MORE WORRIED ABOUT right-wing extremism than left, concerned about social justice, proud of being Jewish, committed to Israel’s future but critical of its political and social direction.
These are the headline attitudes identified by a new survey of Australian Jews, authored and produced by Monash University Research AssociateTanya Munz, and conducted by The Jewish Independent and Shalom.
Last year some 550 Australian Jews were surveyed on a broad range of issues, including their attitudes towards Israel, Jewish identity and Australian society, social justice, immigration, multiculturalism and diversity. The survey results were analysed by Emeritus Professor Andrew Markus and Tanya Munz.
Professor Markus said that on the whole, the survey showed that the respondents’ attitudes did not differ greatly different from the rest of the Jewish community. “When compared with Gen17 (the largest nationwide study on Australia's Jewish community) and other surveys, you’d have to say, their (attitudes) are not different.”
[embed]https://youtu.be/BCVx7FLa0e4[/embed]
On the topic of Jewish identity, there was close alignment with the rest of Australian Jewry.
A total of 96% of respondents agreed with the statement that ‘I am proud to be a Jew’; 92% agreed that ‘I have strong sense of belonging to the Jewish people’; and 91% agreed that ‘I feel connected to other Jews even if I do not know them personally.’
[gallery columns="1" size="full" ids="35539"]
“The survey respondents showed a very strong level of pride in their Jewish identity. They’re profoundly connected to a wider Jewish peoplehood. That came through unambiguously,” Ms Munz said.
One surprising finding – given that the respondents reflected a centre-left segment of the community (51% of participants voted Labor or Green and 30% Liberal at the 2019 federal election) – was a greater concern over the threat posed by anti-Semitism in Australia than what was revealed in the Gen17 survey in 2017
In the The Jewish Independent/Shalom survey, 52% of respondents said it is a’ very big’ or ‘fairly big’ problem, almost ten percentage points higher (43%) than the figure by respondents to Gen17.
“It might've been expected they were the group which is centre-left and they would be more dismissive of anti-Semitism as a threat, that they would regard anti-Semitism as something that's blown up by the conservative media to frighten the Jewish community. And yet that's not what we get in this data,” Professor Markus said.
[gallery columns="1" size="full" ids="35540"]
Asked what they considered the biggest threat to the Australian Jewish community, 41% indicated right-wing extremism, 12% Islamic terrorism, 11% left-wing extremism, and 32% that ‘all present a threat equally.’
“The far-right is the bigger threat to the Jewish community, according to these respondents,” he added.
[gallery columns="1" size="full" ids="35541"]
On the subject of attitudes towards Israel, Professor Markus said the results challenged the stereotype of Israel-critical voices as “self-hating” Jews. “The survey serves to legitimate this section of the Jewish community, as thinking, engaged and concerned. This isn’t a group of people who sign up uncritically to some left-wing narrative.”
He said the The Jewish Independent/Shalom survey results were more critical of Israel than the wider Jewish community captured in Gen17 – particularly regarding corruption, the influence of Orthodox Judaism and the treatment of non-Jewish groups.
[gallery columns="1" size="full" ids="35542"]
But, he stressed, this cohort was also deeply committed to Israel’s future. “We're also picking up the sense that people are invested in a thriving, prosperous Israel and they are working towards that end, but also they're not starry-eyed optimists who believe that all we have to do is with goodwill, sit down at the table, we have a partner for peace.”
Professor Markus pointed to the finding that a bare majority (51%) agree that ‘Israel should give up territory in exchange for guarantees of peace with the Palestinians’, compared to 42% in the Gen17 survey. Only a minority of The Jewish Independent/Shalom respondents also believe that Israel should negotiate with Hamas (39%, compared to 32% for Gen17).
The results challenged the stereotype of Israel-critical voices as “self-hating” Jews. The survey serves to legitimate this section of the Jewish community, as thinking, engaged and concerned - Professor Andrew Markus
Although cautious about territorial exchanges with the Palestinians and negotiations with Hamas – this is not a cohort ready to abandon Israel and conflict in the Middle East. A massive 81% of survey respondents said yes to the question: ‘Do you think a thriving State of Israel is vital for the long-term future of the Jewish people?’
The survey results showed Israel connectedness that matched or exceeded the Gen17 survey. Around 62% of respondents have visited Israel three or more times (compared with 61% in Gen17). When asked whether they kept up with ‘current events which involve Israel?’ 37% answered ‘A lot’ (compared with 29%) in Gen17).
The survey, which was distributed accessed online during July-August 2019, was distributed to the mailing lists of The Jewish Independent, Shalom and Limmud Oz Melbourne. The survey was also promoted via social media including the Facebook pages of all three.
The survey also asked a range of questions about Australian society: about immigration, multiculturalism and diversity, as we as their trust in government and others. These results were compared with the Scanlon Foundation’s annual Social Cohesion survey. An article examining these results will be published later this week.
READ THE SURVEY IN FULL
ON FRIDAY: In part two, we reveal how Australian Jews compare with the rest of the population in their attitudes towards asylum seekers, trust in government and social justice.
Illustration: John Kron
