Hello, my name is Simon Gnieslaw. But you may call me Simcha. 👋

I am a 38-year old IT Specialist with my own IT Small Business, serving as a trusted IT person for other Small Businesses. 

I am proudly Jewish and proudly neurodivergent, leveraging the differences which are my strengths, such as thinking differently to what is typical, questioning everything, and the first hand experience of being part of the Jewish and Neurodivergent communities.

Picture: Me in front of a train. My core platform for this election is not about trains. But I do like trains.

We live in dangerous and unprecedented times. Tensions have never been higher and the world is on the brink of World War III, while the issue of climate change hasn’t gone away. 

The billionaire-captured media pretend that we only have two choices: Left or Right, Albanese or Dutton. While Labor has been making progress, it is nowhere near enough when we require urgent action.

The Liberals and their allies actively work against everyday Australians and divide us, in order to serve their masters.

How Fusion is different

Fusion offers a better way. Where other parties punch down on people, we lift up. Where they sow division, we build unity. We create actionable plans and actually do them even without even necessarily being elected. We are anything but meaningless virtue signallers. We build. We create. We celebrate people who add to our multicultural society, who think differently, or just add to the tapestry of difference in some way. 

I'm especially proud that Fusion is:

  1. The architect of the Climate Rescue Accord - a last ditch effort to rescue the planet from climate change disaster by using bold and innovative technologies - now endorsed by multiple other parties including the Animal Justice Party and Legal Cannabis Australia.
  2. The only party with a tangible plan for peace in the Middle East - with a focus on supporting both Jewish and Muslim Australians, and the challenges we face here and around the world. This is not tokenism or wishful thinking, we have like minded champions actually working on implementing our plan behind the scenes.
  3. Leading the push for more innovative technology - breaking our dependence on foreign governments and global corporations who threaten our sovereignty.
  4. Celebrates people’s differences and welcomes people of all backgrounds and cultures. We stand for a future that doesn't leave anyone behind.
  5. Promotes science-based, innovative and outside-of-the-box ideas to get the best solution possible, rather than following the status quo.

We don’t make empty promises, we offer real solutions. Our top priority needs to be investing in Innovation to fight the Climate Emergency, rather than fighting each other, which only delays Climate action.

My personal take on Jewish & Fusion values

The Fusion values fully align with my Jewish values, particularly of Tikkun Olam - which means "repairing the world" and Pikuach nefesh - which means "saving a soul".

I am also a Utilitarian Pacifist - my goal is to maximise happiness and minimise suffering in the world, which aligns quite nicely with all of Fusion's values and policies no matter how big or small.

My journey with the Fusion Party started with my involvement with the Pirate Party, which still exists separately and as part of Fusion. Our concerns for Digital Rights, especially in the era of AI and increasing levels of software lockouts, are more relevant than ever. 

I have endless respect for my grandparents, particularly given that they beat the odds to survive the Holocaust. I can feel the horrors which they have been through. I can recognise the intergenerational trauma. This motivates me to not simply say "never again" to us, but rather "never again" to anyone. Human Rights are for everyone, not something which you can pick and choose who it is important for.

Although by background is in Orthodox Judaism, I am most aligned to Humanistic Judaism, and support all religions and the people who keep their faiths going.

If elected to Parliament, I will be guided solely by Fusion's values and the Australian people. While I hold personal beliefs and support the beliefs of others, I firmly support the separation of religion and state in Australia.

Summary of Fusion's 5-Part Tangible Peace Plan for the Middle East:
In order of importance, not the order of implementation.

  1. Reject Violence & Enact Ceasefire: It is impossible to wipe out ideologies through violence. The cycle of violence only deepens suffering and prolongs the conflict.
    We need to work hard to convince Hamas & the Israeli authorities of this to stop all the hostilities while the peace process is underway, and release all hostages/legally innocent people.
  2. Help Rebuild & Aid: Australia can help solve the immediate humanitarian crisis, by helping build a safe and secure place for displaced people to live with full access to services.
    We aren't going to be able to move forward if Gaza is still in rubble and the people of both sides are still broken from all the trauma.
    Services Needed: Clean Water, Food, Electricity, Medicine, Shelter, Sanitation, Mental health, Strong security (provided by a neutral third country under agreed supervision).
    Mental Health: Counselling for Israelis and Palestinians, and their international supporters, provided by Australian Jewish and Muslims mental health practitioners. We are well placed to provide a culturally-sensitive telehealth service.
  3. Dialogue at Home: Support re-establishing dialogue between Pro-Israel Jewish-Australians and Pro-Palestine Muslim-Australians. Not just leaders but also people-to-people. Talk to each other and understand each other's trauma and needs, for there to be peace, and rebuild trust. We need to set an example of co-existence and peace being done right.
    This is not putting aside the issues, rather it's explicitly part of the process to fix the issues.
    We also need to teach all children to love each other regardless of culture, with inter-faith in schools, and councillors trained to identify and correct harmful behaviours which children have learnt.
  4. Deep Trauma Healing: Psychological support for everyone affected for everyone affected by this conflict, here in Australia and in Israel and Palestine. We need specialist programmes developed which take into account this specific trauma of this conflict, in a structured and comprehensive way. It needs to be able to be scaled up to entire populations, and involves medical research (including pharmacological supports) and controlled studies to be fully documented and measured
  5. Advocate Dialogue to the Middle East to do the same: Once the Australian Pro-Israel Jewish community and Pro-Palestine Muslim community can go back to living side-by-side again (Due to steps #1, #3 & #4) in our beautiful multi-cultural society, including being able to enjoy the footy and eat falafel together, then we can use the lessons learnt to talk to our overseas counterparts to do the same. This will be a very powerful statement to the Middle East on how peace can be done, kicking off movements of people in Israel and Palestine to do the same process as we did.

Full Plan (With full sensitivities to be clear enough for Jews and Muslims to accept)

Brothers

Real graffiti I randomly found in the City of Yarra which I caught from the 
corner of my eye while I was working on the plan on my phone.

How would I fight Anti-Semitism itself?

Of course I support improvements to the law, but laws alone can’t stop anti-Semitism - We need community action

Anti-Semitism is not only coming from the Gaza issue, there is deep-rooted anti-Semitism passes intergenerationally which has nothing to do with the Middle East. Without blaming ourselves, the best thing that we Jewish people can possible do is be upstanding moral citizens who set a good example of Jewish people, by putting our best foot forward in all arenas. Sadly there are racists out there find examples of bad behaviour and amplify that to it is something which applies to all Jewish people. Let's just always be good people in the first place anyway, which the vast majority of us already are. We need to understand that when we act, we are not just representing ourselves, but our whole community, and outbursts are used by media outlets to discredit us.

Laws:

Politicians are acting as if making another law can magically fix problems, or worse, are just trying to look tough without any substance.

Many proposed laws are redundant, excessive, or counterproductive - such as mandatory minimum jail sentence which could punish unintended edge cases, or make us look bad by appearing as if we are getting special treatment, making the problem worse.

What I hate the most is driving hatred back underground without actually solving it, where the hate will wait until it's time for it to rear it's ugly again. This is the exact thing our parents and grandparents warned us about.

Anti-Semitism then persists because it’s still learned early from those hiding it - in homes, schools, and other parts of society. 

Laws don’t erase hate.  The only way to solve the problem for good is to build bridges.

Going beyond laws - what is the solution?

  • Engage the community: Invite non-Jews to Shabbat dinners, demystify Jewish life.

  • Reform education: Schools need anti-bullying programs and interfaith initiatives to teach tolerance early.

  • Stay vigilant: Complacency is our own worst enemy. It's simply not enough to leave it to others. Change requires proactive effort, not just reliance on laws.

I know that our community are very passionate about anti-Semitism and are very eager to help fight the problem in any way that we can. We very fundamentally do want peace, but some of us has given up because it seems unreachable. Well, it is within reach. Elected or not, I am providing a new pathways where peace and harmony is now within reach. We just have to take the opportunity.

Simcha_Tefillin510-2.jpg

Picture: "Do you do Tefillin?" "Yes, every Friday Night" - Simcha Gnieslaw

Other political parties and candidates who aren't anti-Semitic

Labor and Teals: I don't consider them to be "anti-Semitic", rather they have been ineffective, lost without any cohesive plan. They have nuggets of brilliance but also nuggets of letdown. They are just trying to please everyone, but actually pleasing no one. As bad as some particular MPs of Labor have been outside of the Jewish areas, overall, I think that Labor do actually care and are at least making an effort.

I also get the sense that they don't seem to be genuinely listening to the community, but rather they are focused on appeasing big lobby groups rather than doing any actual leading of the community itself to bring the whole community and all our diverse views on board. They always seem to have excuses after the fact.

Libertarian Party: While their candidates seem to care a great deal, officially they are non-interventionist.

Australia's Voice in the Victorian Senate: This group has a lot of Muslim supporters, and their lead candidate Mohamed El-Masri has been incredibly supportive towards our tangible peace plan ideas.

They will be on our how-to-vote-card. I think very highly of him.

Anti-Semitism by the other political parties, including the Liberals and The Greens

when it comes to spending any government money. But people working out between themselves - they seem supportive of that, and they put up people who are actually from our community, so that is admirable. 

As for Greens, Liberal (as a party), Vic Socialists, their playbook is simple: Manufacture culture wars to divide and conquer us, while their billionaire backers pull all the strings to consolidate power.

As a Jewish-Australian, I've seen first hand how anti-Semitic The Greens and The Liberals are, by the way that they exploit communities like mine for political gain. They misappropriate cultural identities like ours to demonise others, and to manufacture outrage. This only leads to more anti-Semitism, while offering only tokenistic support for the Jewish people.

The Greens and The Liberals are two wings of the same bird: the left-wing and the right-wing. They can only exist by finding things to fight each other on.

Just as The Greens are upsetting Jewish people and sucking up to Muslim people, the Liberal Party are upsetting the Muslim people and sucking up to Jewish people. 

Just imagine how much more we could achieve if we were able to defeat both anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, so that there are no more culture wars, and especially no more actual wars.

For example:

We deserve better than to be used as political pawns.

Warning for Macnamara Voters!

There is a mathematically probability that voting for the Liberal Party could result in a Greens win - AJN

(As a bit of a democracy nerd, the logic is correct)

Labor & Liberal Candidates a people:

I have looked at Josh Burns, Tim Wilson and Benson Saulo

I think that they are quite genuine in their support for the Jewish community

Unfortunately, the Liberal candidates are backed by their party which are anti-Semitic as I explained, not to mention bad policies (or lack of policy) and Peter Dutton is just going to make everything worse for us by driving up tensions.

As I said before, the Labor party also lets Josh down by not being as supportive as they should be. Maybe they would do better with the Fusion tangible peace plan :)

Why not to vote for the Liberal Party in particular

I am particularly disappointed with the Liberal Party, who are a shell of their former selves and no longer stands up to their original values. They now only stand for greed and being nasty, while undermining the vast majority of Australians at every turn. We need to stand up for our personal values and principles in the way that we vote, and I certainly was not raised to support such things.

The Liberals have offered us very few policies this election:

  • Defence: The Liberals would hand our rare earth minerals to the US, despite the $6bn we've already paid for their submarines.
  • Infrastructure: After sabotaging the NBN, they are now pushing Musk’s Starlink - a plan so flawed, it would slow our internet 166 times (0.6Mbps vs 100Mbps).
  • Lunches: All I can really say is, if you are a worker, make sure that you invite yourself to go to lunch with the boss all the time, so that he can pay and you are helping him claim that sweet tax deduction. 

Absolutely hopeless policy platform. They are not fit to be in government.

Ultimately, the Liberals support Big Business. We support Small Business, Workers, and co-operatives.

Even if you think that you are quite well off and successful, you actually (probably) aren't, compared to all the Rupert Murdoch's of the world. If you actually are, great, my donation box is to the right. 

Please don't turn Australia into a hateful place with tanked economy, a tanked planet, tanked internet, and raging anti-Semitism to keep us distracted.

Who to vote for and working with others

Vote for FUSION of course! The only party with a tangible peace plan!

I am proud to back Kammy Cordner-Hunt running with me for the Victorian Senate. I have worked with Kammy for many years, she is a very intelligent and well reasoned person, a fearless advocate for the Environment, and has a Masters of Human Rights. It is my honour to be standing behind Kammy on a joint ticket for Fusion. Kammy understands the issues, and is someone you can trust to have a balanced and well rounded position, and like me, advocates for all people.

If voting below the line, you can put either Kammy or I first, it makes no difference to me, we are aligned.

Please give low preferences to extremist parties trying to stoke tensions in the lower house, or no preference to them at all in the upper house (as long as you meet the minimum number of preferences).

Regardless, if elected, I am willing to work with anyone.

Let's do what's best for everyone!

Simon Mark (Simcha) Gnieslaw

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Contact: [email protected]

FAQ Below

Picture: I thought this tree was quite a powerful message. We have such a strong connection with the Aboriginal people.
If you know where this is, you will know what I am not going to be politicising for a photo op.

  1. What do you mean by "Peace"?
    Peace involves Israelis and Palestinians coexisting safely and equally, with mutual recognition and resolution of longstanding grievances through nonviolent means. 
  2. Do you understand my needs?
    There needs to be a mediation process that explicitly addresses root problems rather than pushing them aside. Through structured dialogue, it needs to tackle both current and historical issues, ensuring all voices are heard and fairly represented. All key concerns should be on the table - including the roles of (in no particular order): Hamas, hostage-taking, terrorism, killing civilians and violence in general, murder, Zionist ultranationalism, ultranationalist ideology, the actions of the Israeli government, claims of genocide (and the terrible conditions on the ground), occupation, structural discrimination, settlements, oppression, dispossession, land rights, and so on.
  3. What are the chances of this peace plan working?
    While achieving peace is challenging, history shows reconciliation is possible. Many on both sides desire peace, and addressing misunderstandings builds bridges. Efforts must start now, even if full reconciliation takes generations, because progress requires sustained effort over time. In joint research, the number one issue between Israelis and Palestinians is trust (The Palestinian-Israeli Pulse, September 2024). Core to our tangible peace plan is building trust.
  4. Are you a Zionist?
    ​Zionism, to me, only signifies the Jewish people's right to self-determination in our ancestral homeland, which I support. As a social progressive, I advocate for a solution that ensures peace, justice, and equal rights for both Israelis and Palestinians.
  5. Why use specific language?
    Terms like "Zionist" can carry different meanings across communities. To avoid confusion, I try to use clear, neutral language to ensure mutual understanding and productive dialogue.
  6. Perspective on the October 7 attacks (as Jewish-Australian)?
    The attacks caused profound trauma among Israelis and the global Jewish community. Immediate priorities include returning hostages, ceasing hostilities, and providing humanitarian aid to Gazans, so that we can begin working towards long-term peace.
  7. Opinion on Israel's Gaza invasion?
    I unequivocally condemn the massive loss of civilian life and humanitarian crisis resulting from Israel's military actions in Gaza. These actions are disproportionate, push peace further away, and drive global anti-Semitism. I support an immediate ceasefire, and all efforts needed to solve the root problems to build a genuine, lasting peace. 
  8. Thoughts on extremists?
    Extremist views that dehumanise others or justify violence are a hindrance to peace efforts. It's crucial to challenge such perspectives and promote empathy and understanding.
  9. Do you condemn Hamas?
    Of course, like many, I unequivocally condemn Hamas’ 7 October attack on Israel, particularly their atrocities against civilians, including children. While I understand the Palestinian grievances driving such extremism, violence only undermines their cause. Those responsible for October 7 have already been killed, now we need to ensure that at least some good can come out of this terrible situation.
  10. Do people in Gaza and Israel want peace?
    Many Israelis and Palestinians, especially including those in Gaza, express a desire for peace. Misconceptions arise from selective reporting and lack of exposure to differing perspectives.
    Gazan polling shows general opposition to violence: 40% prefer negotiations, 22% prefer peaceful resistance, PCPSR poll 93, September 2024. On international assistance: 34% want mediation and 37% want humanitarian aid (PCPSR poll 91, March 2024).
  11. How can Peace be achieved while Hamas or the Netanyahu regime are still in power?
    Either defeating Hamas, or changing the Israeli regime requires a non-violent alternative, not further bombings which fuel more extremism and radicalisation. A genuine path to reconciliation has yet to be presented in the Middle East, until now.

    Through discussions with pro-Palestine and pro-Israel voices deeply connected to the region, I’ve learned that many Palestinians do not support Hamas but view them as the lesser evil compared to Israeli forces, and many Israelis do not support Netanyahu but tolerate him as someone who promises safety. No sane person wants children to die.

    A unified peace initiative led by Australian Jewish and Muslim communities, using their regional links, can rally public support and force currently fragile institutions to act or be replaced as their supporters demand a new path.

  12. Thoughts on information warfare?
    Information is often filtered through biased sources, creating echo chambers. Especially Twitter/X, which is an utter cesspit designed to turn people against each other over pointless arguments. Seeking diverse, credible information is essential for a comprehensive understanding of the conflict.
  13. Thoughts on those supporting violence?
    While some see violence as a means to an end, I don’t believe it's a sustainable nor ethical solution. Nonviolent approaches are more effective in achieving lasting peace.
  14. Opinion on land borders?
    I don't support Israeli expansionism. Gaza and the West Bank need a large-scale withdrawal that transitions the security to trusted international organisations with joint oversight, because healing will be impossible while Israeli boots are on the ground.

    A creative solution (i.e. an administrative condominium like Brčko District) might be needed.
  15. Fusion supports separation of religion/state, so why are you supporting any "ethno-state"?
    Fusion supports separating religion from state affairs. Fusion also supports peoples’ democratic right to self-determination. Israel's identity as a Jewish state is deeply rooted in its history and people's will, and lasting peace would be needed to change that.
  16. Support for Netanyahu?
    I oppose Prime Minister Netanyahu's policies, particularly those undermining democratic institutions. Critiquing leadership is essential for a healthy democracy.
  17. Opinion on "Jewish Council of Australia"?
    While they engage with pro-Palestinian groups, their positions don't represent the broader Jewish community. I advocate for balanced approaches that build bridges across communities.
  18. Does this affect section 44 eligibility?
    My support for Jewish people and communities doesn't equate to allegiance to a foreign power. I am solely committed to serving Australia and its people.
  19. How to support this peace plan further?
    Engage by reaching out via email, sharing the initiative, and contributing to the campaign. Collective efforts are vital for promoting peace.

Sign up for peace

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$1,463.00 raised (29%)
Goal: $5,000.00 raised

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