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EditorialAustralia

Crossroads25 survey data teaches us what we need to fight antisemitism

The wrong education and advocacy won’t work. Our approach must be informed by what the survey tells us about Australian attitudes to Jews and Israel.
The Jewish Independent
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Crossroads policy

Published: 20 November 2025

Last updated: 3 December 2025

The ashes of a burned synagogue form a powerful argument for the heart. Since the arson attack on the Adass Israel in late 2024, Australia’s antisemitism policy has been framed by this inescapable image, seared into our brains and without equivalent in our country’s history.

We have since learned that neither the Adass attack nor the attack on Continental Kitchens in Sydney in October 2024 were a result of homegrown antisemitism.  ASIO has confirmed that the Iranian government paid Australia criminals  to attack these, and possibly other, Jewish targets.

Home-grown antisemitism is, however, responsible for a rash of antisemitic attacks including a shocking 65 cases of physical assault and 29 of vandalism in 2023-24. Jews are fearful and intimidated by actions such as the convoy across Melbourne to a Caulfield synagogue, death threats and doxing of Jewish artists, and the notorious ‘Kill the Jews’ chant at the Sydney Opera House just days after the October 7 massacre.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) recorded 2,062 anti-Jewish incidents in Australia between October 1, 2023 to  September 30, 2024, quadruple the previous year.

In this context, it is essential to understand what Australians think so their  understanding and values can be utilised to fight the antisemitic threat to Australia’s proud tradition of social cohesion, tolerance and multiculturalism.

Those who believe antisemitic canards are most likely to believe them in concert with negative attitudes to Israel

The Crossroads25 survey, conducted by The Jewish Independent, provides  a broader and deeper view of Australian attitudes to Jews, Israel and antisemitism than can be obtained by reporting of incidents.

It provides essential guidance for the implementation of Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal report’s recommendations on the centrality of education to addressing antisemitism. The survey also makes it clear that the Segal report’s more punitive recommendations, such as withholding funding from universities or arts organisations that fail to address antisemitism, could backfire if they are not implemented with a clear delineation between support for Palestinians and attacks on Israel and Jews.

Antisemitism should never be seen as merely a problem for Jews. It is a clear indicator that a society is devolving into tyranny of the majority, scapegoating and violence.

Nor can it be viewed as simply another form of racism. Jews are always an edge case, a complicated mix of ethnicity, religion, culture and nation with a history of indigeneity, exile and return that has no equivalent.

In particular, the relationship of Diaspora Jews with Israel is not analogous to any other relationship of an ethnic minority with its homeland. As a result, the relationship between anti-Zionism and antisemitism is complex and layered in shades of grey.

It is much easier to form antisemitism policy that ignores this complexity: Holocaust education that addresses a universally agreed, and comfortably distant, evil; anti-stereotype messaging that subsumes Jews in a problem of generalisation; multicultural promotion which focuses on the value of difference and the contribution of communities like ours to Australia.  All of these, of course, have their place - but they are not enough.

It is also easier to draw a sharp distinction between Australian Jews and Israel – to argue that we are not Israelis, we are not responsible for Israel’s actions, and that to attack Jews or Jewish institutions because of anger with Israel is misdirected. Again, this is true, but it is not the whole story.

The problem of contemporary antisemitism cannot be addressed without improving Australian understanding of Israel’s history and political context

Crossroads25 results make  clear that education merely addressing traditional antisemitism will not work because that is not where the problem lies. It also reinforces the strong connection between opposition to Israel and hostility to Diaspora Jews.

Few Australians believe canards such as “Jews have too much media power” but those who do are most likely to believe them in concert with negative attitudes to Zionism or Israel.

The biggest problems revealed by the survey were those of ignorance and misunderstanding. Many Australians are uncertain about the events of October 7, which means they do not understand what sparked  the Gaza war and why it was fought with such devastating results.

Many also translate their - reasonable and understandable - sympathy for the suffering of Palestinians to an offensive and arguably antisemitic analogy with the suffering of Jews in the Holocaust.

Education that does not address these misunderstandings will not stop the underlying belief systems which are motivating the increase in antisemitic incidents. Nor will it address the increasing hostility to Israel and Jews among young and left-leaning Australians, which could make antisemitism a much greater problem in coming years if it is not addressed now.

It is not usual to treat racism problems in Australia with education on global issues, but the problem of contemporary antisemitism cannot be addressed without improving Australian understanding of Israel’s history and political context.

Such education needs to address the difficult territory of dual narratives. It cannot deliver the shining blue-and-white hasbara of the Zionist lobby but nor can it allow the demonisation of Israel and Jews that is increasingly commonplace. It must acknowledge the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians.

It would help if Jewish and Israel advocates were also more open to acknowledging the rights of Palestinians and to calling out problems such as settler violence and the blockading of humanitarian aid. Australians need to hear that Jews can love Israel and care about Palestinian suffering. We mustn’t force them to choose. 

Australians, overwhelmingly, are not antisemitic. They accept Australian Jews as friends, and they support the right of Jews to a homeland in Israel. But they are very uncomfortable with Israel’s current treatment of Palestinians and it would help our relationship with them if they understood that many Australian Jews – and many Israelis – feel the same way. 

As Australians, we are proud to be part of fundamentally socially cohesive multicultural society and committed to fighting the pockets of hate demonstrated in the current spate of antisemitic incidents.

 As Jews, we are proud to be connected to the almost half our people who live in our country of origin and to work with them for a more democratic, just and peaceful Israel.

In both spheres, there is plenty of work to be done.

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Comments3

  • Avatar of Deborah Stone

    Deborah Stone3 December at 09:01 am

    Apologies for the error. It’s been corrected.

  • Avatar of Jack

    Jack29 November at 08:29 am

    You state that policy should be based on data, fair enough. However, you also state “Since the arson attack on the Adass Israel in late 2023”. With the greatest of respect the arson attack on Adass Israel Synagogue occurred in the early hours of 6 December 2024. This date is seared in the memory of many of our community, but not TJI. Where is the editing in allowing such an obvious mistake? Facts matter. Opinion is cheap.

  • Avatar of Dan

    Dan20 November at 05:45 am

    “It is also easier to draw a sharp distinction between Australian Jews and Israel – to argue that we are not Israelis, we are not responsible for Israel’s actions, and that to attack Jews or Jewish institutions because of anger with Israel is misdirected.”

    This website literally posted an article just last week that explicitly encouraged all Australian Jews (even those with no direct connection at all to Israel) to identify as “Israeli”.