra-orthodox Jews does us all a disservice, for we all live alongside each other, and we live alongside non-Jews more numerous than us.

Even if we kept silent on the transgressions of our fellow Jews, rule-breakers climbing on roofs and sneaking into alleyways would still be seen by non-Jews.

They would still infuriate their neighbours, who walk the same streets, shop in the same supermarkets and visit the same medical clinics.

We owe our fellow citizens and neighbours all the courtesies which we would expect them to give to us. Indeed, loving our neighbour as ourselves is another Halachic principle.

Which brings me to my other great source of my discomfort with the tone of these complaints – as Jewish people, we are lucky to live in Victoria.

We live in a tolerant, pluralistic society which not only allows us to be Jewish but more often than not goes out of its way to make our lives as Jewish Victorians as safe, peaceful and tolerant as it can be.

The bipartisan friendship and support that we enjoy from our leaders in Victoria is especially of note.

Our inability to pray together is indeed heartbreaking, but is it more heartbreaking than a family who have not met their grandchildren born overseas, or children who can’t say farewell to a dying parent interstate?

There are nearly 1,500 Australians in hospital with Covid right now. No simcha, minyan or gathering is worth adding to that number. Our harsh restrictions over the past 18 months have kept the numbers of Australians who contracted and died from Covid so much lower than the rest of the world.

As heartbreaking as it is, we need to be patient, to respect the law and help save lives.

Victoria and Australia has given so much to our community. Right now, it asks of us a simple thing in return – that we follow the law and stay apart to keep each other safe.

That is not too much to ask. It is an obligation on all of us. We owe it to all Victorians as much as to each other within the Jewish community to do it.

Photo: Jews speak with Victorian Police outside of building near a Ripponlea synagogue in Melbourne, Tuesday, September 7 (James Ross/AAP)