Antisemitism Webinar

The Moriah Foundation hosted a Zoom event with Alex Ryvchin, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, discussing rising antisemitism and how to respond, and assisting us with grappling the shameful hatred we have been exposed to since October 7.

Foundation President Judy Lowy OAM shared the heartbreak we are all feeling for the shocking atrocities perpetrated on our people. She spoke about the second war that Jews around the world are fighting – the war on antisemitism, and the completely false narrative that has taken hold about Israel.

“We each have a role to play here. We have to stand up for our people. To be a Jew is to be a strong link in the chain. I am proud of the role Moriah is playing. Educating and equipping our students with knowledge to inspire them, to hold them, to make them feel secure and safe, and teaching them how to stand up as proud Jews, advocating
for their people and for Israel.”

Judy Lowy OAM

Judy also commended our alumni who are stepping up as proud and resilient members of our community, and our communal leadership who are working around the clock to protect our way of life, educating politicians, government, and journalists, fighting legal battles, advocating on social media, and keeping us informed.

Alex shared that although there has been a colossal spike in antisemitism since October 7, the scourge of antisemitism has been shaped over centuries. It is a coordinated campaign that conditions the public to see Jewish people as villains, the source of misfortune and is an assault on our right to safety.

Anti-Zionism has become indistinguishable from antisemitism. It is a means of intensely demonising the Jewish people, to try and bring about the collapse of Israel.

Alex provided invaluable advice on how to respond:

Do
• Rise to the challenge and defend our people
• Be calm, confident and clear
• Embrace suffering
• Be proud, strong and resilient
• Advocate using facts, expressing the truth
• Maintain a threshold for what is antisemitic and show zero tolerance for antisemitism
• Triage your responses – identify where you can exert the greatest influence
• Extract a price on those who have chosen to be an antisemite
• Deepen your connection to your Jewishness
• View this time as your time and your opportunity and rise to the occasion and bring maximum pressure to bear
Don’t
• Despair, be fearful or anxious
• Argue with October 7 deniers, they know what occurred and are seeking to humiliate, torture and further injure us
• Waste energy on pointless debates, save your strength and mental health for people who are movable
• Pander to those who hate us