This piece was originally published in The AJN in September.
In February, I received an email that had gone viral in Melbourne’s Jewish community. It claimed that owners of a Caulfield-area restaurant were anti-Semites and urged readers to boycott it. On the one hand, something in the email’s tone aroused my suspicion. On the other, I [...]
Oct
5
2009
5
2009
A Brief History of The Sensible Jew
Sep
29
2009
29
2009
In The New Year 2: Thoughts After Yom Kippur
One of my grandparents never set foot in a concentration camp.
All four went through the Holocaust and all four lost most of the people they ever knew; but one – my paternal grandmother – managed to spend the war in Poland without being captured by the Nazis.
All such stories are intricate, complicated tales of foresight, [...]
Sep
25
2009
25
2009
A Very Dirty Business: AJN Watch Gets Personal
AJN Watch is a nasty little site, run by people who have some serious issues with the Jewish News, homosexuals, and now me, among others.
What makes their latest post so special is that they feel they have stumbled upon some extremely hot, breaking news.
What these people do not realise is that their, “latest scoop” is [...]
Sep
21
2009
21
2009
In The New Year: Glimpses of the Future at Auburn Rd Shul
I have written previously about the crises facing our community – assimilation, disaffection, substance abuse, among many others.
But I had another fear: that generations X and Y are either not inclined or incapable of taking the reins from the baby boomer generation. I have worried that our community is becoming so atomised, and our young [...]
Aug
30
2009
30
2009
May
19
2009
19
2009
May
12
2009
12
2009
Rabbi Procel to pronounce on “Who is a Jew?” conundrum
Maccabi Australia Incorporated (MAI), in a flash of inspiration, is going to enforce the Jews-only policy in its clubs. As if Jews and sport weren’t a bizarre enough mix, there are actually non-Jews who want to be part of these clubs.
May
12
2009
12
2009
8 minutes of terror
The thing is, it’s so bad it’s funny.
And anyone who doesn’t already have a problem with Jews can see it. Anyone who does have a problem with Jews is not going to hear our venerable leader, Jeremy Jones of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, and think, “Gee… I’ve been wrong about you people all along!”
We’re talking about a an 8 minute play. It’s just another one of those cultural expressions of the evils of Israel (but not Jews – some of their best friends are Jews).
Some lady named, Caryl Churchill wrote it. Who? Let’s just say that if our resplendent leader, Mr. Jones had not screamed, “FIRE” yet again in the crowded theatre of multicultural discourse, we would never have heard of Caryl Churchill, and neither would you…
Dvir Abramovich in The Age: No Laughing!
Although Dvir Abramovich’s opinion column in today’s Sunday Age grossly misstates facts and makes various bizarre assertions, I would still like to thank him for the free publicity he has so generously given this blog, through his opinion piece.
Nevertheless, it is only right that [...]