Published: 2 February 2026
Last updated: 2 February 2026
Since October 7 interfaith relations have been in crisis. Jewish-Muslim interactions, in particular, have stalled if not completely broken down. That’s certainly been our experience in Australia where antisemitism, fuelled in part by popular, often Muslim-led, pro-Palestinian protests, went through the roof and culminated in the horror of Bondi.
Since December 14, I have reflected on a few essential questions, which I have also posed to several Australian religious leaders: Do you think interfaith relationships have changed as a result of Bondi December 14? What still needs to change? What’s the future for interfaith and multicultural interactions in Australia?
Jewish-Christian relations
There were some common threads in responses from Jewish and Christian leaders who have been involved in interfaith relationships for many years.
The Melbourne Catholic Archbishop Peter Comensoli’s comment is reflective of the sentiment that there has been a shift in the interfaith space. “The horrifying and senseless massacre of innocent members of the Jewish community gathered on Bondi Beach to celebrate the festival of lights has drawn an even greater focus on the need for people of different faiths and cultural backgrounds to come together to build peace, to get to know one another better and, through this, learn to live in accord even with matters for which we have not reached a common mind.”
Comments2
Dan5 February at 07:26 am
“our schools and shuls don’t teach or preach anti-Muslim hostility but I’m not so sure about the discussion around our Shabbat tables.”
Many years ago when I was young, I attended various Chabad shules around Australia with my family. I can honestly say that I have never heard as much racism and hatred in my life as I did in those shules and at the homes of Chabad rabbis.
Frequently discussed was the need to cleanse Israel off all “Arabs” (even citizens) which was almost unanimously agreed upon. At a Purim celebration in March 2019 there was quiet enjoyment by some Chabadniks of the Christchurch terror attacks that had occured just days earlier where an Australian man (who had expressed support for Israel in his manifesto) murdered 51 Muslim worshippers.
The hatred wasn’t just limited to the usual targets of Arabs and Muslims either. Any ethnic or religious group (African, Asian, Indian, Indigenous) that was considered insufficiently supportive of Zionism was worthy of derision and slurs.
I have noticed that so-called progressive Jewish people regularly fail at calling out the absolute insane levels of bigotry and hatred that are allowed (if not encouraged) to exist in Jewish communities.
Harold Zwier4 February at 01:58 am
Clive Lawton, of Limmud fame, has talked about the tea and scones interactions between people of different faiths as the introductory process of nurturing interfaith. That probably happened in the early part of this century, though Ralph would have a much better historical perspective than I do. But here we are in 2026 and in many ways it feels like having to go back to the beginning of the process. The failure and dissolution of the Jewish Christian and Muslim Association after 7 October 2023 had a fair bit to do with the structure of the organisation, with the sponsoring bodies (JCCV, ICV, VCC) having communal pressures and agendas that worked against successful interfaith. I think quiet diplomacy is probably a good approach.