From haven to hotbed: how Israel’s perception of Australia has changed

"Hospitalized in Australia? Don't Reveal You're Jewish." This alarming headline recently ran on ynet, one of Israel’s most read news sites, under a dramatic banner category flashing “Wave of Antisemitism”.

The article, adapting an investigation by The Australian, painted a grim picture of the Australian healthcare system since the October 7 attacks of 2023 and the destruction of Gaza in response. Backed by interviews with over 30 medical professionals, it detailed a hostile environment for Jewish staff and patients alike, including claims of painful IV insertions, withheld pain relief for labouring mothers, and offensive remarks.

For Israelis scrolling through their phones in Tel Aviv or Tiberias, this was not an isolated story. It was the latest piece of a frightening narrative. The message being conveyed is that Australia is no longer a laid-back haven of sunny beaches and post-army backpacking; it has been systematically rebranded as a dangerous frontier of surging hostility.

My analysis of 60 articles published about Australia on Mako/N12, a dominant Israeli news portal that is no mouthpiece for the government, over a nearly two-year period, reveals the scale and intensity of this messaging. Over half of these articles focused strictly on antisemitism, anti-Israel protests, or security threats.

This coverage consistently portrays a community under siege. For instance, Mako closely tracked a viral scandal where an Israeli whistleblower exposed Arab-Australian medical staff at Bankstown Hospital in Sydney, making threats against Jewish patients. It treated the legal saga like a major true crime event. Campus life is depicted as similarly hostile, with reports emphasising aggressive anti-Zionist rhetoric on Sydney campuses.