In the Media

The Daily Telegraph – March 17, 2025

Well, that’s a relief!

The Australian Jewish community can finally rest easy today with the news that both state and federal police believe that the alleged terror plot to blow up Sydney’s Jewish Museum or Great Synagogue wasn’t really an act of ideological terrorism, but likely the handiwork of an international crime syndicate, targeting Jews in an elaborate ruse to bargain for sentence reductions and waste police resources.

Yes, because it’s perfectly normal for equal opportunity non-racist politically correct international criminals to specifically target Jews.

Australian Jews, who have been targeted for the past year and a half with attacks, including firebombing, vandalism and intimidation, can finally rest easy knowing that antisemitism in Australia has been eliminated.

Because, for a moment there, we were genuinely worried that there might be a small problem with Jew hatred in this country.

Now, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, especially when all the party hats have already been handed out, but there may still be a slight problem here. You see, the burning hatred towards Australian Jews that fuelled these attacks is still very much alive and thriving – perhaps now more than ever.

Naturally, a political debate has erupted, with some claiming that concerns over antisemitism have been exaggerated proved that these attacks were “not motivated by antisemitism”.

But this is just a politically convenient distraction, ignoring the fact that criminals have exploited a very real and pervasive climate of hate. How ironic that the Greens have turned out to be a party of climate deniers!

But ASIO director-general Mike Burgess isn’t buying it. He made it crystal clear at a Senate Estimates hearing on February 25 that antisemitism is his agency’s “No. 1 priority” in terms of threats to life.

And why wouldn’t it be? The Executive Council of Australian Jewry recorded 2062 reported antisemitic incidents between October 2023 and September 2024 – up from 495 the previous year – a whopping 315 per cent increase. So please, let’s pretend that these attacks were “not motivated by anti-Semitism”.

Ever since the Hamas massacre on October 7, 2023, in Israel, antisemitism has moved from the shadows to the spotlight.

There was the mob that gathered outside the Sydney Opera House, not to chant about Israeli policies or leaders, but to scream at “Jews”. Oh, but police authorities said they were yelling “Where are the Jews” not “Gas the Jews”, as if that somehow makes it better. Then there was the lovely crowd in Melbourne’s Caulfield suburb that caused a nearby synagogue evacuation during Sabbath prayers after a Palestinian-Australian-owned restaurant was firebombed – an incident police had already determined had nothing to do with Jews. They’re probably just isolated incidents too, right?

Meanwhile, some religious leaders have been busy delivering sermons that would make any 1930s propagandist proud. A few highlights: Jews as “descendants of pigs and monkeys” and “monsters who love to shed blood”. But don’t worry! That’s just harmless rhetoric, right?

Nothing to see here.

Then there’s the mysterious arson attack on Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue, which injured two congregants.

No arrests have been made but, surely, it’s just another random event with no connection to the wider antisemitic climate.

Jewish schools haven’t been spared either. “Jew die” was thoughtfully spray-painted on the fence of Melbourne’s Mount Scopus College in May 2024.

And university campuses? Oh, they’re just fostering the next generation of critical thinkers – the kind who single out Jewish students in class and demand they publicly denounce Israel, lest they be accused of genocide.

Yet, some still insist that all these incidents have been nothing more than a series of unfortunate events for Australia’s Jews.

Minorities face discrimination all the time, right? Why should Jews expect any different? Perhaps because they are experiencing an unprecedented wave of targeted hate, violence and systemic harassment that extends far beyond the usual offensive remarks that many communities endure.

And yet, some continue to pretend that organised crime’s involvement in these incidents somehow makes antisemitism less of a problem. The fact that a crime syndicate jumped on the bandwagon doesn’t change the reality – it only reinforces it.

But sure, let’s keep arguing about whether the problem is overstated. Let’s keep looking for convenient distractions.

Meanwhile, Australian Jews will continue facing threats, hate speech and physical attacks “not motivated by anti-Semitism”.

Joel Burnie is the Executive Manager at the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council