Our first Australian-born governor-general, Sir Isaac Isaacs, was a Jew and rejected Zionism as “undemocratic, unjust, dangerous”.

Eighty years ago, an Australian Jew spoke out against the dangers of political Zionism to democracy, justice, and peace. That was Sir Isaac Isaacs, our first Australian-born governor-general, a High Court Chief Justice, and a principled Jew.

Isaac Isaacs believed political Zionism posed a threat to democratic ideals and peace. He held this view not with antisemitic intent, but with civic conviction. He warned that Zionism’s drive to establish a Jewish nation in Palestine was “a negation of democracy” and that it risked provoking antisemitism. He argued Zionist claims over Palestine were “unwarranted” and “unjust”.

Isaacs saw a contradiction in Zionist logic: he pointed out that Jews cannot rightly claim a global identity while also insisting on separate national identity in Palestine. He argued Jewish equality outside Palestine was incoherent with Jewish “domination” inside Palestine.

Fast forward to Gaza today. The suffering, genocide and scale of destruction present moral choices Isaacs would not hesitate to confront. Based on his historical stances, he would almost certainly speak out forcefully against collective punishment of civilians, calling it a democratic and humanitarian failure. He would interpret Israel’s actions through the lens of international law, human rights, and the rule of law. He would have the moral clarity to stand for justice and the Jewish values of compassion and law. And he would insist on mutual recognition, legal rights, and democratic principles, not ethno-religious domination.

A modern Isaacs would be a challenging and uncomfortable voice in Australian politics, and with Israel. He wouldn’t acquiesce on Israel’s genocide in Gaza. He’d call them out and invoke the enduring ideals he believed in: democracy, justice, equality and peaceful coexistence.

Neither would he conflate Jewishness with Israeli state actions.

Isaac Isaacs would be a moral mirror. He would remind Australia that Jewish identity and critique of state policy are not antithetical. He would tell us that principled dissent is not betrayal, but the highest form of loyalty to justice and humanity.

Note: Like many in the first Federal Parliament, Isaacs supported the White Australia framework and voted to exclude Aboriginal people from federal franchise. These positions were racist and wrong, and should be acknowledged alongside his later principled stand against political Zionism.

The views expressed in this article may or may not reflect those of Pearls and Irritations.