Although the Australian Government has clamped down on antisemitism since the fatal terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, there are still toxic incidents of Jew hatred occurring.
What would be the reaction of the antisemites who frequent the Crown Casino if they knew that the extensive gambling establishment in the heart of Melbourne is owned by Blackstone?
Blackstone, one of the largest private equity firms in the world, was founded by and is chaired by Jewish businessman Stephen Schwarzman, and includes several Jews among its executive board members.
Schwarzman is also a former chairman of US President Donald Trump’s Strategic and Policy Forum. A gambling and entertainment complex replete with restaurants, hotels, spas, cabarets, and leisure activities, the Crown Casino was acquired by Blackstone in 2022.
Open 24/7, it is constantly pulsating with life and the demographic diversity of Melbourne’s resident and tourist populations. Dvir Abramovich, the chairman of the Anti Defamation Commission, who keeps a close watch on antisemitic incidents in Australia, reports that a Jewish patron of the casino approached a group of men who performed the Nazi salute.
Looking directly at the approaching Jewish man, they yelled, “Heil Hitler” and “gas the Jews.” The person to whom this was directed had the presence of mind to film the incident. Later, one of the perpetrators claimed that he did not know what antisemitism means.
Antisemitism has always existed in Australia, which is not exactly surprising, as Jews were among the convicts that were brought to the far-flung island continent on the first fleet from Britain, and most of them became success stories.
Jews also did well for themselves there in later years. Jewish brothers Sidney Myer and Elcon Myer, who migrated to Australia from Russia, opened a store in the country town of Bendigo in 1900 and, in 1911, moved to Melbourne.
In 1914, they commissioned the construction of the Myer Emporium, which has since expanded and is now the largest department store in Australia. There’s no shortage of Jewish immigrants who became millionaires, or whose offspring are millionaires. After the Second World War, a lot of Holocaust survivors settled in Australia, but so did a lot of ex-Nazis and their collaborators.
Unfortunately, Australia did very little to bring these evil individuals to justice. Nazi hunter Efraim Zuroff, who for many years headed the Israel office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, succeeded in tracing many of them through the International Tracing Service, better known as the Arolsen Archives, and sent 478 names to the Australian authorities. Not a single person on the list was prosecuted.
But these days, the Australian Government is much more sensitive to incidents of antisemitism.
B’nai B’rith World Center holding Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony
For almost a quarter of a century, the B’nai B’rith World Center in Jerusalem, together with the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund, has held a joint commemoration ceremony on Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day.
This ceremony differs from others in that it pays more attention to Jews who saved Jews than to Jews who were victims. For several years, Yad Vashem’s focus was on honoring the Righteous Among the Nations (gentiles who saved Jews during the Holocaust), and it took a lot of persuading for that policy to change to include Jews who risked their own lives to save other Jews.
In the past, the ceremony was held in the Scrolls of Fire Plaza of the Forest of the Martyrs near Ramat Raziel. But given that arrangements were made before the ceasefire in the war against Iran, the ceremony will be held at the Van Leer Jerusalem Institute’s Polonsky Auditorium at 10 a.m. Israel time on Tuesday, April 14, instead. The event will also be streamed live on the B’nai B’rith International Facebook page.
Moshe Shapira will be among the speakers. He will talk about his grandfather of the same name, who rescued Dutch Jews. Shapira is also the father of Aner Shapira, whom Hamas murdered at the Nova music festival on October 7.
It is customary for the ambassador of the hero’s country to also be among the speakers. This year, it will be the Netherlands Ambassador Marriet Schuurman. Also, as part of the international Holocaust commemoration project Unto Every Person There is a Name, Dutch Holocaust survivor and founding member of the Committee to Recognize the Heroism of Jewish Rescuers (JRJ) during the Holocaust, Chana Arnon, will recite the names of some of her relatives, over 100 of whom were murdered in the Holocaust.
During the ceremony, the Jewish Rescuers Citation will be conferred posthumously on four rescuers who operated in France, Holland, and Poland. The citation – a joint program of the B’nai B’rith World Center and the JRJ – has recognized 667 heroes since its inception in 2011 in an effort to help correct the generally held misconception that Jews failed to come to the aid of fellow Jews during the Holocaust. Past rescuers have operated across numerous countries, in Europe and North Africa.
Marilyn Monroe's 100th birthday
On June 1, Hollywood will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the famous actress Marilyn Monroe. Later that month, it will be the 30th anniversary of the death of singer, songwriter, and composer Ella Fitzgerald. Monroe was a great fan of Fitzgerald’s. When she learned that Fitzgerald had been denied employment at the famed Mocambo nightclub in Los Angeles because of her skin color, Monroe spoke to the manager. She told him that if he allowed Fitzgerald to perform there, she, Monroe, would come to listen to her every night.
Her presence was bound to bring great publicity to the club. The man agreed, and sure enough, Monroe was there up front every night, together with other Hollywood celebrities, to listen to Fitzgerald. It was the turning point in Fitzgerald’s career. “After that, I never had to play in small jazz clubs again,” she said in later life.
The story is one of thousands of anecdotes on Quora, a California-based Q&A website founded by Adam D’Angelo and Charlie (Arielle) Cheever, both of whom previously worked for Facebook.
Quora users share heartwarming anecdotes, jokes, and answers to questions in 24 languages. The subject matter covers every imaginable theme, but above all, moving stories of human kindness. There are also vast numbers of stories about Jews, mostly during the Holocaust, as well as many theological questions and stories about Jews and Christians. Further, there are also some witty jokes.
The anecdotes are all very quick reads, and many restore faith in the elementary goodness of human beings. There are also many positive stories about African Americans. What is particularly interesting is the wide variety of subjects people ask questions about. The idea behind Quora is a learning experience in the most palatable manner. Because it is so interesting and so varied, it could also become addictive. Anyone trying it out should beware.
Foreign Press Association pushing for right to report in Gaza
For nearly two-and-a-half years, the Foreign Press Association (FPA) in Israel has been petitioning military and legal authorities for the right of its members to enter Gaza and to report on what they find – so far without success.
FPA chairperson Tania Kraemer reports that the Supreme Court, which has rescheduled the hearing on the case several times, has delayed it yet again, this time citing the war against Iran as the reason for postponing the hearing until at least the end of May.
This is akin to Israel shooting itself in the foot. The Jewish state has been maintaining that material for wire service reports about Gaza is supplied by Gazan journalists. Although the FPA sees nothing wrong with having Gazan journalists, some of whom are among its members, the Israeli authorities are most unhappy with these reports and reporters. Obviously, the way to get reports from other sources who are not Palestinian is to let other members of the FPA enter Gaza – but that’s too easy a solution.
The Israeli Beckhams
Writer, lecturer, and broadcaster Yanky Fachler, who lives in Ireland but is a frequent visitor to Israel, where he has many relatives and friends and where he lived for several years, is also an avid reader of newspapers from which he culls interesting items that he includes in his online column, Yanky’s Morale-Boosting Doodles.
The following verbatim piece comes from his latest column.
“When Sir David Robert Joseph Beckham, aka former footballer David Beckham, first saw Victoria Adams on TV, he said: ‘That’s the girl I’m going to marry.’ And marry her he did. When Israeli footballer Daniel Peretz first saw Israeli singer Noa Kirel on TV, he said: ‘That’s the girl I’m going to marry.’ And marry her he did. Ahead of the recent FA Cup quarter-final clash when Daniel helped Southampton beat Arsenal, he was featured in a major piece in The Sun, which dubbed the couple ‘the Israeli version of the Beckhams.’”
UK monarchs to move forward with US visit
Trump makes no secret of his disdain for the UK government or the British Royal Navy in which King Charles served and of which he is now the commander-in-chief. The monarch and his wife are due to visit the United States toward the end of the month to mark the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, signed in 1776.
This is a state visit, and Trump will host a banquet at the White House in the king’s honor. Due to strained relations between the UK and the US, many Brits have urged the king to postpone the visit, but Buckingham Palace has issued a statement saying King Charles intends to go ahead as planned. At this stage, he has no intention of meeting with his estranged younger son, Prince Harry, either, but as the king has never met his two American grandchildren, that lacuna may yet be amended.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Jerusalem Post or its affiliates.
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