Today I want to talk about cancellation in Australia. I want to talk about it under the same heading as the Green party in the UK, at a meeting where they had to have a ‘safe room’ for Jewish Greens, passing a motion that Zionism is racism but failing to pass the addition that Jews should be safe in the UK. That heading is sometimes “All is well just as long as we make decisions for you.” That heading can also be “As long as no-one knows what’s actually happened here, we can pretend everyone’s safe.” Mostly it’s “Jews must remain silent here. We do their thinking for them.”.
Once upon a time there was a mass murder in Israel. October 7 2023. Many people who had been closet antisemites came into the open. A bunch of Jewish writers and artists and others who create needed to talk, so someone made a Whatsapp channel and lo, they worked towards healing. A few of them (maybe five, maybe six (I read the material in question, but didn’t count) talked about writing letters to make it clear that Jewish Australians and Australian Jews were scared by the rise in antisemitism. Someone doxxed all 600+ people in that group. Their argument was mainly about evil Jews plotting. So many in the Arts in Oz were hurt by this and Jews have been given purity tests for literary festivals. I was not doxxed myself, because I can’t get WhatsApp to work so I never joined the group, so I’m only targeted by those purity tests and by erasure. I didn’t have to move house for safety and over that time, I have only received one death threat.
This was in 2024. So the problems are now past for Jews in the creative industries in Australia? Not at all.
I myself (undoxxed) am still only welcome at most events as an audience member as long as I carry or wear nothing that indicates I’m Jewish. My home town excludes me more than anyone: I am not (at the moment of writing this post) on the programme for anything to do with writing in the Canberra region. When I ask, I am given ‘reasons.’
Some organisers elsewhere won’t let any racism enter their doors and do not exclude Jewish writers. I was both delighted to be a minor part of the Sydney Fringe (I gave a workshop and panel at the science fiction weekend at Old Government House) and why I celebrate whenever I am welcome into a place without anyone wanting to shout “Free Palestine” or “Jews murder babies” at me.
The doxxing happened in 2024. I say this again because something important just happened. Jewish artists and writers and musicians created a film called “Cancelled,” Explaining what has happened through the life of four who had to deal. It was shown at a film festival… then it was cancelled. Right now, it’s impossible to see.
First doxxing then cancellation – this sums up three years of life in the Arts in Jewish Australia for most of us.