(JEWISH GROUP) Antisemitism Down Under Is Turning Vicious Opinion

[Behind the Aegis]

There's an old joke that Australians are so laid back they're in constant danger of falling over. Known for its sun, surf and occasionally shark attacks, Australia has gone from being the easy-going land Down Under to experiencing a surge of antisemitism that most Jews thought was relegated to the dark annals of Jewish history.

In the line of fire are Australian-Jewish actors, musicians, writers, and others in the traditionally left-wing arts community. They are being pushed by fellow artists to denounce Israel as a modern-day Satan or be banished from the local arts scene.

The attacks and vitriol have shades of Mao's Cultural Revolution where people were publicly humiliated as subversives before being banished to work camps. In this modern-day Australian twist, Jews are simply fired or excommunicated from their artistic communities.

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Based largely on an influx of Holocaust survivors after World War Two, there are just 100,000 Jews in Australia, or 0.4 percent of the population. The community is so small that 'Jewish' isn't listed as a religion on the national census. Jews have to write their religion next to the word "Other." Some leave it blank, remembering how such information was used by the Nazis for deportation lists to concentration camps.

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