I have two particulars reasons for being delighted to give this talk, apart from my grandson's already glittering association with
Kormehl.
- The first is that I have long had an interest in and commitment to Jewish day schools. I was privileged to serve on the board of
Moriah College for some years during a particularly challenging time. During that period Moriah acquired its present site at Queen's
Park, the story of which has recently been told in a history of the school.
I learned during my term on the Board of the special qualities that are required by the teaching staff of a school, especially a Jewish
school. Teachers bear the awesome burden and responsibility of educating children and young people - not any children and young
people, but Jewish children and grandchildren, all of whom, by definition, are remarkably talented, dedicated, invariably well-behaved and possessed
of unlimited potential. (The teachers here tonight have my profound sympathy.)
- Secondly, as Dr Carter has mentioned, this campus was my workplace for a decade or so. One of my lasting memories as Dean of the
Faculty of Law is of handing out degrees to law graduates on occasions like this. Each graduate had to accept the degree in the
left land, shake the Chancellor's hand with their right hand, step back and doff their mortarboard. It was remarkable how many couldn't
get the hang of it. We regularly had graduates handing their mortarboards to the Chancellor, proffering their left hand for him
to shake or even falling off the stage as they stepped backwards. I have no doubt that tonight all recipients of prizes will be
altogether more coordinated.
I congratulate all the students here tonight who have done their best to achieve high standards, regardless of whether they are prize
winners or not. As I am sure you realise, hard work and dedication bring their own rewards. And of course I want to congratulate
the prize winners for their special achievements. You and your families are entitled to feel proud of those achievements.
I want to make just two points tonight. The first concerns the law as a protector of our liberties. The second, and I hope you will
forgive me for offering advice, concerns what I think is the essence of a good education.
As you are aware, judges and courts do not always get a good press. In fact, you probably have the impression that judges are extremely
stuffy, self-opinionated, arrogant and dreadfully impolite to everyone except each other. My wife will vigorously endorse that perception.
It is, however, not entirely true. Judges can be exceedingly impolite to each other. There is a famous story of Her Majesty's judges
in England in the nineteenth century who were formulating a petition to present to Queen Victoria . The draft petition commenced
with the words "Conscious as we are of our own imperfections". This provoked strong disagreement, on the ground that it was undignified
for judges to admit that they were imperfect. So the draft was amended to read:
"Conscious as we are of each other's imperfections".
The bad press affecting judges and courts tend to involve a few issues. There are frequent complaints about sentences in criminal
cases being too lenient; about judges engaging in so-called judicial activism (which usually means making decisions that the critics
do not like); and about judges unreasonably interfering with decisions made by the elected government, such as those concerned with
asylum seekers. By way of example, you may have seen that just the other day the High Court interpreted the Refugees Convention
so as to protect persons fearing persecution in Bangladesh because they were homosexuals.
I do not suggest, of course, that judges always get it right, even on appeal. If I said that, you would not believe me. But I do
want to stress something that is too frequently taken for granted in our society and, in the past at least, has not been sufficiently
emphasised in secondary school studies. That is the significance of the rule of law in preserving our freedoms and liberties.
The rule of law is particularly important as a safeguard for minorities. And that is exactly what Jews are in this and all other
countries except Israel : a minority. Minorities are particularly vulnerable to the prejudices and bigotry of other groups in the
community. Sometimes even a majority of the population may hold prejudices against a minority group, as I suspect is the case with
prejudice against Muslims living in Australia . Recent events in this country have indicated, clearly enough, that anti-semitism
is by no means confined to an insignificant minority of the population. It is certainly not confined to the ill-educated or to recent
arrivals.
Judges as individuals are not important. What is important is the law that judges are sworn to uphold in court. The rule of law
means an independent judiciary holding governments and individuals accountable for their actions in accordance with legal principle.
It means protecting unpopular individuals and groups against illegal conduct and ensuring that those individuals and groups can
protect and enforce their rights.
The rule of law applies even where governments or the majority of the population endorses the illegal actions or the infringement
of rights. That is the major reason why you find courts sometimes making decisions that are condemned by politicians, such as those
involving apparently lenient sentences for convicted criminals or decisions that seem to favour unpopular asylum seekers. The job
of judges and the courts is not to be popular; it is to uphold and enforce the law. Of all people, Jews should be conscious of this
and appreciate it.
True democracy does not just mean governments elected by majority vote or fair elections, although of course these things are very
important. It means observance of the rule of law and protection of the legitimate interests of minorities, even in the face of
majority opinion. I hope that one of the things you will take away from your studies is a sound appreciation of the fundamental
importance of the rule of law to the protection of our freedoms, a safeguard that is unfortunately denied to the majority of people
on the planet.
But I hope you will also take away from your studies something equally important: that is, the ability to think through issues for
yourselves. Naturally you need to learn and to be provided with a framework for assessing difficult questions. You need skills
and information and an appreciation of history, literature and science. But there is no substitute for thinking carefully and critically
about the fundamental questions that affect all of us.
Particularly does this apply to issues of fundamental concern to the Jewish community and indeed to Jewish identity. It is fair to
say that this is a confusing time for Jews in Diaspora, especially young people. For 55 years Israel has been at the heart of Jewish
identity. During the whole of this period it has been the object of much hatred, not only in the Arab world, but elsewhere. Even
so, until relatively recently, there was much sympathy in western democracies for Israel and for its battle for survival. In recent
years, this has changed quite dramatically, as Israel is perceived by many to be the aggressor and to be the oppressor of Palestinians.
I think it is clear that Israel will continue to be at the centre of Jewish identity. But the situation has become more and more
complicated as more and more people of goodwill have questioned actions taken by Israeli governments. The responses by supporters
of Israel to these criticisms are not always helpful, as there is a tendency by some organisations to reject any criticism of Israeli
policy and to attack the good faith of anyone who criticises the actions of the Israeli government of the day.
I invite you to think about this statement:
"The Zionist revolution has always rested on two pillars: a just path and an ethical leadership. Neither of these is operative any
longer. The Israeli nation today rests on a scaffolding of corruption, and on foundations of oppression and injustice. As such,
the end of the Zionist enterprise is already on our doorstep. There is a real chance that [this] will be the last Zionist generation.
There may yet be a Jewish state…but it will be a different sort, strange and ugly."
What is your response to the strong language in this statement? Is it the work of an anti-semite? Does it express the sentiments
of an implacable enemy of Israel? Is the author to be dismissed as someone who does not understand the history of the Jewish people
or of Israel?
In fact, the statement was made by Avraham Burg, who was Speaker of Israel's Knesset from 1999 to 2003 and who is a currently a Labor
Party Knesset member. The quote is from an article that originally appeared in Hebrew in Israel itself. Avraham Burg proposes a
change of course to ensure that Israel retains its Jewish identity, yet remains secure and democratic. I do not ask you necessarily
to agree with his strong words. Burg's argument shows, however, that the debate in Israel about these matters may be more vigorous
and perhaps healthier than in our own community.
The point I want to make is that the world we live in and the world you are moving into is neither simple nor straightforward. Although
we long for easy, straightforward answers, often the issues are complicated and perplexing. Accordingly, you should not be frightened
to question the things that most people take for granted. This is not an invitation to radicalism or to reject traditional values.
What I have said reflects a belief in the paramount importance of the ability to think, to reason and question. Your questioning
may in the end just reinforce the values you started with.
Very few people of my age speaking to young people like you can resist the temptation to comment on how things have changed in a mere
45 years or so. And they have. Mine was the last generation to be brought up without television - can you imagine? We knew nothing
of computers, let alone the internet, instant mass communications, deregulation and globalisation. Women of my generation generally
did not enjoy the opportunities open to every young woman in this room. I am not conscious of ever seeing a black person until I
was 13 years old - because this country had a White Australia policy until 1965 and, like most of my contemporaries, I was taught
at school virtually nothing of Aboriginal culture or history.
But some things never change. What has never changed is the importance of thinking for yourself and making your own informed decisions and judgments. You each have that ability. Apart from life and health, it is perhaps your most precious gift. Use it wisely.
