Thank you Josh for writing this book now, at a time when we see history in the making. A time when the overriding narrative in Australia and around the world makes being Jewish and more specifically Israeli or pro-Israeli quite unpopular! Josh has written this autobiography about his journey through life. As a child connecting to his new immigrant heritage, his connection to the land of Australia and an optimistic future that could lead him anywhere.
Josh begins with a quote from another politician George Shultz, past Secretary of State during the Reagan administration and Secretary of the Treasury to the Nixon administration, “My mother loved me and I knew it.” A sentiment shared by both Shultz and Frydenberg. Interesting they both use a sentiment of valuing being loved as an opening statement for a politician’s autobiography. And perhaps this is the heart of western democracy, to know you are loved.
Josh takes us through his family history that shares his intimacy with his family of origin as well his wife and children. Stories that come with feelings of pain as well as joy. It was a surprise for me to be part of the knowing of how he proposed to his wife Annie.
Spanning the world from Oxford University in England, Harvard University in United States and of course Monash University in Victoria, participating as an athlete in the Australian tennis team of 1997 in Israel. and his knowledge of Indonesian law and Javanese culture being timely when in 2002 he was the senior advisor to Alexander Downer then minister of Foreign Affairs at the time of the Bali Bombing. Josh Frydenberg invites us into his vast perspectives on how politics, power and democracy actually work.
The mentors he had on the way including Sir Zelman Cowen and John Howard, paved his path with wisdom for becoming the Treasurer of Australia during the crucial time of covid. I remember living through these times and being impressed with how politics could put aside ideology when the country needed each person to have access to money even if businesses had to close due to social restrictions.
Joining Josh on his unique journey through life includes lots of sports. No doubt the skills and character needed for being a good sportsman prepared Josh for his career in politics. Sports and politics do take up a great part of the book, but not without the many lessons that Josh learned along the way. Moral awareness is between the lines in this book.
This book is a must read for anyone interested in Australian politics in the 21st century. Without hindsight we can’t tell how this time in history will be remembered. Did the social restrictions of covid make a difference to the country 10 years later? What was the impact? Did the 1,000 to 1,500 people who protested from the Town Hall to the Sydney Opera house on the 9th of October 2023, protesting against Israel and Jews have an impact on Australian civil life for the years that followed? What was that impact?
We live at a time in history where education has become like sports. Whichever team you’re on the side of then that’s all your interested in. Australia was the world leader in bringing Non adversarial justice into the traditional court system, making mediation, the attempt of people in dispute to work things out with a mediator, mandatory prior to a judgement by a judge.
Somehow that sense of collaboration in times of conflict for the caring of all people has become hidden in the shadows of our time. I think everyone in Australia will remember where they were on the 14th of December 2025. I was in Bondi and my daughter was at the beach doing her part for the Chanukah festival. It is no surprise for Jewish people who know their heritage, to hear stories of needing to run and hide. However we never expected we would need to experience that in our lifetime in Bondi Beach.
Josh Fyrdenberg, thank you for standing with your people, in the fullest sense of the phrase. To paraphrase Dr Hillel Newman, who is the present Israeli ambassador to Australia, and holding a PhD in Jewish history : the written word is a crucial component of objective historical truth. Even with competing narratives, the written word serves as a critical defence against revisionism, political distortion and cultural erasure.
Time will tell what students in the next generation will learn regarding Australia’s 21st Century heroes. Certainly, this book will join the archives of Australian politicians that stood out for their contributions to civil society.
A concise and warm review of a very special man.
We could do with more of his ilk in the political arena.