Australian Jewry faces avalanche of antisemitism

Australian Jewry is facing a “tsunami of antisemitism”, according to South African expat and former chief executive of the New South Wales Jewish Board of Deputies (NSW JBD), Vic Alhadeff. South Africans who have migrated there are now traversing this rapid rise of antisemitic hate, which the NSW JBD describes as a “campaign of domestic terrorism”.

The organisation reported on 2 February that in the Sydney area, there had been “more than 10 publicly reported serious incidents of antisemitic vandalism, arson, and worse in the past three weeks alone, which doesn’t include the graffiti appearing on our streets daily or the abuse that goes unreported”.

These incidents in NSW include the discovery of a caravan outside Sydney packed with enough explosives to take down the front of a building, and containing the names of two prominent Jewish institutions. Sydney, which is emerging as the epicentre of the crisis, is home to many South African Jews, most of whom live in the city’s eastern suburbs, which have been disproportionately targeted.

“In the past 16 months, Australian Jewry has been subjected to a torrent of violent attacks unprecedented in the history of this community and this country,” Alhadeff says. “From the calculated doxing of 600 Jewish artists; to racist graffiti at Jewish institutions; to incendiary antisemitic speeches; to fire-bombings and arson attacks on synagogues, politicians’ offices, daycare centres and cars; to Jewish schools defaced with slurs, antisemitism has become normalised.” He said the caravan with explosives “shook the community to another level, particularly because it could have caused mass casualties”.

Author Joanne Fedler says that when she moved to Australia, antisemitism was the furthest thing from her mind. But now, “it feels as if a scab has been torn off, and the rampant racism at the heart of Australian society is being channelled against Jews”.

Australian Jews are responding in a variety of ways, she says. “Some are panicking. Others refuse to be intimidated. I sense the community is pulling together. Speaking for myself, I’m angry. Furious. If this level of aggression were directed against any other minority in this country, it wouldn’t be tolerated. But as British commentator David Baddiel writes, ‘Jews don’t count.’”

Researcher Craig Nudelman says that before moving to Australia, he would speak to Australians who would often point out how little antisemitism there was in their country. “I thought we were coming to the lucky country, literally, but this is crazy,” he says. “I feel bewildered and angry that this can happen in Australia, a bastion of free speech and democracy. We were very protected in South Africa – we didn’t see graffiti like this all the time.

“People are scared, frustrated, and feel betrayed by fellow Australians and our government,” says Nudelman. He notes that New South Wales Premier Chris Minns “has been really amazing. He spoke at our shul, and continuously reiterates that these people [who commit acts of hate] need to pay. But the federal government has completely betrayed the Jewish community.”

Business strategist Dr Norman Chorn says that though he knew that “latent antisemitism was present in most reasonably advanced societies”, he’s now seeing it emerge. “This is a global threat,” Chorn says.

At the same time, “The Jewish community in Australia is now almost completely united in its defence of Jewish identity and the right of Israel to exist,” he says. The community has been vocal, and there’s growing awareness among Australian citizens that this could threaten the social fabric of our society.”

This was echoed in the NSW JBD statement on 2 February, which said, “It’s incumbent on society not to become desensitised to this. This isn’t normal. This isn’t the Australia we know and love. To find our way back, every Australian must call out this behaviour, the terrorists perpetrating these crimes must be apprehended, and penalties must be strengthened. The Jewish community isn’t asking for special treatment, only a return to normality.”

Most Jewish Australians believe that the Australian Labor Party, currently in power, has “allowed this to fester too long”, says Chorn. “Now, as we near the May election, they have been prompted to act via police and other clampdowns. The community believes this is too little, too late.”

Alhadeff says what compounds the tragedy is that Australia is one of the most multicultural nations in the world. “But as the attacks escalate in severity and frequency, the community is feeling overwhelmed, alarmed, and increasingly abandoned, concerned about tomorrow and anxious about our children and grandchildren. The fact that Australia has been home to more Holocaust survivors per capita than any nation other than Israel serves to heighten the anxiety.”

There are “desperate, urgent calls, not just from Jewish leaders but from politicians and media, for far tougher police action, more arrests, tighter legislation, and minimum mandatory penalties,” says Alhadeff. Police and counter-terrorism agencies have deployed thousands of officers, with police helicopters conducting nightly patrols and beaming spotlights onto synagogues and schools. Some Jewish school students cover their blazer emblems in public and avoid public transport.

Says Fedler, “The truth is that laws and convictions don’t solve a systemic issue. What’s happening now is a chance for Australia to address its tolerance of racism – against First Nations people, Jews, and other minorities – at a systemic level.”

At the same time, many Jews feel abandoned by Australian activists, who don’t see their causes as aligned. This is epitomised in a recent tweet by an Australian activist who wrote, “I’m so f*cking sick and tired of hearing about antisemitism here in Aus. It’s bullsh*t. Let’s talk about the number of women who are being killed. Let’s talk about deaths in custody. But nooo, we’ll talk about some f*cking graffiti instead.” Many of her followers agreed with her, and a South African retweeted the comment, endorsing it.

Says Alhadeff, “The community feels under siege, yet it is resilient, strong, defiant, and determined to continue to be openly and proudly Jewish.

“We are told that most Australians condemn the antisemitism, yet the need for civil society to speak out more loudly and more strongly is ever-present,” he says. “The situation is a blight on this country’s ethos and values. Australia needs to – and can be once again – so much better than this.”