Perth Community Comes Out To Fight Against Antisemitism

This past weekend, we attended a rally at the steps of the Parliament in Perth, West Australia. It was to unite people with a mission of fighting against antisemitism, which has reared its ugly head in Australia, as in other Western nations, since the atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023.

A couple of thousand people attended and heard from several speakers. The speakers included Christian pastors, the head rabbi from a local synagogue, politicians representing both major parties, and a young Iranian lady.

This gathering was not just to commemorate the victims of October 7 but to express solidarity with Jews and Israelis who have been the target of the worst outburst of antisemitism since the days of Hitler. There have been attacks on students in universities; even primary school students who are Jewish have been mocked and bullied, and the media has shown their abject bias when it comes to reporting on the Middle East conflict.

All around us, Australia's social cohesion is under threat. We need every person of goodwill to join us to work for a country where mainstream antisemitism was until recently unthinkable. The similarities to pre-World War 2 Germany are there.

The truth of the matter is this: right now, the Jewish community doesn't feel safe. Suppose you tolerate attacks against Jews and rob them of their freedom to attend school or attend the workplace without harassment in Australia. In that case, every minority group can potentially suffer.

All the speakers at the event expressed the shared Judeo-Christian values that have served Australia so well. Our value system made Australia a great country to live in. Yet, the forces of racism are putting a stain on the nation, and the values of the Enlightenment are on shaky ground.

Fortunately, in Western Australia, the Police Commissioner has been committed to not tolerating the type of violence and hatred that spewed in Sydney over the past 12 months. The police presence at the gathering was extensive, and a police helicopter was watching overhead. The fact that such a peaceful get-together necessitated such a police presence speaks to the dangerous times that we live in today.

Perhaps the person who impressed me the most was the young Iranian woman.

She expressed 100% support for Israel and the enlightened democratic values that the nation stands for. She is part of the Iranian resistance movement that wants an end to the oppressive Islamist regime of the Ayatollahs, which has been in power since 1979. The Islamist regime not only exports terrorism through its proxy groups, but it represses, tortures, and murders its citizenry. Women are considered second-class citizens, and if you are a homosexual, well, we know what your fate will be. Iran is at war with everything we in the West cherish.

Like other Iranians I have met, this young lady shows bravery in standing up against antisemitism. The Iranian regime spreads its tentacles in many countries and regularly issues fatwas on those Iranians, whether in their native land or elsewhere. So, it takes courage to speak out.

During the rally, I thought this didn't need to happen. We didn't need such a rally, and October 7 didn't need to happen. One man set in motion the causative factors that led to October 7. That man is Barack Obama. He was the promoter of the signing of the "Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action," a deal in which Iran promised not to develop a nuclear weapon for 10 years and, in exchange, was given billions of dollars by the release of frozen assets. Anyone with half a brain knows Iran cannot be trusted.

Either Obama is delusional in thinking that a terror state like Iran, whose mission is the destruction of Israel, would engage in "Peace in our time" by signing such a deal, or Obama's sentiment is toward the authoritarian regime. I don't know his motivation, but what's been happening in the Middle East is a consequence of Obama wanting to empower Iran. The logic is inescapable. His administration and his tool, Biden-Harris, are all about empowering Islamism. We are now suffering in Australia from such irrationality.