New 'Never Again' documentary to counter Australian antisemitism - opinion

“Hitler would have been proud,” thundered a headline in the Herald Sun, one of the major newspapers in Australia owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. 

This quote from Australia’s former governor general is what greeted me as I landed in Melbourne, Australia. The headline was used to promote a special documentary titled “Never Again: The Fight Against Antisemitism,” which was due to be broadcast by Sky News on May 28.

I was visiting Melbourne, where I was born and raised, and was curious to observe what has changed since I moved to Israel in 2017. Since then, I have followed the news and have read about the massive post-October 7 outbreak of antisemitism there, which has created shockwaves throughout the Jewish community. 

Hostility towards Jews 

As in most cities throughout the world following Oct. 7, there have been ongoing street marches by Muslims in Melbourne in concert with the city’s progressives and radical left. Universities here have mirrored the hostility towards Jewish students seen worldwide. 

Jewish artists and creatives have been harassed, canceled, and doxed.

There has been a feeling of neglect and abandonment by those who would ordinarily stand up to oppose racism, and the police have refused to intervene in any shape, manner, or form.

Most ominously, the ruling Labour Party adopted a hostile approach towards Israel when it called for a cease-fire back in November and then voted in favor of the UN resolution that recognized the state of Palestine.

This was a marked departure from decades of Australia supporting a two-state solution based on the two parties negotiating a settlement.

The Jewish community regarded this step as a reward for Hamas and the rejectionist policies adopted by the Palestinians. 

Moreover, the government has paid lip service to the fact that Hamas began the hostilities and still holds over 124 hostages, both dead and alive. In pandering to the growing Muslim communities, the Australian government is seen to have foregone principles in pursuit of votes.

The Labour government has sent mixed signals to the Jewish community. 

The prime minister has consistently condemned antisemitism in meetings and speeches while his ministers and members of his party have launched vicious attacks on Israel, including comments that have traversed the line from legitimate criticism of Israel to antisemitic statements. 

In early May, a Labour Party conference in the state of Victoria passed a raft of resolutions calling for boycotts of Israel as well as condemnation of Israel’s right to defend itself.

Labour Minister for Education Jason Clare was unable to state that expressions such as “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” are calls for the destruction of Israel. With a few isolated exceptions, the vice-chancellors of most major universities followed suit.

The most abominable event occurred last Saturday when the fence at the entrance to Mount Scopus College, Melbourne’s leading Jewish day school, had the words “Jews Die” spray painted on it.

In conversations with friends and members of the local Jewish community, there is a foreboding of what kind of future there is for Jewish life in Australia.

It was in this environment that I witnessed a comeback that provided many in the community a degree of hope; there was a chance that the Australia we grew up in and cherished as a beacon of tolerance and acceptance was not lost.

I was invited to a private screening of the documentary, “Never Again: The Fight against Antisemitism,” produced by Sky News, featuring the former deputy prime minister and treasurer, Josh Frydenberg. This film was broadcast on national TV on Tuesday, May 28. 

Josh’s family came from Hungary and moved to Australia in the 1950s after surviving the Holocaust. They rebuilt their lives like so many other Jews who survived the war and contributed much to Australia. Frydenberg is the central character throughout the film.

In the documentary, former prime ministers John Howard and Julia Gillard, together with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, former governor-general Peter Cosgrove, and former Labour senator Nova Peris, were interviewed by Frydenberg and made powerful statements condemning antisemitism. 

The incumbent prime minister, Anthony Albanese, was also interviewed, and he condemned antisemitism in a correct and perfunctory manner. 

Yet viewers won’t be fooled as he heads a party that is seen to be facilitating the spread of antisemitism through its portrayal of the Gaza conflict and its lack of support and sympathy towards Israel.

The documentary also relayed the events of October 7 and covered in graphic detail how antisemitism has spread in Australia since that day.

Interspersed were interviews with Holocaust survivors and victims of the current outbreaks, which enables the viewer to connect what is unfolding in Australia today to the 1930s in Germany.

The film also deals with the definition of Zionism and how it is integral to Judaism. This topic helps viewers understand that anti-Zionism is the current manifestation of antisemitism.

This powerful documentary, which is seen as a strong response to antisemitism, was well-promoted throughout the media. It is professional while displaying the right amount of empathy and concern. 

The presence of former treasurer Frydenberg, who not long ago was touted as a future prime minister, lent the documentary much gravitas and credibility.

Moreover, it should serve as a template for communities throughout the world as to how to stand up and respond to the scourge of antisemitism.

More remarkable is that the documentary was produced at the initiative of Sky News.

That the Jewish community has support from sections of the media prepared to call out antisemitism comes as an antidote to the non-stop bile and incessant hatred displayed by the government-funded Australian Broadcasting Corporation, whose ranks are filled with extreme, woke anti-Israel advocates who seek to delegitimize Israel at every opportunity. 

The documentary will not necessarily turn the tide, but it will galvanize support from those Australians who abhor how the political Left has used the Israel-Palestine conflict to sow division and discord throughout the country.