Antisemitic incidents top 2000
It took only two days for the ugly repercussions of the October 7 Hamas invasion of Israel to make themselves known not only in Sydney but throughout Australia and worldwide.
Julie Nathan
The chants of F*#!k the Jews unleashed a staggering 316% increase of antisemitic incidents throughout the data period of October 1 to September 30, 2024
The number of physical assaults grew almost 500%. A worrying statistic.
The latest report was prepared by The Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s Julie Nathan and was presented at the ECAJ national conference in Melbourne.
Nathan said: “If anything, the raw numbers understate the seriousness of the surge in antisemitism that has occurred. There have been many new forms and expressions of anti-Jewish racism that would once have been considered alien to Australia, but which have become commonplace.
There were anti-Israel protests outside synagogues and Jewish schools, convoys of vehicles driving though suburbs with a high proportion of Jewish residents, anti-Israel activists targeting small businesses owned by Jewish families, residential homes being targeted with hate graffiti and stickers, and a huge increase in physical assaults against Jews and verbal abuse on the streets.
With a few honourable exceptions, the response from political and community leaders, university executives and civil society has been tepid at best. The result has been a ratcheting up of antisemitism from hateful words to steadily more serious hateful actions.”
In her report, Julie Nathan states the incidents logged were supplied by volunteer Community Security Groups (CSGs), official Jewish state roof bodies, and the ECAJ.
However, J-Wire understands that other incidents were reported elsewhere to an organisation unwilling to share its data.
The ECAJ has published many examples of the incidents which have plagued Australia’s Jewish community.
The report can be found at https://www.ecaj.org.au/over-2000-anti-jewish-incidents-in-12-months/
