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Over the past two decades, Australian Jews have been
at the centre of significant Australian political and ideological
debates, including: the War Crimes legislation and the associated
Helen Demidenko controversy; anti-vilification legislation, and
broader concerns over multiculturalism and racial tolerance; and
the on-going Israeli–Arab conflict, and its local manifestations
such as the recent Hanan Ashrawi and Sydney Peace Prize affair.
There is a strong public perception that Jews are an influential
group in terms of their social and economic resources, and access
to key political groups and players. In particular, popular literature
portrays Australian Jews monolithically, as speaking with a single
voice rather than as a diverse community with many different factions
and perspectives.
… There has been little informed, research-based analysis
of the political activity and allegiances of Australian Jewry. Scant
attention has been paid hitherto to the particular factors and forces
that determine Jewish political activities and agendas:
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The impact of socio-economic and organisational structures of the Jewish community, and the controversial question of “who speaks for Australian Jewry?” |
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The local and global influence of universalistic values and ideologies such as liberalism, conservatism, socialism, Zionism and anti-Semitism. |
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The influence of specific Australian political issues and debates, ranging from positions on the Middle East conflict to the pursuit of Nazi war criminals and concerns over immigration, multiculturalism, and race relations. |
This book – an edited collection of new contributions from distinguished Australian academics – contextualises, illuminates, and explains the contemporary politics of Australian Jewry. It critically analyses the three broad themes above through relevant case studies and source material, and situates the politics of Australian Jews through comparisons with general patterns in Australian politics, the politics of other minorities in Australia, and the politics of other Western Jewish communities.
Contains a detailed appendix of Jewish Parliamentarians, 1849 to the Present, compiled by Hilary L. Rubinstein
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Acknowledgements
Introduction: Jews and Australian Politics
Geoffrey Brahm Levey and Philip Mendes
Part I Identifying the Jewish Community
1 Jews in Australia – A Demographic Profile
John Goldlust
2 Who Speaks for Australian Jewry?
Suzanne D. Rutland
Part II Partisanship and Ideologies
3 Jews and the Australian Labor Party
Sol Encel
4 Jews and the Left
Philip Mendes
5 Jews and the Liberal Party of Australia
Peter Baume
6 Political Conservatism and the Australian Jewish Community
William D. Rubinstein
7 Anti-Semitism and Australian Jewry
Andrew Markus
8 Pro-Israelism as a Factor in Australian Jewish Political
Attitudes and Behaviour
Danny Ben-Moshe
Part III Issues and Controversies
9 Mending the World from the Margins: Jewish Women and Australian
Feminism
Barbara Bloch and Eva Cox
10 Jews and Aborigines
Colin Tatz
11 Jews and Australian Multiculturalism
Geoffrey Brahm Levey
12 Inside AIJAC – An Australian Jewish Lobby Group
Chanan Reich
13 The Hanan Ashrawi Affair: Australian Jewish Politics on
Display
Geoffrey Brahm Levey and Philip Mendes
Conclusion: Australian Jewish
Politics in Comparative Perspective
Peter Y. Medding
Appendix: Jewish Parliamentarians
in Australia, 1849 to the Present
Compiled by Hilary L. Rubinstein
Notes on Contributors
Index
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“Only a little more than 100,000 Jews live in Australia
(about 5 percent of the population), mostly in the huge cities
of Melbourne and Sydney. They have made distinguished contributions
to Australian life, but they get lost in random samples of
the whole population so there is no significant quantitative
research on them. Levey (Univ. of New South Wales) and Mendes
(Monash Univ.) consider three themes: demographics of the
Jewish community and the bodies that speak for it; ideologies
and Jews; and Jews’ relationships with specific political
issues. The authors include chapters on demography, political
parties, left and right, anti-Semitism, pro-Israelism, and
the Jewish response to issues including feminism, aborigines,
multiculturalism, and globalism. The authors find that Jews
who fled Nazism were on the political left and socially and
economically assimilated. Few issues in Australia arouse Jews
per se, as they now approximate the Australian political spectrum
as a whole. Jews have higher incomes and educational levels
than the average population, but recent immigrants from Russia
are disadvantaged … Recommended.” Choice
“While Australian Jewry may well be ‘on the edge of the
Diaspora’ in the geographical sense, this roundbreaking volume
of studies offers welcome proof that it merits recognition close
to the centre in respect of academic self-inquiry. This is itself
is a noteworthy achievement, compounded by the fact that the book
admirably lives up to its blurb’s claim to illuminate and explain
Jewish political behaviour within the context not only of Australian
society, but also of some other Jewish communities. … Overall
this book makes an admirable contribution not only to knowledge of
Australian Jewry in the context of contemporary Jewish life, but
also to the study of ethnicity in democratic societies such as Australia.” The
Australian Journal of Jewish Studies
“This ambitious volume promises to be authoritative for anyone interested in Australian Jews, and is bound to be of great value to anyone curious about the persisting importance of ethnicity and religion in democratic societies.” Stephen J. Whitfield, Max Richter Professor of American Civilization, Brandeis University, Boston
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Publication Details
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Paperback ISBN: |
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978-1-903900-72-7 |
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Page Extent / Format: |
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272 pp. / 229 x 152 mm |
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Release Date: |
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January 2005 |
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Illustrated: |
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No |
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Paperback Price: |
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£18.95 / $32.50 |
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| This book can be ordered online or by telephone. |
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For the UK and Rest of the World:
Gazelle Book Services
tel. 44 (0)1524-68765 |
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For the United States:
International Specialized Book Services
tel. (1) 503 287-3093 or (800) 944-6190 |
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For Canada:
University of Toronto Distribution
tel. (1) 800-565-9523 |
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