Published: 6 August 2025
Last updated: 6 August 2025
A few weeks ago, I was sharing hot chocolate with my six-year-old in an Elsternwick café when a dishevelled middle-aged man standing outside on the footpath began shouting at passersby: "You f***ing Jew! Get out of my way!"
He stormed into the café—owned by an Israeli Australian—continuing his tirade. While his words were vile, I suspected mental instability rather than deep hatred. Still, it was unpleasant.
I watched my child encountering overt racism for the first time. A chorus of parenting expert voices crowded my head: How could I turn this unpleasant experience into a lesson in resilience? How do I create a teaching moment from this encounter?
Nothing, it turned out. What followed did the teaching for me.
The café owner approached calmly: "It's okay, mate. Let me make you a coffee."
The man's anger dissolved into sorrow. "I'm sorry…. they didn't renew my medications; I'm having a hard time..."
"I understand," the owner replied gently. While preparing the drink, he quietly mentioned that he happened to be Israeli and that—like many Israelis—he was Jewish.
Every year, we sit in our sense of alienation, otherness, and loss, and then quickly change gears, celebrating love, union, and all that is good about human connection
At the next table, two women were clearly upset. One turned to the man: "I’m not from that group, but I find what you're saying extremely offensive. There's no need for that language here. I get you're having a hard day, but we won't tolerate abuse of our community members."
