The enemy is on the right: re-evaluating the formative ideology and political strategy of the Melbourne Jewish Council to Combat Fascism and antisemitism, 1942-47

Journal article

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In Journal Issue

Australian Jewish Historical Society Journal, 19, 2 (2008)

Author(s) Philip Mendes AbstractThis article details the struggles of the Melbourne Jewish Council to combat Fascism and Anti-Semitism in particular during the Cold War. It outlines the founding of the council and the organisations that are believed to have had the largest impact on its early ideology. The council was always a left-wing organisation and became even more so as it lost mainstream support during the Cold War. Critics allege that the council was a Communist front group from the beginning, or that it was taken over by Communists as the Cold War intensified. The article refutes the claim that the Melbourne Jewish Council was a Communist Party front group. However, it acknowledges the shift of the council's ideology towards more extreme left-wing thinking. The article explores the impactful political factors that contributed to the council's ideological shift over time.
Year2008
Pages285-292