IN THE MEDIA
Jewish Australians’ worst fears have come true
Dec 6, 2024 | Justin Amler
Jews in Australia woke up on Friday to the devastating news that the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne, one of the busiest synagogues in all of Australia, had been targeted in an arson attack that left the house of worship in ruins and two people injured.
The images of a burning synagogue in the heart of the Jewish community will leave a painful wound on the soul of our community that will not easily heal. How can it?
It inevitably recalls the darkest moments in our history, including the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938, when more than 250 synagogues in Germany and Austria were also burnt to the ground, with unforgettable images of Jewish houses of worship collapsing in the flames of hatred.
Yet perhaps the most shocking aspect of Friday’s events is that the Jewish community is not even that surprised.
Since October 7 last year, when Hamas launched a genocidal war on the people of Israel, hatred of Jews has exploded around the world in record numbers of incidents, including intimidation and violence. Sadly, Australia has not been immune to this trend of hatred.
Only last week, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry released a report on antisemitism that showed incidents of Jew-hatred increased by a staggering 316 per cent since October 7, 2023.
And it’s likely that this is only a conservative figure, as many incidents go unreported.
In the past month alone, we’ve seen an attack in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra where cars were defaced with anti-Israel slogans. We’ve seen an Israeli tourist in Townsville being called a “dirty filthy f—ing Jew”, and we’ve seen anti-Israel protests at the Great Synagogue in Sydney, where the only person moved on by police was a Jewish man accused of a “breach of the peace” when he unfurled an Israeli flag opposite the protesters.
During the past 14 months, Jewish students have been made to feel unsafe on university campuses, where anti-Israel protest encampments sprung up, screaming genocidal slogan such as “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and intimidating and preventing Jews from going to their classes. Some were advised to study from home for their own safety.
Last February, members of a WhatsApp group of Jewish creatives were doxxed and their details leaked publicly – leading to harassment and intimidation, loss of work and one family even having to flee their home.
While it’s true the federal government has made some attempts to combat antisemitism, such as passing laws against doxxing and banning the use of Nazi salutes and hate symbols, it is also true that the Jewish community largely feels that neither our political leaders nor law enforcement truly have our back.
For instance, we cannot understand why the government appears unable to condemn antisemitism without also talking about Islamophobia.
Thus, attempting to be even-handed, it decided it has to appoint a special envoy to combat Islamophobia alongside its special envoy to combat antisemitism.
Attempts to equate the two are rooted in ideology or politics, not facts. Using comparable metrics, the number of antisemitic incidents dwarfs the number of islamophobic incidents, deplorable as the latter are, and Islamophobia has not exploded since October 7 in the same way antisemitism has.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese issued a strong condemnation of the attack at Adass and promised our counter-terrorist agencies would assist with finding the perpetrators. Yet, many in our community will find this too little too late, with the government’s action not living up to these words on numerous fronts.
Meanwhile, in incident after incident, law enforcement seems determined to effectively abet mobs in making the streets and campuses unsafe for anyone who is visibly Jewish – moving Jews away from public areas “for their own safety” rather than confronting the protesters over their potential or actual violence.
This happened during the infamous October 9 anti-Israel demonstration outside the Sydney Opera House, which included chants of “f— the Jews” and “Where’s the Jews?”
It happened when anti-Israel demonstrators descended on Melbourne’s Jewish community on November 10 last year, it happened when traumatised families of Israeli hostages kidnapped by Hamas visiting Melbourne were confronted by anti-Israel agitators who took over their hotel lobby, and on many other occasions, including in Sydney this past Wednesday night. Meanwhile, police investigations into the blatantly antisemitic sermons that have come out of some mosques always conclude with no charges laid.
The Jewish community in Australia is angry at the treatment it’s been receiving from the leaders of this country. It is tired and frustrated and upset and disgusted at what’s been happening on the streets of our cities. And it feels abandoned.
It has been ringing the warning bells about this increasing wave of hatred – and the inadequate political and law enforcement responses – for 14 long months.
What happened at Adass on Friday appalled and sickened us, but it did not really surprise us.
