Antisemitic attitudes are no more widespread in Australia since Gaza war: Crossroads25 survey

While Australia has been shaken by a stream of violent attacks against Jewish and Israeli property over the past two years, only a small minority of people hold antisemitic attitudes and their number has not increased with the war in Gaza, a major new survey has found.

The Crossroads25 survey of Australian attitudes to Jews, Israel and antisemitism also found that the general population clearly distinguishes between Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza and the state of Israel. While many Australians condemn the way Israel treats Palestininans, 60% or more support Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.

But both sympathy with Palestinians and hostility to Israel is much higher among younger Australians, with more than half of 18-24 year olds believing "Israel treats the Palestinians the way the Nazis treated the Jews", a statement Australia's official definition of antisemitism, the IHRA definition, defines as antisemitic.

The survey comes in the context of widespread community concern about antisemitism. Attacks including arson, assaults, vandalism and intimidation tripled in the year after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 and online antisemitism increased five-fold. Reflecting the high levels of hostility among young people, two thirds of Jewish staff and students say they feel unsafe on campus.