The Weaponising of Antisemitism

Are « The Jews » being blamed for the cancellation of the Adelaide Writers’ Festival? Michael Gawenda, former editor of The Age, has this to say: “In an interview on the ABC, (Louise) Adler … included in her warning the need to act against people with “fat chequebooks” who want – and in some cases have succeeded – in determining what is kosher and what is not for the arts institutions to which they have given large sums of money”. Who are these fat chequebook-flourishing miscreants? There was a time when their generosity was something to celebrate, a time when « it was unimaginable to believe, at least publicly, that this generosity was based on a desire by these Jews to force Australian cultural institutions to do their nefarious (sic) bidding,” writes Gawenda.  According to Gawenda, these generous philanthropists are hardly the “powerful secret Zionist Lobby” who wield their evil power over Australian politics. In fact those who chose to contribute were proud to be identified for their contribution to the Arts sector in Australia. To say this “secret society’ influenced the cancellation of the Festival is rather a stretch, given Adler’s contempt for what she calls the “pro-Israel Lobby”. So now this fictitious Lobby is copping blame for politicising the Bondi Pogrom in order to influence the cancellation of a writer, who has gushed hatred towards Jews in her writing. In fact it was the former Festival Board who advised this cancellation […]

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This Writing Life

From believing that one really is a writer (even after having two books published) to realising the world rarely rewards us with the same respect as, say, for sports achievers, takes supreme confidence. To keep on writing against these odds one needs a community of writers, or at least one or two others who believe in you when you yourself […]

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Death does not discriminate

  Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities. (The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism adopted by more than 1,000 entities) The most useful—and for some […]

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A Reflection on the Joy of Swimming

https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-morning-thalassa-the-calm-salt-therapy-of-sydneys-womens-pool-171386 This beautifully written article by Jane Messer encapsulates the liberation and delight felt by a woman in immersing her body in the women’s pool at Coogee. I love Jane’s use of humour, and the poetic language in this piece of creative non-fiction. Jane is a fellow Varuna alumni who I keep in touch with. We are part of a […]

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Balcony Fever

The following is a short piece I contributed to the Covid19 Blog “Balcony Fever” https://balconyfever.com/author/pjn1920/page/2/ Balcony Fever Only a week into my fellowship at Cité Internationale des Arts and we’re in lockdown. Just my luck. Who would’ve thought this virus could attack Paris, of all places? The City of Love, where people entwined in the street, or on the Métro, […]

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The Three Plagues Down Under

So far we’ve had fire, flood and now pestilence in Australia. What will be next? “Summer arrives, and the ancient forests that ring Sydney burn, and, above the steady rain of falling cinders, the sun is hidden behind [angry grey] clouds.” Extract from ‘Autumns of Change’ by Liam Pieper, SMH 1/3/2020. Since late Spring 2019 the tragic loss of human […]

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This Writing Life

Lately I’ve been reworking my novel, A Dangerous Daughter – hence you haven’t heard from me for quite a while. It’s a never-ending, always changing process of trial and error, good days and bad. Starting a new draft requires courage, determination and a belief that you can do this thing, killing your darlings as you go, silencing your inner critic […]

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