'This is how it feels to be Jewish in Australia right now'
The top story on Mamamia last week was this one…..
A lot of people thought I wrote this story. I didn’t but I could have. Any Jewish woman could have.
After writing about how she was thrown out of an Uber last year while pregnant last year after the driver asked if she was Jewish, Anon wrote:
In 2025, hate and antisemitism are running rife in Australia, and it feels like nobody cares. Like it's just another day.
Even though a report from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry recorded a record number of more than 2,000 antisemitic incidents in our country over the last year.
Even though there was a suspected antisemitic terror plot foiled in Sydney on January 19th. A caravan was discovered stuffed with explosives and a list of Jewish synagogues.
Even though days later there was an attack on a daycare centre in the same city, my city, where hateful slander was written on the walls and the building was burnt to the ground. A daycare centre of all places!
The wall read, "F*** the Jews." Not, "F*** the Israelis" or "Fuck the IDF." It was directed at all Jews. Why?
Does someone out there think because I'm Jewish I'm automatically invited into weekly strategy meetings with the Israeli Defence Force?
That because I'm Jewish, I'm not human and can't feel the pain that both sides of the war have brought on civilians?
That because I'm Jewish my innocent daughter, (who just happened to be born Jewish), should worry about going to daycare with armoured guards that carry AK-47s?
This opinion piece was submitted anonymously and it’s for that reason that I haven’t written it myself, despite being urged to by my community. Despite feeling that I wanted to. Words are how I process things and the current state of anti-semitism in the world is something we are all struggling to process - not just those in the Jewish community, I know, but for us it is especially shocking and terrifying.
But the confronting truth is that it has not felt safe for me to write or speak openly about it. And it hasn’t since October 7th. I can’t believe I’m saying that. And I can’t believe what is happening in the world right now. If you’re curious to know how many Jewish people are feeling about it, this story has resonated with many of us and I am so thankful that she wrote it for Mamamia.
In Case You Missed It: INSTA-BABBLE
We’re gearing up for the Outloud Live Show (you can buy tickets here for Melb, Bris and Sydney) and I babbled a bit about our preparations here:
And today, I babbled about my rosacea and also SEX.
You can listen to Butter here or wherever you get your pods but here’s a taster - make sure you have headphones unless you’re alone…..