In the Media

Australian Financial Review – 16 December 2025

In the more than two years since the horrific October 7, 2023 atrocities in Israel, the Jewish community here in Australia has been hit by a tidal wave of antisemitism. There have been arson attacks, assaults, doxxing, boycotts of businesses and artists, graffiti, abuse of Jews of all ages including school kids, and viciously anti-Jewish chants at demonstrations in all major cities.

As a ceasefire was achieved in Gaza, with some hope of peace, we dared anticipate that the worst was behind us. However, tragically, as we found out with the Bondi Channukah massacre, the worst was yet to come.

The Jewish community, and no doubt the vast majority of other Australians, are horrified, appalled and heartbroken by this abhorrent terrorist crime. We are shocked but, sadly, not surprised.

In the days and weeks to come, we will hopefully learn much about how the attack was planned and carried out, and how much help the terrorists received from within Australia or, possibly, from abroad.

However, we already know that the atmosphere of vicious antisemitism and incitement must have contributed. It’s something our Jewish community has been pleading with governments and authorities to act on vigorously for more than two years.

When, week after week, mobs at demonstrations are incited with calls to “globalise the intifada”, and chants that “all Zionist are terrorists”- when around 95% of Jews are indeed Zionists – it’s not really surprising that some evil, deranged individuals would choose to act on these slogans.

When religious preachers can celebrate the October 7 pogrom and mobs can gather at the Sydney Opera house chanting “f… the Jews” and “where’s the Jews” (in the more charitable interpretation) while academics can proclaim that “Zionists” have no right to comfort or cultural safety, is it really a surprise that violent individuals see Jews, thus dehumanised, as fair targets?

And when some Islamic leaders, the Islamophobia envoy and even the Australian Human Rights Commission argue that neither acts motivated by religious extremism nor acts targeted against a section of the community, such as Jews perhaps, should be regarded as terrorism, maybe it contributes to those individuals believing their actions are legitimate.

And of course we can’t overlook the role played by two plus years of demonisation and delegitimization of Israel as it sought to prevent the Hamas terrorists reprising their October 7 atrocities, as Hamas leaders have promised to do. Despite Israel being forced to fight in an incredibly complex situation by the deliberate human shield and human sacrifice tactics of its terrorist adversaries, and despite Israel taking what eminent urban warfare experts described as unprecedented steps to minimise civilian casualties, Israel is incessantly accused of war crimes and genocide. And anyone who has any sympathy or contact with Israel – such as Jews – are condemned for “complicity with genocide.”

Social media has become an echo chamber where those predisposed to hate Israel, and Jews, receive a never-ending stream of false allegations of Israeli atrocities. The UN, many of its agencies and a broad range of NGOs, widely regarded as virtuous and humanitarian, have actually pursued a cynical political agenda to defame the Jewish state at every opportunity. Large sections of our media, most notably “our” ABC have also fed the public a steady stream of reports portraying Israel in the most negative light, often free of context and omitting important facts.

And all this is reinforced by regular unfair, one-sided criticism from Government ministers-culminating in prematurely recognising a Palestinian state and thereby rewarding  Hamas terrorism-and extremist nonsense from the Greens.

Prime Minister Albanese and other political leaders made some fine statements following the massacre, and the media coverage was, of course, uniformly sympathetic to the Jewish community.

However, if they are now serious about fighting antisemitism, it is well past time to do far more. The media must ensure its reporting on Israel and other Jewish issues is balanced, rather than demonising the Jewish state and marginalising the Jewish community. It must stop giving a platform to extremists who demand nothing less than the destruction of the Jewish state and the ostracism of all those of us who believe it should exist.

As for the Government, it has been sitting on the comprehensive strategy for fighting antisemitism from its own appointed antisemitism envoy for the last five months and done nothing with it. The envoy’s recommendations must be promptly and vigorously implemented.

The preaching of and incitement to hatred and violence must no longer be tolerated. This Government must stop minimising antisemitism by conflating it with Islamophobia at every opportunity.

Not just the Jewish community, but the entire country, has received a massive blow to our self-image as a welcoming, safe, harmonious society. We simply cannot be the country we thought we were if our Jewish community, or any other section of our community, cannot feel safe and welcome.

We can return to this ideal, but it will take sustained dedication from both those who lead and protect us and from those who shape our opinions for this country to recover from the appalling trauma, hatred and ensuing violence of these last two years and two months.

Dr Colin Rubenstein is executive director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).