Pamphleteers weaponise Jewish experience

Pamphlets distributed in two Melbourne electorates with a high proportion of Jewish voters have deeply upset Australian Jews this week.

The pamphlets distributed this week follow recent other cases of weaponising Jewish issues in the electon campaign, with recent attacks on Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Wentworth independent Allegra Spender.

A pamphlet distributed in the heavily Jewish area of Caulfield by the neo-Nazi National Socialist Network attacks the Liberal party for "Giving the Jews everything they want". Caulfield is part of the Macnamara electorate, held by Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns, but strongly contested by the Greens.

The pamphlet, which features a Liberal party logo with an Israeli flag puports to be from the Liberal party saying "Our plan is to give Jews everything they want" and claiming the Liberals will put "Israel first", "abolish free speech", and "give Jews free money". However it is labelled as authorised by Joel Davis for the National Socialist Network in Melbourne.

President of the Zionist Federation of Australia Jeremy Leibler described the pamphlet as "flagrantly antisemitic".

“Jewish people, like all Australians, have a right to feel safe in their own homes, and not under siege from extremists who want to do us harm. Over the last 18 months, ridiculous and hateful conspiracy theories have been spread about Australian Jews. It’s dangerous, and it must be rejected by all Australians," he said.

From an entirely different direction, an anonymous letter distributed in the Melbourne seat of Goldstein is also upsetting Jewish residents.

The printed letter, which purports to be from "one of your Jewish neighbours" accuses Daniel and her supporters of being antisemitic. It was delivered to houses displaying Daniel corflutes, the ABC reported.

The letter claims, "We've taken an unprecedented decision to write to you as one of your Jewish neighbours. We thought it pertinent to make you aware of how uncomfortable we are with your support of Daniels [sic]. For us, it has made us aware of how many in our community are antisemitic. It is reminiscent of early 1930s Germany. Please understand that whatever linguistic arguments you put forward to put your own conscience at ease, the fact that you and those like you are evoking these feelings in your Jewish neighbors is antisemitic...you are an active participant in our decision to uproot our families and leave. Please understand the abundance of teal support in the neighborhood makes us feel very unwelcome, not only in the neighborhood, but in Victoria and Australia. Please also understand, irrespective of any mental justification, you are antisemitic and actively a participant in the way Jews are feeling at present."

The Australian Electoral Commission is investigating the letter, which breaches election regulations requiring all election material to display authorisation.

Jewish leaders have responded to the letter by making clear that Daniel and her supporters are in no way antisemitic and that the "preposterous" allegations are potentially harmful to the Jewish community. .

Andre Oboler and Professor Suzanne Rutland, who represent Australia as expert members of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, released a statement noting that by falsely comparing Daniel to Germany in the 1930s the letter minimised the Holocaust and undermined the genuine fight against antisemitism.

"The claim is not only baseless, but exceedingly harmful as it risks weakening understanding and resolve against racism, allowing actual harm to occur more easily in the future.

"This abuse both attacks those expressing their support for a candidate and diminishes public trust in and support of the Jewish community’s legitimate concerns about the real cases of antisemitism. It undermines support for laws that limit antisemitism out of fear of their abuse. The Jewish community, and the Australian public at large, need to stand firm in the face of this campaign of harassment of individuals and harm to the Jewish community."