by Mathilda Heller
The advertisement claims to list the names of over 1000 Jews who allegedly signed an open letter saying Herzog is not welcome in Australia.
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The Jewish Council of Australia has sparked outrage after it paid for two full-page newspaper advertisements criticizing President Isaac Herzog’s visit to the country.
The advertisement, which appeared in Monday's Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, lists the names of over 1,000 Jews who allegedly signed an open letter saying Herzog is not welcome in Australia.
Titled “Jews say no! Over 1,000 Jews have said no to Herzog," the ad states that “welcoming an alleged war criminal in the aftermath of the Bondi massacre betrays Jewish communities, multicultural Australia, and everyone who stands for Palestinian human rights and international law.”
However, at least some of the names listed on the advertisement are not real people or are people who did not sign the letter. There are also under 700 names on the list.
David Slade, managing director of Slade Pharmacies and president of United Israel Appeal Victoria, is featured on the list. He wrote on LinkedIn that his name was used without his knowledge, consent, or approval.
Newspaper ad opposing Herzog's visit draws anger over false names
“Let me be absolutely clear: I did not sign, endorse, or authorize my name to be included in this publication,” he said.
Slade added that the fact that his name, as well as others, was added without his permission is a “gross ethical failure” of the person(s) who submitted his name, of the organization that authored the advertisement, and of the newspapers that published it.
“If there was real support for this advertisement, one must ask why would it include the names of those who have not consented and possibly fictitious names as well?” he added.
“To remove any doubt about where I stand: I am a proud Australian, a Zionist, and I stand in full solidarity with the Australian Jewish community and with Israel, including President Herzog’s visit to Australia.
“I am writing this message from Israel. The only thing I regret about being here is that it means I am missing President Herzog’s visit to Australia.”
A man named Jason Gluck responded by saying that his name was also falsely listed. Tammie Slade – a well-known Australian Zionist – is listed, most likely without her knowledge.
It is worth also noting that one name featured on the list is actually not a name at all and is, in fact, a transliterated Hebrew slur. “Milkek Tachat” translates to a** licker. Some have argued this is also the case for Robert Doublina, which is similar to the name of a fictional character in a Marvel comic.
There are also three names of kapos on the list: Josef Heiden, Eliezer Gruenbaum, and Carmen Mory. Kapos were Jews who aided the Nazi regime, suggesting these names were submitted by people who feel that the JCA is a kapo organization (a parallel drawn by numerous users on social media).
Heiden was a kapo at the Dachau concentration camp known for his cruelty toward fellow inmates. Gruenbaum was a kapo at Auschwitz, and Mory was one at the Ravensbrück concentration camp.
Additionally, while saying the ad is ‘Jews saying no,’ it has now been made clear that the petition was open to non-Jews. Before signing the petition, there is the option to click either ‘I am a Jewish Australian’ or ‘I am a non-Jewish ally.’
Even if the advertisement’s list is true, it would still only represent a tiny proportion of the country’s Jewish community. There are around 110,000-120,000 Jews in Australia, and so the list’s purported 1,000 would still constitute less than 1%.
Several Jewish Australians told The Jerusalem Post of their frustration that two major newspapers decided to platform fringe voices and not the mainstream Jewish bodies, which are overwhelmingly pro-Israel.
A June 2023 survey by Monash University found that 90% of Australian Jews deemed it important to maintain close ties with Israel. Some 88% felt a high level of personal connectedness with Israel, and 86% agreed the existence of Israel is essential for the future of the Jewish people.
“This myth that is being put out in the media is misleading; it is trying to elevate what is a micro opinion within the Jewish community as some substantial body of opinion,” said Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) CEO Peter Wertheim to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Monday.
He referred to the JCA as an “outlier.”
“There are, of course, differing opinions in the Jewish community, but on the basic matter of Israel’s right to exist and to live in peace and security, it is near unanimous,” he said.
It is also worth noting that the JCA teamed up with a Hezbollah-linked group and a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated network to demand that the Australian government deny Herzog a visa for his visit.
It co-signed a statement with the Australian National Imams Council (ANIC) and the Belgian-based Hind Rajab Foundation calling on Attorney-General Michelle Rowland, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, and the Australian Federal Police to refuse “entry for Israeli President Isaac Herzog and the commencement of a criminal investigation under Australian law.”
Ibrahim Abu Muhammed, the mufti of Australia, is the head of the ANIC. He is a member of the Qatar-based International Union of Muslim Scholars (IUMS), which was founded by Yusuf al-Qaradawi, widely regarded as the Muslim Brotherhood’s spiritual leader.
The Post reached out to David Slade, Tammie Slade, the JCA, the ECAJ, and the Zionist Federation of Australia for comment but did not receive responses before press time.
Mathilda Heller
Source: https://www.jpost.com/diaspora/antisemitism/article-886120
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