After a random explosion of racist abuse in Bondi, I’m questioning our social cohesion

I was in Bondi, waiting to drive into a parking lot. A car was blocking the entrance. It was stationary and the driver had abundant space in front of him. I rolled down my window and politely asked: “Could you move forward, please?”

I could never have anticipated the reaction: “F…..g South African Jew!” barked the driver. “You think you can come here and take over.” And again: “F…..g South African Jew!”

I was taken aback, my mental equilibrium suddenly out of kilter. I found myself wondering: “Did that really happen?”

I have been on the front line of human rights work in this country for four decades, advocating for issues ranging from gay rights and reconciliation with the First Nations to speaking out against Islamophobia, opposing all manner of bigotry as chair of Multicultural NSW and combating anti-Jewish racism as chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies.

The latter expression of hate manifested in multiple ways, all insidious, yet invariably occurring within a context. A bizarre context, to be sure, mostly bound up with some conspiracy theory, but context nevertheless. What shook me about the Bondi incident was that there was no context whatsoever. None. No road rage. No fiery exchange. Simply a random explosion of racist abuse.

I was about to say it came out of nowhere – but how accurate would that be? Did it come out of nowhere? Or has the climate in this country and indeed, globally, changed?

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I recently attended the Sydney Writers Festival, conducive to articulate presentations and respectful debate. And supposedly a safe space. The session featured British barrister Philippe Sands, best known for East West Street, on the origins of genocide and crimes against humanity, and Michael Gawenda, a former editor of The Age whose book My Life As A Jew was published two years ago. Thoughtful discussion followed, after which a member of the audience brazenly informed the 400 people present that they and the speakers were missing “the elephant in the room” – the “tentacles” of Australia’s Jewish lobby, which she asserted controls our society.

Such allegations are pernicious and ignore the fact that lobbying is an integral facet of democracy. What shocked members of the audience was the extraordinary confidence with which she tossed out as fact the trope that Jewish Australians have tentacles and use them to nefariously shape society to their will.