The Sensible Jew

Part 2: Anti-Zionists and The Israel-Right-or-Wrong Crowd Have Much In Common

Alex Fein — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 11:07:33 +0000

This is the second installment in this series. Click here to read part 1. So, what else do the Israel-Right-or-Wrong and anti-Zionists groups in Australia have in common? Fury at dissent within own ranks: For our non-Jewish readers, let me tell you about a communal treasure. He’s a tireless letter-to-the-editor writer, and apparently an avid mass emailer about matters [...] No related posts.

Series – Anti-Zionists and The Israel-Right-or-Wrong Crowd Have Much In Common: Part 1

Alex Fein — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:44:04 +0000

What do the Israel-Right-or-Wrong crowd and anti-Zionists groups in Australia have in common? Surprisingly, they share a number of traits and tendencies that leave sensible folk – Jews and non-Jews alike – bemused, furious, or very, very bored. This post begins a series examining the the similarities in these two groups: The tin ear: Whenever the shriekers from the [...] No related posts.

More Than Three Opinions: A Map of The Jewish Australian Blogosphere

Alex Fein — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 05:58:48 +0000

“Two Jews, three opinions,” is a cliché. It’s also a gross understatement. The ease with which a blog can be set up combined with my people’s natural tendency to debate anything, means that there is now a cornucopia of Jewish Australian opinion available online. Left and right, centre and periphery, religious and secular, Zionist and anti-Zionist – [...] Related posts:

DeaRAbbey’s First Post: Religion, Reality, and Bizarre Questions

Alex Fein — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 10:50:52 +0000

by Yaron Gottlieb Since leaving school, I’ve spent a good chunk of my life learning in Israeli Yeshivot (Jewish religious seminaries). This was interspersed with studying for tertiary degrees in Australia, and I always seemed to survive the culture shock between the places. But returning to Australia, a newly ordained rabbi, after spending last year in a [...] No related posts.

Mossad and Our Passports

Alex Fein — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 13:02:08 +0000

In the current debate surrounding the Australian passports used in the assassination of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai, there are two equally unsound positions. Firstly, there’s the shrill (if exultant) Anti-Zionist response, that often tips over into outright racism. (see readers comments at the end of the stories) On the other side, Jewish Australian leadership still hasn’t managed [...] Related posts:

Winning Friends and Influencing People 3: Anti-Semitism, The Hiatus, and Secret GLBT Business.

Alex Fein — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 05:51:25 +0000

I’ve written before about the story of my paternal grandmother’s Holocaust survival. In short, her father, a religious Jew, made friends with the local priest long before the catastrophic events that wiped out Polish Jewry. As Jews from my family’s village were packed off to the concentration camps, this priest managed to forge papers for my [...] Related posts:

How to Lose Friends and Alienate People 2: Tackling anti-Semitism in the Short Term

Alex Fein — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 05:09:08 +0000

We have a tendency to cast the spectre of anti-Semitism as a vast, amorphous thing that can never be quantified. This means not distinguishing between an unpleasant letter to the editor, a school-yard taunt, an ill-conceived play; and expulsions, pogroms, and gas chambers. These are all conflated. for some, they might exist on a continuum, but most [...] No related posts.

How to Stop Losing Friends and Alienating People – Part One

Alex Fein — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 04:35:30 +0000

As many of you know, I have a pretty high threshold for what might constitute anti-Semitism in the arts and media. Please keep this in mind when I write that yesterday, while watching a play, I witnessed a truly vile depiction of Jews that initially made me want to launch myself from the back row of [...] No related posts.

Our Leaders/Institutions Decide Jews are not Disliked Enough – Action Taken

Alex Fein — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 07:51:56 +0000

After reading the articles, read the comments below. Robert Goot’s latest crusade Albert Dadon’s piece in The Age Dvir in his most recent spray See also page 3 of this week’s Australian Jewish News *** Now ask yourself whether the horrendous comments in response to these pieces are perhaps worse than the original infraction being complained about…. Along with the usual missives [...] No related posts.

Analysing What Went Right: Liam Getreu in The Australian

Alex Fein — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 03:48:42 +0000

Yesterday, Liam Getreu, incoming AUJS chairman, wrote an opinion piece for the Australian that should serve as a model for how this community conducts its PR. We need to remember that no matter how interesting and important we Jews find ourselves and Israel, the rest of the population generally has other things on its mind. Except for [...] No related posts.