Exploring Contemporary Antisemitism Through a Historical Lens
Event description
The Melbourne Holocaust Museum invites you to a lecture run by Prof. Andrew Markus AO FASSA.
Rabbi Ralph Genende wrote in early March that “since October 7, I have keenly realised that history has apparently reverted back to the most primeval of times... I certainly never expected to feel this way in Australia.” The Executive Council of Australian Jewry documented 662 antisemitic incidents during October and November 2023, reflecting a 738% increase compared to the same period the previous year. Among these incidents were death threats directed at Jewish organisations and individuals, frequent anti-Israel demonstrations extolling violence, pervasive acts of intimidation such as the public release of personal information identifying members of a Jewish Australian WhatsApp group, and the proliferation of toxic content on social media platforms. Notable flashpoints included a convoy of vehicles driven from Sydney’s western suburbs through the centre of Jewish community and a violent street protest in Caulfield, prompting the evacuation of a synagogue. This talk will consider historical contexts to evaluate present-day manifestations of antisemitism, with reference to earlier periods of Australian history and pre-war Europe.
Andrew Markus is Emeritus Professor in Monash University’s Faculty of Arts and was previously Director of the university’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation. Since 2004 he has been a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2021. He is the author or co-author of more than one hundred academic articles, book chapters, reference works, and reports, and of nineteen books, including Australian Race Relations, The Struggle for Aboriginal Rights, and A Second Chance: A History of Yiddish Melbourne.
He has played a leading role in two national surveys of the Jewish community, Gen08 and Gen17, and was the senior researcher on the Scanlon Foundation social cohesion surveys from 2007 to 2021.
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