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We all know about the worldwide rise of antisemitism in the West, particularly since 7 October 2023. How have the Jews responded?

Let’s be awake to their response. One has been a resurgence in Aliyah, the Hebrew word for “ascent”, the term for Jewish immigration to Israel.

Another response: the book The Happiest Man on Earth by Eddie Jaku, and the drama based on this book, the theatre production in Sydney’s Opera House, 13 – 17 May 2026.

After critically acclaimed seasons across North America and the United Kingdom, Mark St Germain’s theatrical adaptation of The Happiest Man on Earth, based on the astonishing life of Holocaust survivor Eddie Jaku OAM, will finally arrive in Eddie’s adopted homeland, Australia.

Eddie was a survivor of both Buchenwald and Auschwitz. Despite his harrowing experiences and remarkable narrow escapes, Eddie always referred to himself as the happiest man on earth – a positivity that made him a legendary figure. His acclaimed autobiography reached the New York Times best-sellers list upon its release in 2020 and has since been translated into 37 languages and has sold over 400,000 copies in Australia alone.

What a response!

The Man Who Chose Happiness

My wife and I were part of the near-four hundred-strong audience in the Playhouse Theatre, Sydney Opera House, spellbound by Jewish-Australian actor Anton Berezin’s portrayal of Eddie Jaku. The performance was 80 minutes long with no break, a one-man show, remarkable! At times, the silence in the theatre was breathtaking. It was as if the whole auditorium held its breath together!

Eddie was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2013. This was in recognition of his significant contributions to Holocaust education and his outstanding service to the Jewish community in Australia.

At 99 years of age, in 2019, he gave a TEDx talk in Sydney. Here, he recounted the highlights of his story and explained why he claimed to be the happiest man on earth. He died on 12 October 2021, aged 101.

In his own words, from his book:

I do not ask my fellow survivors to forgive the German people. I could not do that myself. But I have been lucky enough and had enough love and friendship in my life that I have been able to release the anger I felt towards them. It does no good to hold onto anger. Anger leads to fear, which leads to hate, which leads to death. (p172)

Eddie ends with these words:

So I hate no one, not even Hitler. I do not forgive him. If I forgive, I am a traitor to the six million who died. There is no forgiveness. When I say this, I speak for the six million who cannot speak for themselves. But I also live for them and live the best life I can.

Seventy-five years ago, I never thought that I would have children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I was at the bottom of humanity. And now here I am.

So, after you put this book down, please remember to take time to appreciate every moment of your life – the good, the bad. Sometimes there will be tears. Sometimes there will be laughter. And if you are lucky, there will be friends to share it with, as I have known throughout my life.

Please, every day, remember to be happy, and make others happy too, Make yourself a friend of the world.

Do this for your new friend, Eddie. (p188-189)

The Echo of Past Evil

Eddie’s impact on millions (his TEDx talk has two million views in addition to the 5,000 who heard him live) is immeasurable.

To my knowledge, he never made a commitment to follow Jesus Christ, but see how much happiness, love and friendship spilled out of his suffering.

With the end of World War Two, Nazi antisemitism was not defeated; it simply went underground for a while, only to emerge again in our day.

We now have the choice; just like the Germans under Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich, and Hermann Göring, the people had their choice to go along with the national narrative and be complicit in the genocide of the European Jews, or to take a stand against the hatred and risk everything, including their lives.

What is our response to antisemitism today? We feel gutted and ashamed that the Bondi Massacre should have happened on our watch. But I feel it’s a fine line between feelings of revulsion and sympathy, and complicity with the hatred by our silence.

Eddie’s response to his countrymen turning on him, the loss of his family, and his personal battle for life in the face of demonic evil is an unforgettable, awe-inspiring testimony for us all.

In the comments below, make some positive suggestions as to how we can answer antisemitism, both individually and collectively.

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Image via YouTube.