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Violent antisemitism is resurfacing across the West, not from the fringes but amid progressive politics, cultural Marxism, and a growing refusal to confront uncomfortable truths.

The terrible atrocity at Bondi Beach, Australia, in which two Muslim gunmen — father and son — randomly murdered several Jews celebrating the feast of Hanukkah, and injured many others, has been dominating the news.

Up until now, that is. As with the Manchester synagogue attack last October, likely this atrocity will soon fade in the mass media’s memory — until the next Jew-related attack hits our screens.

Doubtless such ‘isolated incidents’ will be sandwiched between the ongoing coverage of Gaza, and Western protests against Israel’s alleged genocide of the Palestinian people.

Unfortunately, the progressive politician’s tendency is to be nice to one’s enemies and nasty to one’s friends — appeasement on steroids. Islamist terrorists, being the stronger party, must be appeased — and what better way than to criticise the tiny Jewish population and the tiny Jewish state which, we are given to understand, exercise power and influence out of all proportion to their numbers. Indeed, so powerful are they, that they cannot stop people criticising, slandering and attacking them, while cunningly concealing their ancient misdeeds in that obscure historical tome, the Bible.

Significantly, the current wave of antisemitism is breaking, not in an environment of neo-Nazism but one dominated by left-wing politics and social progressivism. Even without actual power conferred by the ballot box, Marxism rules democracies by the power of the idea — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, or DIE as I call it.

Soviet Shadows Over Europe

The Cultural Marxist project can be traced back to 1956, to Hungary, where a popular rebellion was brutally suppressed by the Soviet masters. Between the Wars, Western leftists travelled the Soviet road to Moscow, reporting back on the ‘marvellous’ outcomes of the Soviet experiment — so much better than the failing capitalism of the West, with its high unemployment and its hunger marches. But in the 1950s, the brutal reality of Communism could be seen on the TV sets of the West — a crucial difference.

After Russia in 1917, no revolution would be permitted against the Revolution; but another and arguably even more powerful revolution was ignited as Marxists continued to plug the idea of Communism as the answer to all mankind’s problems. This persuasion was not direct, but indirect, through the criticism of every fault and alleged failing of democracy. It was effective in shaping the minds of university students who would go on to influence public life, including politics, in what Herbert Marcuse described as the ‘long march through the institutions’.

Gradually, imperceptibly, crazy ideas — not least, that men could become women and vice versa — overran the West. Rather than frankly stating that communism was better than democracy — that collectivism was better than capitalism — Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion were asserted as laudable goals, and everything and everyone was measured against them.

Starmer and the Diversity Dilemma

The rise of DIE stymied opposition: people were reluctant to be accused of being against diversity, inequity and exclusion. However, upon it was built a social system that banned a diversity of ideas, promoted inequity, and excluded anyone who dared to disagree.

Any criticism or even attempted debate is now treated as dangerous. Censorship, once the bugbear of the left, is seen as the way to prevent a ‘return to fascism’ and the horrors of the Holocaust.

And yet, under this leftist domination, the very thing that leftists used to warn against — antisemitism — is making a comeback. As noted, the state of Israel, once seen as offering a haven to persecuted Jews worldwide, is now demonised for allegedly oppressing Palestinians, compared to Nazi Germany, and accused of committing genocide against their enemies.

More conservative individuals, who may favour a welfare state but not a communist-style redistribution of wealth — and who do not want to trash their nation’s history and customs — are showing signs of restiveness against the growing antisemitism. However, even while ‘pro-Palestine’ marches featuring overt antisemitism and violent chants have become as regular as buses, those who object — especially when they show a penchant for the flag of their own country or even the Star of David — are treated as dangerous right-wing thugs by the Left, not least by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Starmer has hardly helped to combat antisemitism by recognising a Palestinian state and, it might be suggested, is influenced by rather more practical concerns, not least garnering Muslim votes. Despite his (belated) conversion to ‘talking tough’ about illegal immigration, it remains to be seen how words might translate into action, even as our towns and cities are transformed into places unrecognisable to our not-so-remote ancestors.

Starmer clearly prefers to ignore such concerns. Instead, he resembles what George Canning described as the ‘steady patriot of the world alone, the friend of every country but his own’. Indeed, Starmer prefers to prioritise racial, cultural and especially sexual diversity, leaving many who disagree feeling increasingly marginalised.

The West’s Forgotten Warnings

Some Westerners are now becoming disillusioned with democracy itself. This leaves them vulnerable to wild conspiracy theories on the internet; while doing such a good job of exposing the inanities of ‘woke’ politics, this forum can unfortunately also be used to spread antisocial material and genuinely dangerous ideas, as seen with popular right-wing figure Tucker Carlson and his apparent acceptance of antisemitic conspiracy theories and those who spread them.

But the Left has made anti-Zionism respectable, and antisemitism is only a step away. Already, the two are beginning to blend into each other. Right-wing influencers are suddenly discovering that Hitler was not so bad after all — that he has been misrepresented by Jews, who have a vested interest in demonising him in order to justify their ‘appropriation’ of ‘Palestinian’ land, facilitated in this project by their alleged dominance of the media.

Even while making antisemitism respectable, they may issue warnings against a resurgence of Nazism — even as they suggest that the Jews are the new Nazis, after all.

We have, of course, been here before. The Great War was followed by the Roaring Twenties, an age dominated by sexual relaxation and frantic fun — as well as eugenics, which has never gone away, and is now marketed as ‘choice’.  Back then, communism was treated by the left-wing intelligentsia as a marvellous development and indeed an inevitable one — not so much revolution as evolution.

Democracies Scrutinised, Dictators Protected

Now, the media fails to mention communist dictatorships, allowing all criticism and condemnation to fall upon democracies, which are portrayed as failing. Paradoxically, the very openness of democratic nations is what leaves them open to criticism, even while communist countries clamp down on free speech.

Complaints about ‘divisiveness’ have become commonplace, even though division is an essential aspect of democracy as the electorate divides peacefully at the ballot box — a feature notably lacking in Communist dictatorships. At the same time, an almost frantic effort is made at raising spirits with unlimited ‘fun’ — not a million miles away from Weimar Germany which, it must be remembered, preceded World War II, the extermination of the ‘unfit’, and the Holocaust.

The Holocaust was also preceded by a rise in antisemitism — and although modern leftists have routinely attributed antisemitism to ‘the Right’, the many patriotic demonstrations have been marked by pro-Israel, pro-Jewish sentiment. In stark contrast, left-wing marches against Israel and ‘Zionists’ have been marked by violent rhetoric.

If such violence were to be replicated by conservatives, it would be a gift to the present UK government: given the double standards of ‘two-tier Keir’, nothing would suit him better than to be ‘forced’ to step in and arrest and/or silence his critics, just as he did after the Southport demonstrations.

Starmer is troubled by the unrest, not the cause of the unrest. For him, the biggest threat is not the action, but the reaction. With a complete lack of self-awareness, Starmer accuses his opponents of divisiveness, when that is exactly what he himself does.

He seems unaware that one of the biggest fears of his people is that they are being replaced by immigrants — many of them illegal, and from cultures antagonistic to the idea of democracy and free speech. They also, by and large, support the social policies that leftists promote, making them more likely to vote for his Party. However, there are signs that this uneasy coalition of socially conservative Muslims and the ‘progressive’ Left may be fracturing.

These are legitimate concerns on the part of conservatives, not prejudice. Their fears are based on actual criminal activity, not fevered imaginings. But ironically, Starmer’s brand of leftism has helped pave the way for prejudice by treating different sections of society as monolithic blocs: instead of each section of society being seen as a collection of good, bad and indifferent human beings, some are treated as entirely blameless, and others entirely blameworthy. In so doing, the Left has opened the door to those who may simply reverse this order.

Antisemitism: A Virus That Persists

Where we go from here is anybody’s guess, but history serves as a warning.

The UK — increasingly now a disunited kingdom — has always harboured a certain suspicion of ‘strong men’, violent demonstrations and especially of antisemitism, all of which were regarded as strange and foreign. But this is a battle between Western democracy and a kind of religious fascism — and the last thing we need is right-wing racism redirecting the conservative movement towards genuine fascism.

At this time of year, when once again we celebrate God being born as a man among men — when he chose to become a member of his Chosen People — we would do well to remember how close this world has come to eliminating Christ’s earthly kin.

Until fairly recently we took ‘never again’ seriously. However, with Western nations in such a volatile state, governed by those who appear to despise their own people, there is no knowing where all this may lead.

Bondi Beach was shocking, but given previous terror attacks, it was hardly surprising. All those politicians expressing shock at the atrocity appear to have forgotten previous attacks. Until recently, at least, it has been the fashion for politicians — including Starmer — to compete in Holocaust remembrance, but when it comes to serial terrorist attacks, nobody, it seems, is prepared to say ‘never again’.

Clearly our leaders have failed to learn that antisemitism is the virus that never dies — that it just goes dormant until people suffer a memory lapse, at which point they forget the past and so are condemned to repeat it.

As to the future, it all depends on whether we take ‘never again’ seriously — or are willing to say ‘never again’ to ‘never again’.

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Image courtesy of Unsplash.

Appeal for the Bondi Terrorist Attack Victims

Celebrate Israel, in partnership with the Canberra Declaration and other supporters, have organised a relief fund appeal for the victims and families of the Sydney Bondi Beach terrorist attack.

Our giving team is called Celebrate Israel Australia on the platform and is part of a much larger appeal run on the Charidy giving website. All donations are tax-deductible and will be administrated by the Jewish United Support Fund.

The relief fund will provide direct financial support, helping families begin to rebuild their lives after this tragedy. Assistance is especially needed to cover essential commitments when the family’s primary breadwinner has been killed. Find out more about this appeal on The Daily Declaration here.

Please stand alongside the Jewish community as a visible demonstration of God’s love to them at this critical time of need. So far, over $29,000 has already been donated, and we prayerfully seeking to raise $100,000.

Please share this appeal button with your church networks and friends.

Give by clicking the green button below.

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