The reactions to the Bondi Beach terrorist attack has shown how racist many posters are here.

[TheTamerShrew]

I’m posting because I’m struggling with how racism against Jews is being talked about here following the recent terrorist attack in Australia. What I’ve seen, again and again, is minimisation: it wasn’t really about Jews, it was more complicated than that, let’s not jump to conclusions, other groups have it worse. All the familiar caveats come out remarkably quickly when the victims are Jewish.

I want to say clearly: racism against Jews is racism. Full stop. It doesn’t become less serious because it’s uncomfortable, politically inconvenient, or doesn’t fit neatly into how some people understand racism. And it doesn’t need to compete with other forms of racism to be real or worthy of being named.

What I find particularly painful is how often antisemitism is explained away rather than confronted. We would rightly challenge this pattern if it happened after an attack on almost any other minority group. Yet when Jews are targeted, there seems to be an urge to dilute, reframe, or downplay what’s happened.
I’d really ask people to pause and self-reflect on why that might be.

Why does naming antisemitism feel harder?
Why is there a rush to qualify it, contextualise it out of existence, or deny it altogether?
Why is Jewish fear so often treated as oversensitivity rather than a rational response to a long and very real history?

Acknowledging racism is not an accusation against everyone else. It’s the first, necessary step in confronting it. If we can’t even name antisemitism when it’s staring us in the face, we have no chance of challenging it, let alone preventing it.

We don’t make the world safer by minimising hatred. We make it safer by recognising it honestly, even when that recognition makes us uncomfortable.

I hope this can be read in the spirit it’s intended: not to shut down discussion, but to ask people to explore and self reflect.

See the attached photo: in order to become Anti-racist, one needs to first acknowledge racism

I think the media, social media, and the dark web offer community to racists, since they can all find each other.

Is it not a fact that anti-Semitism has increased since the Palestinian-Israeli war? To be very clear, I am NOT saying that the war has created more anti-Semites. I'm saying that sadly, it's made them feel safer to express the evil things that they already thought. At least, it seems that way. Unless there's another explanation. It's true that anti-Semitism was increasing well before Hamas went nuts on October 7.

9/11 emboldened racist people in America to express their negative thoughts about Muslims and Islam.

There was an uptick in outwardly-expressed racism and sexism in the States after Trump got elected, because the awful things he said made other bigots feel more entitled to say them too.

I thought it was generally accepted that certain events and conditions make bigotry that was already there more likely to come out in the open. I have certainly never thought that these events and conditions create bigots. They could never do that, if someone wasn't already bigoted.

Let's imagine it is - like the Bosnian Serbs in the 1990s.

In the imaginary France scenario, would it in any way rational to kill French speakers in Canada?

In the real-life scenario, why weren't Bosnian Serb heritage people tracked down and murdered in other countries?

I think the reason you, and every other person I have asked, don't want to answer is that you would have to admit that killing people who live in Australia or England can only be explained by irrational hatred.

This is so awful. The same posters can’t excuse this.

Re. Trump - because the guy is always on Twitter saying dreadful things! And he does things like openly imitate and mock disabled people! And when it's the President of the United States saying these things, it makes evil racist people feel safe to say them aloud, too.

The election of Trump encouraged racists to be openly racist too, of course.

When I say October 7, it's shorthand for the other things you mention - Hamas and Islamic extremism. That's also what I mean when I mentioned the nutters.

Innocent Jewish people don't have to die because of Gaza, or anything else! Don't you get it? 🙄

Please can you spell out the connection you are making?

How is the war in Gaza linked to yesterday's attack? Please explain.

Tragically, it absolutely IS because they were Jewish, and it iS racist and anti-semitic. I think what people are trying to say on here is that the attack could be a retaliation for the genocide in Gaza.

The fact is, for all the apologisers and excusers, that OUR neighbours and OUR colleagues are frightened to go about their daily lives because murderous people have decided to target them HERE.

What does everyone expect them to do to keep safe? They can't vote out the Israeli government because they live HERE.

Every time someone says 'but Gaza' in response to such attacks they are adding to the plight of Jews in this country and beyond.

I wouldn't want that on my conscience, I can't imagine why someone would.

How?????

What is the link?

There is no rational link which justifies 'retaliation'.

There is only irrational hatred for the Jewish people.

Which anyone in their right mind should abhor and resist, not explain and justify.

'Elected' - there have been no elections since 2006!

“Short hand huh. Of course it is.”

Well, if you’re determined not to believe what I say, there’s not a lot I can do about that.

It's not a justification. People are looking for reasons. It is human nature.

What is the reason?

It’s heavily influenced, to the extent people believe a violent rampage on a beach in Australia is any kind of answer.

Of course it is a connection and that is not the same as saying it’s rational or justified. It’s weird to think that making that connection is somehow anti semitic.

This is the nub of it.

Please explain the connection.

@jeffgoldblum see this is what I was aiming to avoid. It gets whipped out every time you mention Hamas being elected.

I think the ideology promotes this idea of a connection. It’s not human nature nor weird to say separate Australians from Gaza.

Most people know shooting innocent people including a ten year old girl on a beach isn’t explained by some connection.

Yes , you were correct! , but however long it’s been since, they were elected originally 🤷‍♀️ , these facts can’t be overlooked.

the Bondi attack was pure antisemitism, Islamism is a threat to the West generally and a direct threat to Jews globally through its proponents stated aim of death to Jews and the eradication of Israel.

I also reject the anti-racism diagram included , it is an Ibram Kendi/Robin DiAngelo-type hierarchy of victimhood and perceived power, divisise, moralising, white guilt pushing, critical theory, dangerous nonsense DEI tool, and is a whole other type of threat to the West that has infiltrated our institutions!

whymadam

"Innocent Jewish people don't have to die because of Gaza, or anything else! Don't you get it? 🙄."

Gaza has nothing to do with Australia. A ten year old gunned down on a beach has absolutely nothing to do with Gaza. Don't you see how problematic it is when you condone the motives of terrorists?