Published: 28 May 2021
Last updated: 2 July 2025
MADDY BLAY: the Greens cohort showed the strongest rejection of stereotypical statements about Jews and the Holocaust
ONE OF THE MOST notable discoveries from the Crossroads21 survey into Australian attitudes to Jewish people, antisemitism and Israel concerns the responses from Greens voters towards antisemitism and the Holocaust.
Out of the two major and minor Australian political parties, the Greens cohort showed the strongest rejection of stereotypical statements about Jews and the Holocaust.
The Jewish community’s attitude to the Greens is perceived as hesitant at best, and vicious, baseless and violent at worst, a view largely attributed to the party’s policies towards Israel and Palestine and Australian foreign policy.
Dr David Zyngier, one of the first Jewish people to be elected as a Green in Australia, as a councillor with Glen Eira City Council, recounts his 2020 campaign: “I was frequently attacked as a self-hating Jew on various Jewish social media.”
Notably, he was elected with 14% of the primary vote in one of the most Jewish local government wards in the country.
While Crossroads21 does not explain the vitriol directed at the Greens, their Jewish supporters and candidates, it does debunk claims that the Greens are antisemitic.
While the Crossroads21 report does not explain the extent of vitriol directed at the Greens and even their Jewish supporters and candidates, it does debunk claims that the Greens are antisemitic, with Greens voters most strongly rejecting negative stereotypes about Jews.
Greens Senator Janet Rice who holds the party’s multicultural affairs portfolio notes that “these findings are heartening but not surprising. The study confirms that the Greens community is driven by our values of anti-racism, multiculturalism, and justice for all Australians."
