“I have never seen such levels of hatred of…Jews, as I experience and witness here in Australia.” Those are the words of Hillel Newman, Israel’s ambassador to Australia. Even worse, Newman has previously served as the Israeli ambassador to two Muslim nations – Uzbekistan and Tajikistan – yet he says, “I did not see these levels of hatred [there].” Let that sink in. A western nation is filled with more Jew-hatred than countries of the Islamic world, which is plagued by all sorts of atrocities, Jew-hatred, and human rights abuses.

Such has been the dangerous rise in antisemitism throughout the western world since Hamas’ Oct 7 massacre. Unfortunately for here in down under, the levels of Jew-hatred have surged more than they have in most western nations. One report noted a 316.5% increase in antisemitic behaviours in Australia throughout 2024, consisting of antisemitic messages and posters to outright assault on Australian Jews. The increase did not start in 2024 however, but in 2023, with many chanting “where’s the Jews” outside the Sydney Opera House at a pro-Palestine rally on Oct 9, just two days after Oct 7. Just two days after 1,200 Israelis were murdered and 250+ were taken hostage, many people gathered at one of Australia’s great landmarks to support the greatest slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust.

Many more horrifying examples followed. In his Nov 2, 2024 address at Arrahman Mosque in Sydney, Sheikh Youssef Nabha said Zionists wouldn’t remain in Palestine because it belongs to Muslims. On Dec 9, 2024, a rally of Muslims screamed “Khaybar, Khaybar, ya yahud, jaish Muhammad sa yaoud” (Khaybar, Khaybar, O Jews, the army of Muhammad will return) on the streets of Sydney.

This chant refers to Muhammad’s massacre of the Jews of Khaybar, where according to one Islamic source “the Prophet had their warriors killed, their offspring and women taken as captives” (p. 35).

In 2025 antisemitic graffiti with the writing, “KILL ALL JEWS” was found in Queensland.

The Grand Mufti of Australia, Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, signed a fatwa (ruling by Muslim scholars) which said it is “obligatory for all Muslims and Muslim nations to engage in jihad against the Zionist entity and all those collaborating with it…”. The same Mufti has also previously met former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh while visiting Gaza with a delegation of Muslim scholars. The situation became so dire that Australia’s spy chief Mike Burgess identified antisemitism as the biggest security threat to the nation.

All of this was before the massacre at Bondi beach. There, two Islamic State (IS) inspired jihadis murdered fifteen people and injured dozens in a targeted attack on a Hanukkah festival. With Bondi, Australia has experienced the worst assault on Jews of all western nations since Oct 7. Such a tragedy lends credence Newman’s personal observation.

One would think the Bondi massacre would finally cause some people to rethink how they act and speak – a naive hope.

Imam Uzair Akbar, who was one of the ‘moderates’ that condemned the Bondi massacre, later said in a sermon:

“I ask you, who are the greatest enemies of the Prophet of Allah throughout his entire life? Which Nation? Still… still! Yahud [i.e. Jew]! … So the Yahud were the greatest enemies of the Prophet of Allah…it happened with the Yahud, and we can see their sinister ideology, their sinister plotting and planning today!”[1].

How has such barbaric hatred been allowed to flood Australia? The answer lies in the Labour government’s response, which has been nothing but weak, to put it mildly. Instead of taking a bold stand against antisemitism, Labour has towed its response to the lines of political correctness.

One example of this is Labour’s unwillingness to recognise certain ideologies behind many anti-Jewish acts, as that would be politically incorrect.

After the Bondi massacre, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pushed for new hate speech laws, which “would not apply to people directly quoting from religious texts for the purposes of teaching.” Note, this would allow many Islamic preachers to preach all kinds of antisemitic ideas, such as Jews being the worst enemies of Muslims as seen above. To defend this section of the bill, which came under heavy criticism, Albanese gave an example of a religious text which he implied includes content that could be used to justify hatred or violence – the Old Testament (OT).

Albanese said:

“I encourage you to read the Old Testament and see what’s there and see if you outlaw that, what would occur.”

Was it Christians citing biblical passages from the OT (which Jews also believe is Scripture) that constantly attacked Jews and murdered them at their Hanukkah festival? No, the Bondi terrorists belonged to another religion – Islam.

Why bring up the OT as a possible cause of religious violence when the actual religious violence came from Islamic terrorists? The reason is Albanese does not want to commit the unforgivable sin of Islamophobia, a trait of many leftists, even if that means leaving a key ideological cause of antisemitic attacks unaddressed and ignored. Thus, political correctness has hindered the Labour government from effectively responding to the increased dangers Australian Jews face.

A beautiful country which had a small, but flourishing Jewish community has allowed antisemites, whether it be from far leftists or Islamic jihadis, to plague the nation with hate, making Australia more dangerous for Jews. One local Australian Jew I’ve spoken to reflected what is likely a feeling many older Australian Jews share: “It’s not the Australia I grew up in.”

With Newman’s words, if it was not already clear, it is now – Australia has failed its Jewish population.

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Notes

1. Imam Uzair Akbar is likely drawing upon Quranic verses such as Surah 5:82, which reads: “You will surely find the most bitter towards the believers to be the Jews and polytheists…” (Dr. Mustafa Khattab’s translation).