How Jewish are you? Enough to put you on a list?

We hear a lot in the media from Australia’s Zionist Jews, not so much from non-Zionist Jews. Judith Treanor It’s about laws of hate and a nation in revolt.

This sarcastic remark towards X stopped me in my tracks today. I have encountered much worse than trolls, Zionists, and racists on social media, but that pretty much covers the climate we live in.

I am aware that by writing this, I am again centering Jews. I imagine most Australians are tired of hearing about how Jews have felt forever. I definitely am. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be surprised and horrified by what happened at Bondi. This is certain.

But please excuse me for a moment, because anti-Zionist Jews are rarely heard in the media.

We are either ignored or attacked.

This is where we come to: A stranger on the internet questioning my Judaism.

Of course, I am not religious anymore, but I grew up in an Orthodox religious family. I was proud of my Jewish heritage until it became synonymous with genocide against Palestinians.

Zionism is not Judaism, but you have to think that it is.

“How Jewish are you?” The tweet reflects an entire political and media climate that insists there is one Jewish community and one Jewish view, and that view is unwavering support for Israel.

We hear this from almost every politician except the Greens and a few independents. It makes me sick when the likes of Pauline Hanson repeat the words: “I stand with the Jewish community in Australia,” while showing that she has no idea what Judaism is.

Or when Julian Leeser said, “Liberals will side with the Jews” as draconian hate law reforms pass federal parliament. Which Jews exactly? I ask.

And when Home Secretary Tony Burke declared: “There is no doubt that the Jewish community is safer thanks to the new laws…”

But there is no single Jewish community.

There are Jews who support Israel, Jews who oppose Israel, Jews who oppose Zionism, secular Jews, religious Jews, and Jews who are devastated that our identity as a people has been usurped by Zionism, and that “we” the oppressed have become the oppressors.

The political class chooses not to accept this reality because it disrupts the story they want – that Australia is under siege by “extremists”.

To protect “Jews” it is necessary to take harsh measures against speech and protests.

Wrong kind of Jew

If I oppose Israel’s oppression, I am not Jewish enough.
If I march against apartheid, genocide and torture, I become a kapo.
If I refuse to treat a foreign state as sacred, I become a self-hating Jew.

We are ignored in politicians’ decision-making processes. Ignored by mainstream media. While we were said to be protected, we were erased.

So how Jewish am I?

If we’re doing this weird audit of my Jewish identity, let’s get that out of the way.

• My Ancestry.com DNA test says I am 98% Jewish and lists Eastern European countries where some of my ancestors were exterminated in the Holocaust.
• My name means “women of Judea.”
• My parents were married under the chuppah regime. The rabbi’s son was their best man.
• My beloved grandfather sang in the choir at the synagogue. He had a very beautiful voice. My nanny was part of the team that prepared the kiddush after the service.
• From a young age I was obsessed with every detail of the Holocaust. Not a day went by that it didn’t sit somewhere in my mind. I was volunteering at the Jewish Museum in Sydney.
• The last time I was in the UK was to attend my father’s laying of stones at Bushey New Cemetery, just north of London. He lies next to Rabbi Lord Jonathon Sacks in case anyone checks.

And ironically, I have more Jewish friends now than I have in decades, because a humanitarian act brought us together.

We are a community.

Not someone known to the media and the political class, but a community nonetheless.

And for those wondering if I was “Jewish enough” in the 1940s: Hitler would have killed me anyway.

That’s how Jewish I am.

Hate laws and lists

Yesterday, the Albanian government circumvented this process by colluding with the Liberals. Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Act 2026 As part of the political response to Bondi.

The laws expand hate-related crimes, create a framework to ban “hate groups” and give the Home Secretary expanded border and visa powers over anyone deemed to be “promoting hatred” or promoting extremism.

They sold it as “Jewish security”

but we know which Jews they are talking about. This is certainly not for the safety of Muslims, First Nations people or any minority in Australia who do this.

They sold it as a crackdown on extremists. But history tells us that when governments establish these systems, the network expands easily.

Anti-Zionist groups are already associated with ‘extremism’ due to our participation in pro-Palestinian marches for peace.

We are a threat to the “social harmony” that politicians love so much.

It’s not hard to imagine that under this new regime Tony Burke would decide to go after groups like us.

This is the same Tony Burke who led the Respect March, a march against racism and hate speech against Muslims in Lakemba in 2017. I was there and I remember it very well.

Ironically, My friend Laurie told me today: “The Nazis put us on the lists.” Now these new hate laws have been passed in Australia; “We will return to being on the lists” to raise our voices for Palestine.

The country is broken

The destruction wrought by two terrorists in Bondi on December 14 went far beyond the victims. In the weeks since, the massacre has torn apart a country that has historically responded to tragedy with unity rather than blame and politicization.

While the country was still reeling from the initial shock, the pro-Palestinian protest movement was blamed for the incident. Five weeks later, the finger pointing and scribbling gets worse.

The public sphere, including social media platforms and legacy media, is clearly toxic. Those who cannot distinguish Judaism from Zionism, Muslims from terrorism, or protest from violence are encouraged by political and media discourse to spew bile on the internet. Decent people are called terrorists and people like me are told we’re not Jewish enough.

So much for the elimination of hatred, Albo. Oh wait, here comes Herzog…

White supremacists with Australian flags. What really happened at Bondi?

Judith Treanor is the organizer of Bondi Beach and a member of Jews Against Occupation ’48. Global Sumud Fleet event and Sydney property buyer agent.