A non-Jewish view of support for Israel

WHEN the editor invited me to write a piece on Australian Jews, I thought it would be easy. Not so. On the other hand, I imagine it would be equally difficult for a Jew to write of his experiences with other Australians. I believe that my invitation came about because of my media profile as an outspoken, right wing lawyer who has given strong public support to Israel.

I think a little more of my background is needed to put my comments in proper perspective. I have lived in Melbourne all my life and I have a fairly typical Anglo-Celtic heritage. I was not conscious of meeting a Jew until Year 12, when I first attended Melbourne High School, which attracted a large number of Jewish students. I had never before encountered another ethnic or cultural group (this was 1957) and I was shocked at the level of group cohesion - these students were very bright, well organised and operated in a closed shop as far as study was concerned.

I went on to complete a law degree at Melbourne University and observed the same thing. I had very little meaningful contact with the large Jewish population amongst the law students. Accordingly, whilst I spent four years debating God and the meaning of life, I had little intellectual contact with Jews. In retrospect, the discussions I would have liked to have never occurred.

Things changed when I began to practise law. There were a very large number of Jews in the legal profession and I began to have constant contact with them. We met socially and I formed a number of good friendships. I did my clerkship training with a Jew and we became firm friends - tragically, in later years he went to jail for swindling clients.

Now I can look back on over 40 years of friendship and conflict with Melbourne Jews, mainly in the legal profession.

What, then, do I think of Jews based upon this experience? Working in the difficult and demanding area of criminal law, I soon developed the skill of identifying how smart my opponent was. Rightly or wrongly, my experience has been that Jews are far brighter than the average Aussie. There is something about their heritage and tight education that assists these gifts. I consider myself as having a capable intelligence but I have met many Jews who were far cleverer than me. In mixing socially with Jewish friends, I also came to realise that these were very cultured people.

But there is also a negative side. My observation has been that Jews are badly split. On the one side are religious or observant Jews, ranging from ultra-Orthodox to mildly compliant. These people generally seem to be supporters of Israel. On the other side are some truly secular Jews, a large number of whom are of the left (and the hard left at that). They seem to hate Israel. They seem to hate their own Jewishness.

The Jews and the left have always mixed closely: Karl Marx and Leon Trotsky are good examples. In Melbourne, in the days when Communism was alive and fashionable, many Communist leaders and left wing intellectuals were Jews. Because of these political beliefs, left wing Jews were always at the forefront of active social work.

But since the collapse of Communism and the rise of Islamism, things have changed - for the worse. Some Jewish "comrades" have embraced a position that supports Islamism.

As best I can understand it, this is based upon a belief that "my enemy's enemy is my friend". Radical Islamicists hate America as do ex-Communists. They both hope for the collapse of capitalism, which will then permit one or the other of them to take over.

It is disturbing to see Jewish lawyers acting for alleged Muslim terrorists: I accept that this arises out of long history of radical Jewish lawyers honourably acting for unpopular clients, but is disturbing nonetheless. It is equally disturbing that left wing Jews, purporting to speak on behalf of all Australian Jews (and all Australians for that matter) constantly either attack Israel or refuse to support it.

Australians correctly see Israel as an imperilled democracy in the midst of hostile Islamic nations. Australia itself borders the biggest Islamic nation in the world. Australians like me think "if it is Israel today, it will be Australia tomorrow". I cannot comprehend how any Jew could not give unqualified support to the existence of Israel. Obviously Israel makes mistakes, as do all democracies. But it must survive. And to survive, it must be supported.

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