HENRY SHAW ORATION 
CENTRAL SHULE
CAULFIELD SOUTH, VICTORIA

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Saturday, 13 September 2025

E&OE……………

 

Ladies and gentlemen, members of our wonderful Jewish community, friends:

It’s a privilege and pleasure to join you tonight at Central Shule.

Thank you for your time, your hospitality, and your kindness.

I commend your fortitude, faith and fellowship in times where fellowship, faith and fortitude matter more than ever given the antisemitism afflicting Australia.

What continues to impress me about the Jewish spirit – ancient and enduring – is your strength.

Despite everything Jewish Australians have endured, you never resort to a victimhood mentality.

That stoicism has inspired my own journey.

And that resilience is a source of inspiration for many others.

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Tonight, three congregations come together – from Central Shule, St Kilda Shule, and Blake Street Shule.

And I want to acknowledge the efforts and leadership of Rabbis Karnowsky, Glasman and Sendor.

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Friends:

Of the Coalition MPs who have stood in solidarity with Jewish Australians since the 7 October attacks, James Paterson is one of the finest.

Australians are truly fortunate to have someone as principled, articulate, and intelligent as James in our parliament.

He is a rarity.

James – you’re more than an outstanding senator and a cherished colleague – you’re a good man and a dear friend.

And your many qualities aren’t lost on those here tonight.

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Friends:

I’m deeply honoured to have been asked to deliver this year’s Henry Shaw Oration.

In so doing, I honour the memory of a great man.

A Brit who became an Australian, Henry’s constant between two countries was his Jewish faith.

Indeed, his faith steered and sustained him in life:

As a soldier of the Second World War.

As a servant of Jewish youth movements.

As the founder of the Hillel Foundation in Britain – and Director of Hillel in Victoria.

As a Jewish museum guide.

As a lecturer at Victoria College.

As a husband to Sybil.

And as a friend to so many.

Henry’s obituary in The Australian Jewish News said:

“He was a big man in every sense of the word: big hearted, broad minded and with a large and energetic appetite for life.”

Henry wasn’t just respected by his students for his scholarly mind.

To them, he was a sensitive counsellor.

Indeed, he was described as “the most influential Jewish figure on campuses in Melbourne for much of the 70s.”

As a teacher and orator of Jewish history and literature, Henry had a reverence for the truth.

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A reverence for the truth – that’s one of the most important values of civilisation.

You may have heard of the writer and political commentator Douglas Murray.

He has been one of the most outspoken defenders of Israel.

Especially since the 7^th.

He has been an unwavering supporter of Jewish communities around the world.

Especially following the surge of antisemitism in democratic countries.

With eloquent persuasion, Douglas has disarmed lies and propaganda with his reverence for the truth.

The year before Hamas attacked Israel, Douglas published The War on the West.

I want to quote a passage from his book.

Douglas wrote:

“… what has been worked away at in recent years has been a project in which verifiable truth is cast out.

In its place comes that great Oprah-ism: “my truth.”

The idea that I have “my truth” and you have yours makes the very idea of objective truth redundant. …

At its most extreme, it is a reversion to a form of magical thinking.

Precisely the thinking that the Enlightenment thinkers chased out.

And perhaps that is why the Enlightenment thinkers have become such a focus for assault.”

Douglas Murray is correct.

Our era is notable for many perversions of the truth.

Consider just some perversions of the truth in an Australian political context:

The government says that renewables are the cheapest form of energy.

Yet your power bills tell you otherwise.

The government downplays the danger posed by the Chinese Communist Party.

Yet the CCP tests weapons off our east coast – and continues to flex its military muscles to intimidate other nations in the region.

The government talks about the Australian economy turning the corner.

Yet our economy will soon be burdened with a trillion dollars of debt for the first time.

Another perversion of the truth – one that I know all too well – is the advocate-driven agenda to idealise traditional Indigenous culture.

That perversion of the truth hinders efforts to address the root causes of Indigenous violence that still afflict Australia today.

Outdated patriarchal beliefs are still prevalent in many Indigenous communities.

Today, there are Indigenous men who still see women as inferior, who treat women as possessions, and who believe that beating a woman is both a right and acceptable behaviour.

If the perversion of truth concerning Indigenous culture is one of romanticisation, then the perversion of truth concerning Israel is one of demonisation.

Since the 7^th, Israel hasn’t only been defending itself from existential threats – from Hamas, from Hezbollah, from the Houthis, from the Iranian regime.

Israel hasn’t only been defending itself from terrorists, from rockets, and from drones.

Israel has also been defending itself from falsehood, from fiction, and from fabrication.

Put simply, Israel is fighting for the truth.

With a reverence for the truth, it’s important to call out the facts and address falsehoods.

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Let’s start with false accusation that Israel is committing genocide.

If Israel wanted to do that, it could have bombed Gaza to the ground from the air on October 8.

But the fact that the IDF went in on the ground is testimony to Israel’s determination to protect innocent Palestinian lives.

Of course, that’s an incredibly difficult task when Hamas uses Gazans as human shields.

And when Hamas uses civilian infrastructure as strongholds – and to store weapons.

Hamas’ disregard for the lives of Gazans shows the depth of its depravity.

Since the beginning of the IDF’s operation in Gaza, more than 460 Israeli soldiers have been killed.

Israeli lives have been lost because Israel is determined to distinguish civilians from combatants.

The same cannot be said for the barbaric terrorists of Hamas who gleefully tortured, mutilated, raped, and murdered civilians.

The IDF has also taken other steps to preserve innocent lives.

It’s forewarned civilians of airstrikes on Hamas occupied buildings and encouraged Gazans to evacuate.

By dropping leaflets. By sending text messages. By making phone calls.

And by dropping dud bombs in a technique known as ‘roof-knocking’.

The civilian-to-terrorist death ratio – according to various sources – is estimated to be around two civilians for every one terrorist.

Tragically, civilian deaths are an inevitability of every war.

And Gaza is no exception.

But consider this:

In 2022, the UN noted that – for recent urban conflicts – the global average civilian-to-combatant death ratio was nine civilians for every one combatant.

So, in Gaza, Israel has gone to extraordinary lengths – and paid an extraordinary price in blood – to protect innocent life.

Accusations of genocide should instead be levelled at Hamas.

After all, Hamas said it would repeat October 7 many times over until Israel is exterminated.

And how ironic that Hamas’ useful idiots in the West compare Zionism to Fascism while repeating – either knowingly or ignorantly – the genocidal chant, “From the River to the Sea.”

There are other lies that have been imbibed by Western audiences too.

Lies about Israel striking a Gazan hospital in 2023 – when it was actually a misfired rocket from Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Lies about Israel withholding and weaponising aid to Gaza.

Lies about Gazan children suffering solely from malnutrition – with vital context about their other serious health problems omitted from news reporting.

Of course, none of this means Israel’s actions should be free from scrutiny.

But the truth is – since the 7^th – no one could argue that Israel isn’t being subjected to the highest degree of scrutiny.

Friends:

Here’s the primary perversion of the truth of this war:

The victim – Israel – has been painted as the villain.

And the villain – Hamas – seeks to portray itself as the victim.

This compels us to ask some questions:

How has Hamas’ propaganda spread like wildfire across Western democracies?

And how has a new wave of antisemitism infected free-thinking societies across the world?

Well, let me offer two explanations:

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The first explanation is a failure of political leadership underpinned by bias, moral cowardice, and moral ambiguity.

I’ll limit my discussion to the Australian context.

Since it came to office, the Albanese Government’s prejudice towards Israel has been on show.

Labor changed Australia’s position on recognising West Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

And it started referring to the West Bank and Gaza as ‘occupied territories’.

Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong’s ill-feeling towards Israel reflects sentiments in the left-faction of the Labor Party to which they belong.

And ever since Hamas attacked Israel on the 7^th – the greatest loss of Jewish life on a single day since the Holocaust – the Labor Government has made preposterous calls.

Calls for Israel to show immediate restraint.

Calls for Israel to de-escalate its military response.

Calls for Israel to apply the principle of proportionality.

The Albanese Government holds Israel to a standard that it would never hold themselves to under similar circumstances.

The Government’s most perverse call came on 11 August.

It announced it would recognise a State of Palestine.

Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong had the gall to declare in their statement that:

“The Netanyahu Government is extinguishing the prospect of a two-state solution.”

Such a declaration was deeply insensitive.

Given the fact that it’s Hamas that wants to drive the Jews of Israel into the sea.

And given the fact that Hamas continues to hold hostages.

On hearing our government’s announcement to recognise a Palestinian state, it was no wonder that Hamas’ co-founder – Hassan Yousef – praised our Prime Minister’s “political courage”.

I cannot recall another time in our nation’s history when an Australian prime minister has been applauded by a terrorist.

In moving to prematurely recognise Palestinian statehood, the Albanese Government has endorsed Hamas’ use of terrorism to achieve political ends.

But may we say, thank God for the moral clarity of the United States.

A country which will almost certainly veto this ill-timed, impulsive and irrational recognition of Palestinian statehood at the UN.

Until Hamas is defeated, a two-state solution isn’t even conceivable and there can be no peaceful future for the people of Gaza.

If the Albanese Government truly believes in a better life for Palestinians – and a two-state solution – then it should lend its full support to Israel’s military response to rid the world of a death cult.

Friends:

Here’s the ugly truth:

All too often, the Albanese Government uses foreign policy to grandstand to a domestic political audience.

Just like the Voice referendum, recognition of a Palestinian state is driven by sentimentality and symbolism – not substance and moral standards.

Indeed, the same moral cowardice and moral ambiguity has defined the Government’s supine response to the antisemitism afflicting our nation.

We wouldn’t have the intensity of antisemitism in our country today if the Prime Minister had responded with strength to the sordid scenes on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on 9 October.

Weakness is provocative.

And that’s why Australia has been beset by antisemitic incident after antisemitic incident.

In another act of irresolution, the Government hasn’t committed to the recommendations made by Jillian Segal – the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism.

Education Minister – Jason Clare – says he was waiting for the report from the Special Envoy to Combat Islamophobia – which was released yesterday.

Of course, we must call out all forms of hate.

And that includes hate against Australians of Muslim faith.

But I want to quote a point James Paterson made in a speech in January.

James said:

“For more than a year following escalating attacks on the Jewish community, Anthony Albanese and his senior ministers have seemed incapable of calling out antisemitism on its own.

Every rote denunciation of antisemitism had to be accompanied by a condemnation of Islamophobia and “all forms of racism” even when the attacks were overwhelmingly targeting the Jewish community.”

James is right.

And the Albanese’s Government’s false equivalence has trivialised the crisis of antisemitism in our country.

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Friends:

This failure of political leadership is one explanation for the spread of Hamas’ propaganda and antisemitism in Australia.

Another explanation is a failure within our education system.

I’ve previously expressed my concerns about the way in which Australian history is taught to students.

If our history was taught in the round, students would know that our achievements and successes far outweigh our wrongdoings and failures.

But too many children are coming home with feelings of national guilt instead of national pride.

I’m also of the view that world history is not being taught sufficiently.

The late Christopher Hitchens called antisemitism “the godfather of racism.”

Antisemitism is age-old, enduring, and shape shifting.

And my view is that if students understand antisemitism, they can inoculate themselves against it – and other forms of hate too.

To appreciate antisemitism, our students need to understand the events of the Holocaust – of course.

But they also need to know something about the history of the Jewish people and the history of Israel.

There might be less antisemitism in Australia today if key facts were known.

For example:

The fact that the Jewish people trace their connection with the land of Israel to the second millennium BC.

Or the fact that, despite changing civilisations, despite the expansion and erosion of empires, and despite the Jewish people knowing subjugation, persecution, dispossession, exile and massacre, that they have maintained a continuous presence in land which is Israel today.

Or the fact that Palestinian leaders have rejected the offer of a two-state solution on multiple occasions since 1937 – because they won’t accept the existence of a Jewish state.

Many young Australians also don’t know that Israel withdrew from the Gaza strip in 2005.

After Hamas was elected to power in 2006 and then seized control of Gaza in 2007, it squandered the opportunity to support the Palestinian people and work towards a two-state solution.

Rather than using billions-of-dollars in international aid to create a functioning society, Hamas instead built a vast underground tunnel network to wage terrorism against Israel.

It’s disturbing that young Australians, in particular, don’t know these facts.

Friends – it’s time they did.

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Friends:

When the truth is perverted, morality is inverted.

When morality is inverted, civilisation is corrupted.

Brave Israelis continue to fight against the existential threats they face.

But in the battle against antisemitism – either here in Australia – or in the heart of democracies around the world – we’re all foot soldiers.

We must arm ourselves not with weapons, but with the truth.

Truth which turns moral cowardice into moral courage and clarity.

A reverence for the truth which can defeat odious ideologies and safeguard the souls of nations.

Thank you very much.