Dear ARZA friends
Today we cover 4 topics:
1. When the Threat Hits Home -Identity, Propaganda, and the Stakes of Silence
This piece is an attempt to connect the dots between history and what is happening in our schools and universities today. By looking at insights from major thinkers like Dan Senor, Aviva Klompas, and David L. Bernstein, a worrying pattern emerges: The West is repeating a dangerous form of psychological warfare from the 20th century.
2. The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has launched its official website
Visit the website for updates, information and resources:
asc.royalcommission.gov.au
3. Beware Netanyahu’s Orwellian ‘War of Revival’ doublespeak, David Horowitz analysis
“The PM is peddling a false October 7 narrative that skews why Israel went to war in Gaza, dishonors the dead, the injured, the traumatized, and obscures the need to get to the root of the failures”
4. Daniel Aghion KC, President, Executive Council of Australian Jewry shares insights to several topics
• “Globalise the intifada” is a call to violence, not peace
• Debunking the Gaza Genocide Myth
• Right-wing extremism is not our only threat and more
1. When the Threat Hits Home – Identity, Propaganda, and the Stakes of Silence
A. The Soviet “Zionology” Blueprint
To understand today’s campus and other protests, we have to look back at the Soviet Union. Natan Sharansky, a famous human rights activist who survived the Soviet Gulags, documented a state-sponsored campaign called “Zionology”.
Because the Soviet Union claimed to be “anti-racist,” they couldn’t openly attack Jews for their religion. Instead, they rebranded Jews as “Zionists”—defining them as a “white supremacist” class of “oppressors”.
• The Trick: “Zionist” became a socially acceptable slur used to strip people of their rights.
• The Mirror Today: In his book Woke Antisemitism, David L. Bernstein argues that modern activists have resurrected this binary. By reclassifying Jews as “White” and Israel as a “Colonial Project,” the movement uses the language of anti-racism to practice the oldest form of exclusion.
B. Beyond Politics: The Rise of “Zionophobia”
In a powerful recent episode of Call Me Back, Dan Senor sits down with renowned computer scientist Judea Pearl. Pearl argues that we are seeing something deeper than political disagreement; he calls it “Zionophobia”.
Pearl, whose son Daniel Pearl was tragically murdered by terrorists in 2002, argues that modern anti-Zionism isn’t just about criticizing a government—it is a fundamental rejection of Jewish collective identity and the right to a homeland. He warns that when we let language be hijacked, we lose our “moral clarity,” making it easier for institutions to justify excluding one specific group.
C. The K-12 Briefing: “Zionist” as a Slur
On the podcast Boundless Insights, host Aviva Klompas spoke with legal expert Alyza Lewin about how this is affecting our kids. They argue that for most Jews, the connection to Israel is part of their shared ancestry. Under the Civil Rights Act (Title VI), targeting a student for this identity is illegal discrimination.
• The “Loyalty Oath”: Students are often told they must “disavow Zionism” to join social justice clubs. No other ethnic group is asked to denounce their homeland just to participate in school activities.
• Targeting Teachers: In cities like Berkeley and New York, students are being encouraged to treat Jewish teachers and classmates as “oppressors” responsible for foreign conflicts.
D. The Warning: It Won’t Stop Here
A haunting theme in these discussions is the “complacency of the comfortable.” Many people believe this rhetoric is only a “Jewish problem.”
The Hard Truth: History shows that once a society accepts the “racialization” of one minority group to justify their exclusion, the legal and moral guardrails for everyone are destroyed. As Dan Senor and Aviva Klompas reflect, many will only recognize the threat when it reaches their own front door.
Key Resources
• Podcast Episode: “Zionophobia” (Call Me Back) – Dan Senor interviews Judea Pearl on the true nature of anti-Zionism.
• Podcast Episode: “The New Antisemitism” (Call Me Back) – Featuring Sam Harris.
• Podcast Episode: “Title VI & The Law” (Boundless Insights) – Aviva Klompas and Alyza Lewin on legal protections for students.
• Book: Woke Antisemitism – By David L. Bernstein.
• History: Fear No Evil – The definitive account of the Soviet “Zionology” experience by Natan Sharansky.
2. The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has launched its official website.
Visit the website for updates, information and resources.
Learn more:
Watch a livestream of the opening hearing on the Royal Commission website at 10:30am on Tuesday 24 February 2026 (the link has also been added to the ECAJ Royal Commission page).
3. Beware Netanyahu’s Orwellian ‘War of Revival’ doublespeak
An Op Ed by David Horovitz , the founding editor of The Times of Israel. He is the author of “Still Life with Bombers” (2004) and “A Little Too Close to God” (2000), and co-author of “Shalom Friend: The Life and Legacy of Yitzhak Rabin” (1996). He previously edited The Jerusalem Post (2004-2011) and The Jerusalem Report (1998-2004).
The PM is peddling a false October 7 narrative that skews why Israel went to war in Gaza, dishonors the dead, the injured, the traumatized, and obscures the need to get to the root of the failures
www.timesofisrael.com/beware-netanyahus-orwellian-war-of-revival-doublespeak
4. Words from Daniel Aghion KC, President, Executive Council of Australian Jewry who shares insights to several topics including:
• “Globalise the intifada” is a call to violence, not peace
• Debunking the Gaza Genocide Myth
• Right-wing extremism is not our only threat
“Globalise the intifada” is a call to violence, not peace
The “globalise the intifada” slogan has been at the centre of controversy recently with some protest leaders claiming it is a peaceful protest slogan or simply expressing solidarity with Palestinians. That is simply untrue. It is an unequivocal call to violence targeting Jewish civilians in Israel and around the world, including here in Australia. The recent terror attack at Bondi Beach is what globalising the intifada really looks like.
We have published an explainer about the slogan to address this misinformation, which we encourage you to read or share. It clearly explains the history and meaning of the slogan in the context in which the Arabic word “intifada” has been most widely used, namely the Israel-Palestinian conflict.
The last intifada was a Palestinian campaign of violence featuring 138 suicide bombings, and numerous other shooting and stabbing attacks on civilian targets in Israel, including buses, restaurants, shopping malls, and nightclubs. More than 1000 Israelis, mostly civilians, were killed – including 15-year-old Australian schoolgirl Malki Roth, who was murdered along with 15 other civilians in the bombing of a pizza restaurant in 2001. More than 40 foreign nationals were also murdered during the last intifada.
When that history and context is understood, the objective meaning of the slogan becomes crystal clear. It is a call for violence targeting Jewish civilians around the world, and it has no place in our public discourse.
As Arnold Roth, Malki Roth’s father, said this week:
“Globalising the intifada is an act of madness. To urge globalising the intifada has consequences that will shake Australia to its foundation. It’s a mistake, and an exercise in stupidity. I’m using a deliberately pejorative word because it’s inconceivable to me that people who use that slogan in public places do it while understanding what it means.”
We encourage you to read and share our explainer to help more Australians understand what the slogan really means.
• Read and share ECAJ’s explainer on “globalise the intifada”
• Read The Age’s story yesterday about Melbourne-born Australian Malki Roth, murdered in a terrorist bombing of a pizza restaurant in the Second Intifada
Debunking the Gaza Genocide Myth
This week we published an extensive article by Dr Mike Kelly AM, thoroughly debunking the “Gaza Genocide Myth”. The former Labor MP and minister served in the Australian Army in several overseas deployments and became the Army’s Director of Army Legal Services. He holds a doctorate in international law and is also an expert on peace and stabilisation operations, post conflict reconstruction, and counter-insurgency.
• Download, read, and share “Debunking the Gaza Genocide Myth” by Dr Mike Kelly AM
Right-wing extremism is not our only threat
ECAJ has been engaging with a NSW Parliament inquiry into right-wing extremism in the state, making a written submission earlier this month, and appearing before the inquiry this week. We support legislative reform to address extremist conduct but submitted that it needs to address extremist conduct irrespective of whether it is characterised as ‘right-wing’ or not.
We have been warning for some time that antisemitism has left the fringes of society and is prevalent on both the left and right of Australian politics, often converging. We encourage the NSW Government to consider the full spectrum of extremist groups in any follow-up work to the review.
• Read our full written submission to the inquiry
Royal Commission opening hearing next week
The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion will hold its opening hearing this coming Tuesday. Note that there will be no testimony heard or evidence given at this opening hearing. It is mostly ceremonial although Commissioner Virginia Bell AC SC will make a short opening statement explaining how she will approach the terms of reference for the inquiry.
• Watch a livestream of the opening hearing on the Royal Commission website at 10:30am on Tuesday 24 February 2026 (the link has also been added to our Royal Commission page)
Mazel tov
This week, I have the pleasure of congratulating a Jewish Australian sportsman. Jewish Australian snowboarder Scotty James claimed a silver medal to become Australia’s most decorated winter Olympian. While he was disappointed at missing out on a gold medal, we could not be prouder of him. We wish him a mazel tov and also hatzlacha for his future in the sport.
Wishing you all a Shabbat shalom.
Daniel Aghion KC
President, Executive Council of Australian Jewry
Shabat Shalom
Ayal Marek
President
ARZA Australia
