Ensuring that memory becomes responsibility

By Tahli Blicblau
Read the article online at The Australian Jewish News

My story is unremarkable.

I grew up in a golden age in this sunburnt country. Perhaps the most fortunate era for Jews across all time and space. And yet, antisemitism has been ever-present. It has influenced every major life-choice I have made.

When I was 15, I visited Auschwitz for the first time with my father. I saw where my grandparents had lost most of their family, taken after the Nazis invaded their Passover Seder in 1944, as they sat down to tell our ancient stories of freedom and survival.

At 17, I watched the Twin Towers fall and began studying the extremist ideologies fuelling anti-democratic and antisemitic violence across the globe. I watched it brewing in the darkest corners of the internet, in chat groups that glorified violence, especially against Jews.

As a young law student, a tutor once accused me of killing Jesus. My first appearance was at a junior soccer tribunal, representing my brother after he punched an opponent who had called him a f**king Jew.

I’ve been called a “Zio”, and an occupier. As a law enforcement officer, I would sit around tables with senior colleagues who used “Jew” as a pseudonym for stingy. I rarely escaped a quip about never buying the drinks. Quiet tropes. A bit of jest. Harmless, until it isn’t.

After October 7, 2023, that language made its way from dark corners to front pages. There was an urgency that prompted me to leave the public service and dedicate my time to combating antisemitism.

The antisemitic terrorist attack at Bondi Beach on December 14 did not shock me, but it shattered my children’s sense of safety. Now, I choke back tears as I hand them over to armed security guards and Police each morning. As they ask me whether it is safe for them to walk home in their uniforms.

This reality has prompted a long-overdue national reckoning.

One of the central tasks of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is to assess the impact of antisemitism on the daily lives of Jewish Australians – at school, university, workplaces or anywhere else. It is a rare moment for our lived experiences to be shared and understood at a national level.

In two weeks, we will gather around our Seder tables – an ancient people of storytellers.

For millennia, across every land of exile and every era of persecution, we have told our stories to preserve who we are. The Haggadah instructs us: In every generation a person must see themselves as if they personally left Egypt. We do not merely recount history; we relive it, passing our story from parent to child, generation to generation.

This year, that opportunity extends beyond our Seder tables. Australia needs to hear our stories too.

Commissioner Bell has consistently said that the Royal Commission wants to hear from Jewish Australians about their experiences of antisemitism in their daily lives, and has encouraged those with an interest in any of the Commission’s Terms of Reference to make a submission.

For many, the hardest part is knowing where to begin. People ask: Is my story relevant? Is it significant enough? Is it safe to share?

My story is unremarkable and I have been more fortunate than many. But any person or organisation with relevant experience or knowledge is welcome to make a submission. The decision about whether to participate, and what to share, rests entirely with you. Submissions can also be made with a request that your identity not be published.

To support those who wish to engage with the process, ShareYourStory has been established as a joint initiative of The Dor Foundation, Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Zionist Federation of Australia, NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Jewish Community Council of Victoria, National Council of Jewish Women Australia, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, Jewish Centre for Law and Justice, and Northfield Foundation, with the Jewish Community Council of Western Australia, Australasian Union of Jewish Students and Project A joining as the initiative has grown. Collaboration across the community is welcome.

ShareYourStory provides clear, practical information about the Royal Commission process – what it involves, how to make a submission, and where to find guidance. In the coming weeks it will publish plain-language resources, host webinars, and provide a central place for questions and updates. The aim is to ensure that anyone who wishes to engage with the Commission can do so with clarity, confidence, and in their own words.

From generation to generation we have told our stories around the Seder table. Stories of persecution, resilience and the enduring pursuit of freedom. This Pesach, as we once again say “we were slaves”, we are reminded how precious and fragile that freedom can be.

Telling our story has always been how the Jewish people ensure that memory becomes responsibility. This year, as we prepare to retell our story at the Seder, Australia has the opportunity to listen.

Tahli Blicblau is CEO of The Dor Foundation, a not-for-profit established to combat antisemitism and hate in Australia.

ShareYourStory is a community initiative established to support people who wish to make a submission to the Royal Commission. Visit shareyourstory.org.au to learn more.

ShareYourStory has been established as a joint initiative.

Tahli Blicblau