Rethinking antisemitism education after Bondi

17/12/2025 25 min
Rethinking antisemitism education after Bondi

Listen "Rethinking antisemitism education after Bondi"

Episode Synopsis

In this special episode of The Big Tent, Geraldine Doogue speaks with Sydney journalist Michael Visontay in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack at a Hanukkah festival about its impact on Jewish Australians and the broader Australian community. Drawing on research and his personal experience as the son and grandson of Holocaust survivors from Hungary, Michael’s article on how antisemitism education can backfire, published in the days before the attack, offers a now even more urgent question: how can education truly combat antisemitism in a changing Australia?
Recommendations:

Michael's article: Mishandled antisemitism education is not just ineffective, it’s dangerous
The Jewish Independent editorial: A message from TJI at this time of profound grief
Massimo Faggioli in Commonweal, No More Nostalgia: It’s time to talk about Vatican II in new ways
Relisten to The Big Tent episode, Bridges not walls: Nostra Aetate at 60
Michael Visontay's book on his family history, Noble Fragments: the maverick who broke up the world’s greatest book
Plus Michael's book recommendations: The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, and The Granddaughter by Bernhard Schlink


All feedback and recommendations very welcome via The Big Tent Facebook page.