A Jewish Reckoning: Deconstructing Blind Support and Confronting Israel's Moral Rot

For generations, many in the Jewish community were raised with a core tenet: support Israel. This was often presented as a non-negotiable part of Jewish identity, a "blind tribal support" rooted in the idea that Israel was a necessary "safe space" for Jews.

However, in light of the "devastation and the violence, mass killing in Gaza", this long-held position is facing an unprecedented challenge. For many, including Australian Jewish journalist Anthony Lawson, this blind support is not just "unhealthy", but a moral failure that has led to a "Jewish reckoning".

In a recent interview, Lawson, a self-described "Australian Jewish German atheist journalist", detailed his personal journey from a traditional Jewish upbringing to becoming a prominent Jewish critic of Israel.

A Journey from 'Safe Haven' to 'Moral Rot'

Lawson describes growing up in a liberal Jewish home in Melbourne. He was taught to support Israel as a "safe haven", a deeply resonant idea given that most of his family had been murdered in the Holocaust.

This support, however, existed alongside a "profound and deep racism towards Arabs, Palestinians, and Muslims" that he witnessed within his own family. In the 1980s and 90s, Palestinians were often framed as a monolithic threat. "Yasa Arafat... he's like Hitler," he was told. "The Palestinians are like the Nazis".

This narrative was possible, he argues, because he had no recollection of ever meeting a Palestinian until his 20s.

"If you're not meeting someone and having a conversation about... what Palestinians think and how they feel... your knowledge is based on either ignorance or racism".

He realized that this "blind tribal support" allowed many in the Jewish community to "defend and support policies they would never support in their own country", such as discriminatory systems that would be seen as "outrageous" in Sydney or New York, but are considered "normal" in Israel.

Ultimately, Lawson concluded that what was "being done in my name as a Jew" was not making Jews safer. In fact, it was "increasing anti-semitism".

The Price of Dissent: 'Outcast' and 'Kappo'

Speaking out came at a significant personal and professional cost.

• Communal Rejection: Lawson states that for many in the Jewish community, "I am an outcast".
• Family and Friends: He had "raging arguments" with his family and lost Jewish friends. His father also lost friends after October 7th, including one Jewish friend who said of Palestinians, "We need to gas them". His father felt "you can't come back from that".
• Professional Attacks: When his first book, My Israel Question, was announced in 2006, there were calls from parliamentarians to have it banned before it was even written. The pro-Israel lobby later pressured his publisher to "pulp the book".
• Hate Mail: He has received hate mail and death threats, "mostly from Jews". He is often called a "Kappo"—a deeply offensive term for a Jew who collaborated with the Nazis.

Is Anti-Zionism the Same as Antisemitism?

Lawson emphatically rejects the idea that being anti-Zionist is the same as being antisemitic, calling the claim "nonsense and... ahistorical".

He points out that Judaism existed for thousands of years before Zionism was conceived in the late 1800s. He argues the equation of the two is a "sign of desperation" and a "way to silence you, to shut you up".

He views modern Zionism as a "cult" that has allied itself with the global far-right. He cites Israel's recent invitation to Tommy Robinson, a "far-right extremist from the UK", as proof. Robinson, Lawson notes, is a "bigot who hates Muslims" and whose vision is "why he loves Israel".

Lawson also refutes the common claim that 95% of Jewish people are Zionists. He cites growing studies in the US and UK, particularly among the 18-35 demographic, showing "growing not just disillusionment and anger and contempt for Israel", but a belief that the Jewish future should not be tied to it.

The idea of Israel as a "safe space" is, in his view, "just a lie".

"It is more unsafe to be a Jew in Israel than arguably anywhere else in the world".

A 'Civil War' in the Jewish Community

This division is creating what Lawson calls a "schism" or a "growing civil war in the Jewish community", largely splitting the "old generation and a younger generation".

A recent poll of American Jews found that over 60% believe Israel has committed war crimes, and almost 40% believe it is committing genocide. For Lawson, this poll reveals the lie that you are antisemitic if you are "against Israeli actions".

Younger Jews, he argues, look at Israel's government—which he describes as "proudly racist, chauvinist" with ministers he calls "neo-Nazis"—and feel profound disillusionment.

This is why, he says, "there needs to be a Jewish reckoning for what has been done in our name". This reckoning is difficult, as many in the community still live in "denial about what happened in 1948".

As a result, traditional Jewish organizations are "beyond repair". He argues that groups like the Executive Council of Australian Jewry "don't speak for me as a Jew and they don't speak for most Jews", calling them "deeply racist organizations". This has led to the founding of new groups, like the Jewish Council of Australia, to create a "progressive Jewish space".

Dehumanization, Ideology, and 'The Palestine Laboratory'

Lawson argues that the dehumanization of Palestinians is "in its DNA". The foundational "idea of having a Jewish majority state... means that you cannot have Palestinians who... have self-determination". Early Zionist writings, he states, reveal "a deeply racist thought".

This ideology has become so central that for many secular Jews, "Israel has become their religion. It's replaced Judaism". This, he says, is the "moral rot" that allows rabbis to give "vile," "racist" sermons praising the IDF's actions in Gaza.

This ideology underpins the thesis of his book, The Palestine Laboratory. The book argues that Israel "tests and trials weapons and surveillance tech on Palestinians first" and then "sells that around the world as battle tested".

But Israel isn't just selling weapons; it's selling "the concept of getting away with it". He details a long, hidden history of Israel's support for the world's most repressive regimes:

• Apartheid South Africa: Israel was a "key backer" of the regime, arming and training them "right to the end" in 1994, long after the rest of the world had isolated them.
• Chile: Israel armed and supported Pinochet's brutal dictatorship after the 1973 coup.
• Guatemala: Israel armed and trained forces that committed genocide against the indigenous population in the 1980s.
• Rwanda: In 1994, Israel was "arming the side that was committing the genocide".
• Myanmar: Israel backed and armed the regime as it committed a UN-recognized genocide against the Rohingya Muslim population.

The Path Forward: "If Not Now, When?"

When asked what Jewish people can do to support the Palestinian cause, Lawson acknowledges the real fear of being "ostracized" from family and community.

However, he offers a stark challenge.

"I say to people... if... now is not the time to speak out, when is? I mean like this is the moment where Israel has just committed genocide against Palestinians... Now is the time to speak out".

He urges Jews to get involved in the "moral reckoning", to question the silence in their communities, and to challenge the moral failure of Jewish leaders who "praise Israeli soldiers in Gaza" on the holiest days of the Jewish calendar.