“I never thought that I would see such a thing in this country,” he told the Commission on Monday.
His evidence came as the commission examined the security challenges facing Jewish institutions, with synagogue leaders, educators and communal representatives describing the profound impact of nearly two years of sustained antisemitic incidents.
Australia has experienced an unprecedented surge in antisemitism since October 7, 2023. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has documented record numbers of antisemitic incidents, including assaults, threats, vandalism, online abuse and attacks on Jewish institutions.
Synagogues, schools and community buildings have been subjected to graffiti, arson attacks and security threats, prompting many organisations to introduce enhanced security measures and increasing concern among Jewish Australians about openly displaying signs of their identity.
On December 14, 2025, the country witnessed the worst terrorist attack in its history at Bondi Beach, in which 15 people, including a 10-year-old girl, were murdered by a father and son duo in an Isis-inspired terrorist attack.
Mourners stand near tributes piled together at the front of the Bondi Pavilion, in memory of the victims of the Bondi Beach shooting in Sydney, December 17, 2025 (Credit: DAVID GRAY / AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
Among those giving evidence on Monday was Benjamin Klein, president of Melbourne's Adass Israel Synagogue, which was founded by Holocaust survivors and was destroyed in an early morning arson attack in December 2024. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has said the attack was directed by Iran.
Klein described the destruction of the synagogue as an assault on the heart of the community.
“The synagogue is a place where you celebrate all your milestones,” he said. “To have that taken away, and simply for the reason that you're Jewish, is quite devastating to say the least.”
He also revealed that the community’s applications for government security funding had been unsuccessful before the attack, leaving the congregation without additional protection despite growing threats.
Benjamin Klein gives testimony at the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion (Credit: 10 News/YouTube)[Missing Credit]
Jewish schools also outlined the financial and emotional burden of heightened security.
Dan Sztrajt, principal of Mount Scopus Memorial College, told the commission the school had recorded 131 antisemitic incidents affecting students or the campus since January 2022. Incidents included antisemitic graffiti reading “Jew die” and the alleged intimidation of a Year 8 student by another pupil performing Nazi salutes and shouting about Hitler before a school sporting event.
Tyson Wodak, president of Melbourne's Bialik College, said security concerns had become so acute that the school no longer required pupils to wear uniforms on excursions to avoid identifying them publicly as Jewish.
“I don't want more security funding,” he told the inquiry. “I want less need for security.”
Sydney's Central Synagogue chief rabbi, Levi Wolff, also described the climate of fear confronting many Jewish families. He said he now received threats and abuse “almost daily” and recounted receiving a mezuzah posted to him by a community member who wrote: “I'm afraid to have this on my door.”
“No one should have to have courage to simply place a symbol of their faith on the doorpost of their very own home,” Wolff said.
The commission will continue hearing evidence from police, counterterrorism specialists and Home Affairs officials this week as it examines whether Australia's security arrangements are adequate to protect the country's Jewish community.
A menorah is projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House in memory of the victims of a shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, December 15, 2025 (Credit: DAVID GRAY / AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images
Human rights lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky attended the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion in May.
Writing for The Jewish Chronicle, Ostrovsky said: “During the Commission, we heard a Holocaust survivor say how he is now too afraid to wear his Star of David necklace in public.
“A Jewish teenager described how she was called ‘a filthy penny sniffer’ while playing with fellow students.
“A local rabbi spoke about finding a mezuzah with the parchment replaced with the words ‘free Palestine’.
“One person said she was asked by her employer to change her ‘Jewish sounding name’ to appease a client with sensitivities about Israel.
“We heard about children being regularly taunted, while their parents described the fear if they were publicly identified as Jewish by their school uniform.
“Others told of being routinely harassed with slurs, including ‘dirty Jewish pigs’, ‘baby killers’, ‘Gas the Jews’ and so on.
“Many of the witnesses spoke about losing friendships, employment opportunities and a sense of belonging in their own country and communities simply because they openly identify as Jewish or refuse to renounce support for Israel.
“This is the reality the Commission has been forced to confront: antisemitism in contemporary Australia is no longer confined to the extreme fringes. It has seeped into the mainstream, including our schools, workplaces, universities, social media and public discourse.”
