Michael Gencher, Author at J-Wire

What message does government secrecy send?

Michael Gencher — Thu, 18 Jun 2026 06:51:42 +0000

The federal government’s attempt to keep information from the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion raises a question that goes well beyond Cabinet confidentiality. What message does it send when a Royal Commission established to investigate antisemitism, terrorism and the murder of Australians has to fight for access to information held by the government […]

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The Royal Commission is listening. Is the government?

Michael Gencher — Thu, 11 Jun 2026 08:48:28 +0000

Australia finds itself in a strange and troubling position. At the very moment a Royal Commission is examining why social cohesion has fractured and why so many Jewish Australians feel less secure in the country they call home, the Federal Government appears unwilling to recognise that its own conduct is part of the environment being […]

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Your ABC just told Jewish Australians where they stand

Michael Gencher — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 05:51:56 +0000

Sometimes an institution does not need to issue a statement. Its decisions say enough. The ABC’s decision to give Grace Tame a taxpayer-funded platform, through the podcast Autistic AF with Grace Tame, comes while Australia is in the middle of a serious reckoning over antisemitism. That matters. Timing matters. Judgement matters. And this decision tells […]

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When Jewish advocacy is treated as suspicion

Michael Gencher — Fri, 29 May 2026 06:25:31 +0000

There is an uncomfortable question sitting beneath the public discussion about antisemitism in Australia. Is the Jewish community being seen as too influential? Not influential in the ordinary democratic sense. Communities organise, lobby, make submissions, meet politicians, fund causes and argue for their place in public life every day. Business groups do it. Unions do […]

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When “independence” becomes an excuse

Michael Gencher — Wed, 20 May 2026 06:59:20 +0000

There is a familiar pattern when institutions are asked to confront antisemitism seriously. They express concern, affirm their commitment to inclusion, and then, when presented with a definition that would require them to identify antisemitism in its contemporary forms, they retreat into the language of nuance, independence, and free speech. That is what we are […]

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When a Royal Commission Into antisemitism exposes the problem in real time

Michael Gencher — Thu, 07 May 2026 23:14:20 +0000

There is something I cannot stop noticing since the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion started: it has not only exposed antisemitism, but it has also brought it flooding into the open. Every time I open social media and look at posts about the Royal Commission, or the media coverage around it, the comments […]

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The interim report is a start, but I remain sceptical

Michael Gencher — Fri, 01 May 2026 04:56:40 +0000

An interim report should be judged for what it is, not criticised for what it was never meant to be. It is not the final word on antisemitism in Australia. It was never going to answer every question, examine every failure, or deal with every part of a problem that has been building for years. […]

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I hate to sound negative, but what if the Royal Commission changes nothing?

Michael Gencher — Wed, 29 Apr 2026 04:15:57 +0000

I hate to sound negative, but it is a question many in the Jewish community are asking quietly, and some are now asking openly: what if the Royal Commission changes nothing? From politicians, we have heard strong words of support, expressions of solidarity and promises to take antisemitism seriously. But too often those words have […]

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Who gave you the right to define our identity?

Michael Gencher — Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:47:37 +0000

By now, anyone watching social media, university campuses, or public debate with open eyes will have noticed the same pattern again and again. People with no connection to Jewish life, no stake in Jewish continuity, and no respect for Jewish self-understanding feel perfectly entitled to tell Jews who they are allowed to be. They tell […]

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After everything, Macquarie is still teaching the same poison

Michael Gencher — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 07:59:05 +0000

After everything Australia has been through in recent years, after the hatred, intimidation, and cowardice, after the December 14 massacre and all the speeches that followed, after yet more promises of action and resolve, we are still here. Still confronting the same poison. Still hearing the same lies. Still watching institutions say the right things […]

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