Published: 27 March 2025
Last updated: 28 March 2025
That Australian Jews are concerned, even scared, by events locally and globally since October 7 is no surprise. “See, they hate us,” is a common lament, a confirmation of what Jews have felt for millennia, for good reason, but has rarely previously been felt in Australia.
Over the past few months, we have seen a synagogue burned and two others attacked, antisemitic graffiti, cars set on fire and even two nurses boasting about killing Israelis. Such cases reignite a latent pervasive fear.
But are these cases a reflection of a broader antisemitic feelings among Australians or limited to a relatively small number of disgruntled individuals. Is Australia a racist country?
In hundreds of focus groups and interviews over 25 years I have asked this question of a representative sample of Australians. In each case their common response was a resounding “yes, we are racist”. Then I tried to break down the generalist opinion by asking for examples. I asked those with an obvious minority appearance, to share anecdotes and experiences. Most had experienced some kind of racism, their answers, however, were mostly unremarkable. Things like, ‘Someone shouted at our family at a picnic’ or ‘We were walking along and a car stopped, and someone screamed some racist things at us’.
While ugly and intimidating, these cases merely signify that we are a society with some horrible people in it, and not that we are necessarily a racist country.
The anonymity of on-line communities allows for the flourishing of racist commentary, which is disturbing and hurtful but unrepresentative
In these discussions, I tried to create an atmosphere that would enable people to express controversial views, to see if I could uncover racism. With rare exceptions, I couldn’t bait people to be racist. There is just not significant deep racist sentiment out there. The anonymity of on-line communities allows for the flourishing of racist commentary, which is disturbing and hurtful but unrepresentative.
Comments2
Simon Krite1 April at 04:35 am
Meanwhile in Melbourne – In a stunning turn of events that surprised absolutely no one paying attention, Australia is waking up to the realisation that antisemitism – particularly of the Islamic variety – has not only arrived on its shores but is flourishing in certain corners with disturbing ease.
The rise in Jewish community security budgets – apparently now a standard line item alongside challah and Shabbat candles – has come in response to a steady uptick in threats, abuse, and the occasional “Death to Jews” chant shouted with all the nuance of a football slogan at pro-Palestine rallies.
But don’t worry, it’s not antisemitism – it’s just very passionate anti-Zionism.
“Sure, someone yelled ‘from the river to the sea,’ but that’s just geography, right?” quipped one protest attendee, holding a sign suspiciously identical to those seen in Tehran, Gaza, and some North London council estates.
The Islamic flavour of this old hatred comes complete with Quranic references, conspiracy theories about Jewish world domination, and the timeless classic: blaming Jews globally for the actions of Israel. It’s a ready-made export, pre-packaged in the Middle East and now readily available in select Australian mosques, WhatsApp groups, and certain after-school programs.
A 2024 educational audit raised concerns about Islamic school curricula referencing Jews in less-than-neighbourly terms, but let’s not be Islamophobic by pointing that out. After all, cultural sensitivity is more important than, say, telling kids that Jews aren’t secretly controlling the banks.
Of course, most Australian Muslims are just trying to get on with life – working, raising families, and not plotting the downfall of Zion. But unfortunately, it only takes a few loud voices (and a well-placed social media algorithm) to poison the well. And if your well is full of imported Turkish, Egyptian, or Qatari media? Well, good luck.
Jewish community leaders, meanwhile, are left juggling interfaith brunches with one hand and filing police reports with the other.
“The gaslighting is really next-level,” one rabbi said. “We’re told to calm down, while swastikas go up on campus walls and Hamas flags fly at rallies. But hey, let’s talk about colonialism.”
For a country that prides itself on multiculturalism, Australia may need to come to terms with the fact that not every culture plays well with others – especially when it comes to Jews. As antisemitism cleverly rebrands itself in the language of social justice, many are wondering: how long before we admit that imported hatreds don’t lose potency at the border?
Until then, Jewish Australians can rest easy knowing they’re living in a country where everyone’s equal – some just more targeted than others
Andrew Jakubowicz30 March at 12:59 am
Your comments extend my own research (see 2017 Cyberracism and Community Resilience) and the 1998 Government harmony research. People who do have racist values tend to deny Australia is racist and define racism as overt racist violence. People who do not hold racist values tend to define racism far more broadly and accept that nearly everyone (else) is racist. But for most people race is not salient unless it is made so by events or experiences. So now in the Jewish community the salkience is very high and the anxiety at the sa,e level – but as you say, in practice most Australians are not racist or only mildly so, and likely to be moved by community leadership in their attitudes.