Antisemitic Zionism
A Look at How Not All Antisemitism is Equal
When Elon Musk performed back to back Nazi salutes on stage at Donald Trump’s inauguration Alex Ryvchin, the co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) was quick to jump to his defense.
Despite Elon’s constant boosting of neo-Nazis and their antisemitic conspiracy theories to his 219 million Twitter followers, the head of Australia’s largest pro-Israel lobbying group stated:
“It is inconceivable that someone who has visited the death camps and has expressed strong support for the Jewish people would have in any way intended to display a Nazi salute.”
“When many countries are engulfed by an antisemitism crisis with near daily attacks on homes, schools and places of worship, focusing on incidents like this distracts from the real antisemitism that has been projected into the West by the anti-Israel movement. This is the battle all decent people concerned for anti-racism and human rights should be united in.”
Because Elon backed Israel’s genocide in Gaza, the Nazi salutes, the antisemitic conspiracies he believes and the neo-Nazis he platforms are overlooked. As Ryvchin clearly says, the “real antisemitism” is the rhetoric that comes from the “anti-Israel” movement, and the Nazi salutes, and antisemitic conspiracies are just insignificant distractions.
This isn’t the first time the head of the ECAJ has overlooked antisemitism based entirely on a persons support for Israel. During Trump’s first presidential term Ryvchin appeared on the far-right media network Newsmax where he defended Trump from accusations of antisemitism.
This in spite of Trump dining with neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes, hiring antisemitic staffers like Steve Bannon and Milo Yiannopoulos, or Trump’s constant use of the antisemitic “globalist” trope, a conspiracy which motivated a neo-Nazi to murder 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue during Trumps first term as President.
Because Trump is the most pro-Israel President in history, recognising Israel’s illegal annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights, moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and sending billions of dollars worth of weapons to Israel his antisemitism isn’t real either.
To the Zionist lobby, antisemitism is not an insidious form of hatred that should be fought wherever it arises, it’s a tool to be used in the interest of Israel.
Last year, in July, the Australian/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) and the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV), met with members of the Australian wing of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
The VHP was founded in India in the 1960’s, by a group of right-wing extremists, including M.S. Golwalkar, a Nazi sympathiser inspired by 1930’s Germany.
In his book We or Our Nationhood Defined, published in 1939 he wrote:
"To keep up the purity of the nation and its culture, Germany shocked the world by her purging the country of Semitic races – the Jews. National pride at its highest has been manifested here. Germany has also shown how well-nigh impossible it is for races and cultures, having differences going to the root, to be assimilated into one united whole, a good lesson for us in Hindustan to learn and profit by.”
The VHP’s origins, inspired by Hitlers persecution of Jews can be forgiven because they share a common hate for Islam, and the interfaith collaboration is beneficial because they can both point to Muslims as the “real problem”.
Recently, members from the right wing Libertarian Party posted a tweet backing Australia’s non-intervention in Israel/Gaza, highlighting the role Australia plays in the global chain of F-35 production, the choice of fighter jet used by Israel to bomb innocent civilians in Gaza. This drew swift accusations of the Party tweeting “anti-Israel” propaganda from their friends from the Australian Jewish Association (AJA), a far-right Zionist lobbying group connected with extremist settler groups in Israel.
The Libertarian Party has previously run multiple candidates who’ve shared antisemitic views, the party’s federal executive President, Anthony Bull has a history of posting neo-Nazi content on Facebook and mocking the holocaust, and the NSW branch expressed their enthusiasm to collaborate with the National Socialist Network, Australia’s largest group of neo-Nazis. All this was fine to the AJA, but the second the Libertarians criticise Israel the line in the sand is drawn.
The AJA also previously invited white nationalist Lauren Southern, who played a key role in mainstreaming the antisemitic “Great Replacement” conspiracy to tour the predominantly Jewish suburbs Bondi and Caulfield with them. The Great conspiracy later motivated the neo-Nazi shooter responsible for the murder of 51 Muslims in prayer at the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch.
Time and time again, the only concern of the Zionist lobby is anti-Israel rhetoric, and when antisemitism isn’t seen as a threat to the Zionist project in Israel it can be ignored, or even in some cases excused and apologised for.
Zionist lobbying groups are working overtime to shut down pro-Palestinian voices because they see the movement for Palestinian liberation and self-determination as the “real threat” to the state of Israel.
These lobbying groups have worked closely with the media to play up the threat from Australia’s Muslim and Arab communities and the broader pro-Palestine movement in general, whose messaging has been harmful to Israel’s image in Australia.
The Zionist Lobby’s targeted campaigns have led to Muslims and Arabs being labelled as antisemitic, they’ve been charged for political speech, fired from their jobs for sharing Human Rights Watch articles, and lost academic funding for opposing Israel’s war crimes.
Muslim youths in Sydney were vilified in the media for chanting ‘God is great’ in Arabic during a protest in support of their teacher who was suspended after pressure from lobbying groups.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, member of a Sydney Ukrainian Youth Group held a memorial for Nazi collaborator Roman Shukhevych, a member of the Nachtigall Battalion. During the event members of the Youth group flew the flag of the 14th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, led by Heinrich Himmler.
At the Ukrainian communities weekly protests, they are free to waive Azov flags bearing the Sonnenrad, a symbol popular with neo-Nazi groups, because it’s not “real antisemitism”.
While Zionist lobbying groups are weaponising antisemitism to strip our free speech, remove our rights to protest and legislate criticism of Israel as hate speech, they are ignoring and excusing antisemitism when it suits.
The consequences of this are disastrous, not just because it is allowing antisemitism in other communities to grow unchecked, but because it is painting a target on the backs of Muslims and Arabs in Australia, and causing Islamophobia to skyrocket.
It is a dangerous game being played that will have serious consequences for all involved, antisemitism should be called out wherever it arises, not just when it is politically convenient.