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Philip Mendes

Australian Jewish academic and policy commentator

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Jan 1, 2026, 8:03 AM

Progressive except for racism against Jews

Progressive except for racism against Jews: Towards an understanding of the ‘hidden’ phenomenon of Left AntiSemitism by Philip Mendes Since the October 2023 Hamas death squad massacre, it has become apparent that a global alliance exists between some progressives and...

Aug 12, 2025, 8:17 AM

Why do anti-racists advance pro-racist outcomes?

From the 1952 Slansky AntiSemitic show trial to the contemporary Australian AntiSemitism crisis: Why do professed anti-racists act to advance pro-racist outcomes? By Philip Mendes As a progressive Jew, the type of AntiSemitic prejudice that particularly angers me is that...

Apr 25, 2025, 5:09 PM

The JCOA’s ‘Dutton’s Jew’ by Philip Mendes

Back to a dark racist past: How the Jewish Council of Australia’s construction of ‘Dutton’s Jew’ resurrected an old Fascist prejudice In January 2025, a representative of the fringe Left Jewish Council of Australia (hereafter JCOA) presented a strange satirical...

Apr 2, 2025, 10:56 AM

Is the JCA a ‘front group’ for outside interests?

Is the Jewish Council of Australia merely a ‘front group’ for outside political interests? In an earlier article (Mendes 2024), I posed the question as to whether the newly formed Jewish Council of Australia (JCA) could learn from the...

Feb 24, 2025, 1:34 PM

A review of ‘On Settler Colonialism’

Do we favor never-ending hateful ethnocentrism or alternatively peace and reconciliation between the two nations of Israel and Palestine? A review of On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, violence and justice by Adam Kirsch, W.W. Norton & Company. 2024 by Philip...

May 20, 2024, 12:44 PM

The Jewish Council(s) of Australia Part 2

In a recent article, I explained how the views of the new anti-Zionist Jewish Council differed sharply from those of the former Jewish Council to Combat Fascism and Anti-Semitism (JCCFAS) which existed from 1942-70. I highlighted two particular contrasting...

May 10, 2024, 10:22 AM

The Jewish Council of Australia: how can they learn from the earlier JCCFAS?

In early 2024, a new left-wing Australian Jewish group called the Jewish Council was launched. The Council described itself as ‘a diverse coalition of Jewish academics, lawyers, writers and teachers. We are experts on antisemitism and racism. We were...

Dec 19, 2023, 8:24 AM

The NSW Teachers Federation and their response to the October 7 Hamas Massacre

The October 7 Hamas death squad massacre has had a traumatic impact on Jews globally. For many Australian Jews, their first response was a frantic checking on the safety of family and friends living in Israel. Beyond that, there...

Nov 23, 2023, 4:47 AM

Twice Traumatized: Australian Jews and progressive responses to October 7

The national conflict between Israeli Jews and Palestinian Arabs is an ongoing tragedy that adversely effects the lives of Jews and Arabs living in the Middle East, and additionally the wellbeing of Jews, Arabs and many others living across...

Aug 29, 2023, 4:14 PM

Not just a collection of anti-Zionist conspiracy theories: ‘Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab Jew’ by Avi Shlaim

״Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab Jew״ by Avi Shlaim. One World Publications. London. 2023 This autobiographical narrative by the Israeli-born revisionist historian Avi Shlaim has already caused a lot of controversy. That contention is the result of both his...

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About Me

Professor Philip Mendes is the author or co-author of 14 books including Jews and the Left: The rise and fall of a political alliance (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014), and Boycotting Israel is Wrong (New South Press, 2015). His newest book project is an examination of Australian Left attitudes to Israel and Palestine from 1945 to 2025.