My submission to the Royal Commission

I'm an Israeli citizen that moved to Australia as a 20 year old in 1995.

I have always identified as a Jew.

I have an Israeli ID card that states I'm Jewish.

I immigrated to Israel at age 10 from Sweden and lived in Jerusalem until the age of 20.

I served two years in the Israeli Air Force.

In 2014 I realised that I had been lied to about Palestinians. Until then I believed that Jews were the "David" and that Arabs (Palestinians were erased and replaced by the broader word "Arabs") were the Goliath. I finally understood the power dynamic of us Israelis being the oppressors in the context of the Palestinian people and that we had systematically been attempting to destroy their culture, story and identity since 1948.

It was an incredibly humbling experience and I have done everything in my power since then to educate the Australian public about the brainwashing I was exposed to my whole childhood.

Thankfully I met other Jews and Israelis here in Melbourne who I could connect with. They helped me feel as if I belonged to a community. It was much smaller than the mainstream Jewish community, but it was so helpful to not feel completely alienated.

Leading up to October 7th, 2023 I would occasionally be bullied online for my views on Israel being an apartheid state. And when I went to a rally in Melbourne opposing Israel's attack on Gaza in 2014, my family overseas received death threats. So much so that they begged me not to use my real name when I wrote an article that was published by Fairfax media.

The editor of The Age contacted me to say that they had hundreds of letters of complaints from Australian Jews to my article that was simply saying that as a Jewish mother I wished that the killings in Gaza would stop. Apparently my article was antisemitic. (You can find the article by Googling: Mother pleading for peace, The Age, Lillian Ryd*) You can see for yourself that there is NOTHING antisemitic in my article.

*Pseudonym

It's impossible to put into words how toxic the Jewish community in Melbourne has become since October 7, 2023.

I was grieving the kidnapping of my close friend's son while also bracing myself for how Israel would respond. I knew it would be terrible, but I could never have imagined the genocide that unfolded.

And just as I had been doing since 2014, I used my social media platform to share my thoughts and attempt to educate everyday Australians about Jewish supremacy.

I've been called a Kapo. I've had death threats. I get told I'm a self-hating Jew. That I should go to Gaza and be raped & killed. That my ancestors would be ashamed to see me now.

Meanwhile I have been welcomed and embraced by the Palestinian and Muslim community.

I have never hidden that I'm Jewish. I make sure that everyone knows. And the response is overwhelmingly warm and loving.

In fact, one of the most beautiful experiences of my life was joining the Sydney Harbour Bridge march for humanity. I flew up specifically for it. My banner said: AUSTRALIAN JEWS SAY SANCTION ISRAEL

And I stood for hours on the bridge as thousands of people waved and blew kisses, and hundreds of people stopped for handshakes, hugs and photos with me. They were so incredibly grateful. A Jewish woman who had asked if she could stand with me had tears streaming down her face. She told me later that she wished all her Jewish friends who told her that she would be in danger going to the march could see the kindness we were on the receiving end of.

On my last visit to Sydney to protest Herzog being invited to Australia, a Muslim man came up to me during the Town Hall rally and told me that I was the first Jew he had ever shaken hands with. And he wished that his children were there so he could show them a Jew who loved Muslims. I suggested that we meet next time I return to Sydney. He told me his family would prepare a feast and it would be an honour. We have stayed in touch and I plan to visit next month.

I have countless stories like this. It's the ones where parents introduce me to their children that touch me the deepest. They so desperately want them to meet a Jewish person who sees their humanity. I've lost track of how many times I have heard a mother or a father say: I tell my children we love Jewish people. It's Zionism we have a problem with.

I recently helped organise a Passover meal (Seder) with Jewish Council Australia. (Last year I organised it with a couple of friends and it was so exciting to see how much it had grown in just one year) What made it so special was seeing how many Palestinian and Muslim friends joined us for the night. Many of them asked if they could bring family members next year. It has inspired me to organise a gathering for our next Jewish holiday called Shavout. It feels too long to wait a full year. We really need these opportunities to come together and celebrate Jewish traditions that has true Jewish values at its core. That each life is sacred. That our role is to repair the world (tikkun olam). And that Never Again is for everyone.

I deeply believe that if we want to see social cohesion, we must create more spaces where Australians from all cultures, religions and tax brackets can come together and see how much we have in common. It's only when we foster real connections and friendships that change will come and we will create a safer community and society.