From safe haven to fear: how Australia became a dangerous place for Jews

And with such illustrious figures as First World War military leader General Sir John Monash, Governors-General Sir Isaac Isaacs and Sir Zelman Cowen, former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Westfield founder Frank Lowy emanating from our ranks, we were part of the bedrock of Australian society.

I wouldn’t say the community was complacent, but they were certainly comfortable, secure in the knowledge that they weren’t impacted by the kind of antisemitism and anti-Zionism that afflicted the rest of the world.

Indeed, that goes to the very heart of why so many Holocaust survivors sought refuge in Australia after the horrors of the Shoah. They wanted to get as far as they could from the Jew-hating West and live in a country where sport – not politics – dominated the front pages of the press.

All of which is why when the country started succumbing to a spate of swastika graffiti and chants of “Free Free Palestine” after October 7, 2023, the community was caught by surprise.

For those of us inured to antisemitism by our European upbringing, this was a lamentable reminder of what we’d left behind. For those who’d grown up in sunny Sydney or sleepy Melbourne, however, it was a shock to the system.

Indeed, there was a sense of foreboding from day one. Or rather day three. On October 9, before Israel had even responded to the atrocities two days earlier, pro-Palestinian activists rallied outside the Sydney Opera House en masse, letting off flares and – depending whose version you believe – chanting, “Gas the Jews” or “Where’s the Jews?”

A few weeks later, the torching of a burger restaurant owned by a pro-Palestinian activist in a largely Jewish neighbourhood of Melbourne, was blamed – falsely as the police stressed from the outset and as was subsequently proved – on “the Zionists”. Nonetheless, a pro-Palestinian protest that evening which ended up outside a nearby synagogue led to the shul being evacuated and violent clashes with members of the local Jewish community.

“This isn’t good,” communal leaders warned the state and federal governments. “And we’re seriously concerned it’s going to get worse. You need to nip it in the bud.”

But rather than do any nipping, the governments just responded with words. Time and time again, we heard the same phrase: “There’s no place for antisemitism in Australia … or Islamophobia.”

In the meantime, Jewish students were being harassed on campus, Jewish school kids were being abused on school outings, graffiti urging “Death to Jews” was being daubed on buildings and walls, cars were being torched, one shul was burnt to the ground, another narrowly avoided the same fate, nurses were filmed saying they’d murder Israeli patients and city centres were becoming no-go zones for Jews at weekends, as tens of thousands of anti-Israel demonstrators marched through the streets brandishing antisemitic placards, calling for the eradication of the Jewish State and wearing t-shirts supporting terrorist organisations.

When the Prime Minster appointed a Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in July 2024, it seemed the federal government had finally recognised that the concerns of the Jewish community might be genuine.

I stress the words “it seemed”. Because after a year of consultations and deliberations the envoy presented a series of proposals for tackling antisemitism to the Prime Minister. And more than five months later, the government has done nothing.

Actually, that’s not strictly true. The government has done a couple of things since the proposals were put forward. It’s recognised Palestine and it’s also engaged in a rather unseemly war of words with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, neither of which were recommended by the special envoy and both of which added to the community’s sense of insecurity.

And so communal leaders continued to express their concerns about the deteriorating situation, with ministers reminding us – in case we’d forgotten – “There’s no place for antisemitism in Australia … or Islamophobia.”

Which bring us to yesterday, the first night of Chanukah.

In the past few months, the world had witnessed the fatal shooting of two Israeli embassy staff at the Jewish Museum in Washington and the fatal attack at the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, which also claimed two lives.

Yes, we’d had our share of issues in Australia but, despite our warnings, surely things could never reach that level. Could they?

Despite our warnings, did we really believe people would end up getting murdered here?

Massacred here?

Have we really become the antisemitic capital of the world?

As I write this piece, the death toll from last night’s shooting is rising. Meanwhile, a friend and colleague who was at the event has shrapnel lodged in his back and thigh, just one of dozens of community members injured in the attack.

In the past few hours, more and more people are talking about leaving Australia for more hospitable climes.

And friends and family in Israel – who were themselves recently running to bomb shelters – are calling us up worried about our welfare and urging us to join them. We’d be safer under fire there than here, they tell us.

Two years ago, no one would have thought such a thing. But now … now my mind turns to Alex Kleytman. Born in Ukraine, he survived the Holocaust and sought a new life in Australia – only to lose his life last night when a gunman opened fire on Bondi Beach.

Zeddy Lawrence is a regular contributor to J-Wire, a daily online Jewish news service focusing on worldwide events impacting on the Australian & New Zealand Jewish communities