Antisemitism in Australia down by 39%

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The number of antisemitic incidents within Australia has decreased by 39% in the latest figures released by The Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

The organisation attributes this to a spike in incidents in the previous year caused  by the war in Gaza.

A protestor has a $5 note thrust in his face

In total, there were 190 recorded incidents with the vast majority arising from abuse, harassment or intimidation…an increase of 58% over last year.

But there was a 90% drop in email incidents and a 77% drop in antisemitic material distributed through leaflets and posters.

Al-Wahwah

New South Wales was the worst affected state with 115 reports with Victoria experiencing 66 incidents.

Western Australia reported 6, the ACT 2, Queensland 1. South Australia and Tasmania had a reported incident free year.

The report, compiled by The Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s Julie Nathan, covered the period from October 1, 2014 to September 30 this year.

Most incidents occurred in areas close to synagogues.

Singled out for special mention

The Lynch Affair: Associate Professor at Sydney University Jake Lynch waved a banknote in the face of an elderly Jewish woman during an anti-Israel protest and verbally abused her. Lynch was later to admit that it was reasonable for the Jewish community to have taken offence at his banknote waving gesture.

Ismail Al-Wahwah: This spokesman for Hizb ut-Tahrir vilified Jews in a public speech and featured on a YouTube video calling for the slaughter of Jews. The law as it stands precluded any action but the NSW government is seeking to reform it next year.

The Red Rattler Theatre: The theatre refused to hire out its facilities to a Jewish group. Anti-Israel sentiment had manifested itself to anti-Jewish attitudes. The incident was well publicised and following a public outcry, the theatre reversed its decision.

President of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry Robert Goot told J-Wire: “These results show how appreciative we should be of living in a country like Australia…but we should never become complacent.”