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Goodbye to 2023 — the year that delusions were broken and everything became clear.

2023 was the year we learned that when Islamic terrorists take babies hostage, far more people around the world will march in support of the terrorists than in support of the babies.

It was the year we learned that people in this country can call for the extermination of those they don’t like, and our elites will shrug their shoulders.

Sure, a mob yelled “Gas the Jews” on the steps of the Opera House.

But did they really yell gas the Jews? Maybe you just thought you heard that. We’ll investigate and get back to you.

Blind Eye

And, yes, an Islamic sheikh in Western Sydney called the rape, slaughter and kidnapping of Jewish women and children a cause for celebration.

But that’s not hate speech.

It’s just part of the rich tapestry of multiculturalism. Some Australians get excited by their football team; other Australians get excited by a terror attack on Jews. What’s the difference?

And besides, diversity is our strength!

And sure, an imam in Western Sydney did tell his congregation that a day will come when Jews will be hunted down and killed.

But that’s not incitement. It doesn’t meet the, um, you know, the ‘threshold’.

What’s the threshold for hate speech against Australian Jews?

Honestly, I couldn’t tell you.

All I know is that we do have hate speech laws, and if anyone ever says anything worse than Gas the Jews like, um, well anyway, there will be consequences. Maybe. Maybe not. Hate speech is very hard to define.

Our security agencies have warned that there is the potential for a terrorist attack on Australian soil, and we should speak up if we see anything unusual. By unusual, we don’t mean a man walking into a women’s bathroom. Report that as unusual, and you will definitely be prosecuted for hate speech. That’s an easy one.

2023 was the year we learned that, in this country, police will arrest law-abiding citizens to prevent a breach of the peace rather than protect them because it’s just easier than dealing with those who actually threaten violence.

Sydney police famously removed a man waving an Israeli flag from city streets, for his own safety, of course.

Pro-Palestinian activists are even more safety conscious. They want all Israelis removed from Israel, for their own safety.

What’s the difference? Only one of scale. Anti-Israel activists just have more imagination than New South Wales police, who clearly need to think bigger.

Toleration

2023 was the year delusions were shattered, and things became crystal clear.

While Australian Jews wondered if they were safe in this country, Australian Senator Marheen Faruqi proudly posed for a photograph next to a schoolgirl holding a sign saying that Jews were trash needing to be taken out.

Senator Faruqi is the Deputy Leader of Australia’s third most popular political party.

No-one cared. Well, I mean, the Australian Jewish community cared. But no one who mattered cared.

Faruqi is still in the Senate. She’s still the Deputy Leader. And her social media bio still boasts that she is an “anti-racist”.

She did eventually delete the photograph from her social media, but she never apologised for it.

Indoctrination

Outright anti-Semitism among Australian politicians isn’t wrong. Senator Faruqi was just a little early.

But give it time, because our public schools will ensure there’s an appetite for it in the very near future.

Less than eight weeks after Hamas terrorists and Gaza civilians wearing keffiyehs slaughtered Jews, the New South Wales Teachers Federation and the Australian Education Union encouraged teachers to wear keffiyehs in the classroom, you know, to help the kids better understand Hamas, er, the conflict.

Speaking of school students, we learned in 2023 that our kids are more likely to participate in an anti-Israel protest than they are to graduate with an A in physics.

We also learned that, far from being a problem, this is perfect preparation for higher education.

Ivy League University presidents told a Congressional Hearing that students calling for the genocide of the Jews might be okay, depending on the “context”.

Perhaps 2024 will be the first year Western universities hand out keffiyehs to graduating students rather than diplomas.

“Oh, your son finished uni!”

“He did. He graduated with a bachelor in Jew-hatred, of course, majoring in economics. We’re very proud.”

I’m joking, of course. But after 2023… nobody’s laughing.

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Originally published at The James Macpherson Report.

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Photo by Alfo Medeiros.