285. “They didn’t want to be Jewish.”

Antisemitism in Australia is rising rapidly, reflecting similar increases in other Western countries. Without a doubt, it is all connected to recent events in the Middle East.

In Australia, the Royal Commission into antisemitism and Social Cohesion was established in the wake of December’s Bondi massacre, in which two antisemitic gunmen opened fire on Jews at a beachside Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people and injuring 40 others.

It was Australia’s effort to confront the violent modern manifestation of an ancient prejudice.

The events in the Middle East prompted ugly displays of hostility towards Jewish Australians simply because they’re Jews.

Australian newspaper reports highlight its severity, as witness testimony is horrific.

Numerous witnesses fervently told the commission that they anticipated the atrocity. They stressed that the fear they felt before Bondi was real, not imagined, and that their feelings of love and concern afterwards appeared trivial compared to the conviction they held beforehand.

A witness said, “The reality is, they came to kill us. We just weren’t there. And it’s living with that truth that makes it very hard to feel safe as a Jew in Australia.”

Some people were very sympathetic and angry. One responded, “You must be made of stone not to care about what is happening to Palestinians in Gaza. But why do you hold me responsible?”

A woman said, “My daughter sees Swastikas etched all around the school; children saying ‘Heil Hitler’ and putting up their arms in a salute. Both my older kids came home telling me that they didn’t want to be Jewish.”

A man was sitting in a cafe outside the commission wearing an antisemitic T-shirt that merged the flag of Israel with a swastika. It bore the slogan: “Antisemitism, proud to be accused.” 

The attacks on Jews in the UK and the US are directly linked to illegal settler violence in the West Bank. 

Many witnesses told the commission that Netanyahu’s government is a “perpetrator of violence”, but they can do nothing.

I am not concerned about this because I have been saying this would happen.