By Tanya Sakzewski
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has vowed to fight antisemitism in the country, following a terror attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney which killed 15 people and injured dozens at a gathering to celebrate the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday 15th December, a day after the attack, the prime minister said: “We will do whatever is necessary to stamp out antisemitism. It is a scourge and we will eradicate it together.”
Antisemitism has been growing at an alarming rate in the country in the past few years, and the government is facing mounting criticism for responding too slowly.
Warnings about antisemitism
A 2025 report, by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, found the number of antisemitic incidents in Australia were almost five times pre-October 7, 2023, levels. The report said in the 10 years prior to October 2023 (Oct. 2014 – to Sep. 2023) the average annual number of anti-Jewish incidents was 342. In the two years since 7 October, there has been an average of 1,858 incidents per year.
ASIO, Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, has highlighted antisemitism as one of its top priorities. ASIO’s Director-General Mike Burgess said at the release of the Annual Threat Assessment 2025 in February: “Jewish Australians were increasingly conflated with the state of Israel, leading to an increase in anti-Semitic incidents. The normalisation of violent protest and intimidating behaviour lowered the threshold for provocative and potentially violent acts.
“Narratives originally centred on “freeing Palestine” expanded to include incitements to “kill the Jews”. Threats transitioned from harassment and intimidation to specific targeting of Jewish communities, places of worship and prominent figures. I am concerned these attacks have not yet plateaued.”
The Australian government appointed Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Jillian Segal says rising antisemitism is being driven by conflict in the Middle East, manipulated narratives in the legacy media and social media and the spread of extremist ideologies. “Ancient myths and misinformation have re-emerged in new forms to justify violence and threats against the Australian Jewish community.”
The Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism, released in July, warned that antisemitism in Australia had reached a tipping point that threatens social harmony, undermines trust in institutions and marginalises Jewish Australian citizens.
The role of the media and youth
The report said some online platforms have become vectors for conspiracy theories and hate speech with data showing that younger Australians are more likely than older citizens to hold antisemitic views.
“We are on a dangerous trajectory where young people raised on a diet of disinformation and misinformation about Jews today risk becoming fully-fledged antisemites tomorrow.”
Recommendations of the report include the Envoy establishing a project to support trusted voices to publicly refute antisemitic views, particularly via social media platforms, and monitoring media organisations to encourage accurate, fair and responsible reporting.
University reforms
The Report recommends reforms for the university sector, including establishing a university report card, assessing each university’s implementation of effective practices and standards to combat antisemitism, government funding to be withheld from universities, programmes or individuals within universities that facilitate, enable or fail to act against antisemitism, and a commission of inquiry into campus antisemitism.
Social media reforms
With online platforms recognised as major vectors of hate, particularly for those aged under 35, the Envoy’s plans to address antisemitism online involve working with other envoys around the world, with the aim to:
- Establish effective and beneficial content moderation and regulatory frameworks that provide protections to individuals and targeted groups similar to what exists in respect of ‘real-world’ hate speech and incitement
- Increase transparency of moderation decisions
- Set regulatory parameters for algorithms
- Reduce influence of ‘bots’ that deliberately sow social discord
- Reduce the reach of those who peddle hate behind a veil of anonymity
- Ensure AI does not amplify antisemitic content
In the arts, culture and public broadcasting sectors, the Envoy recommends working with the publicly funded broadcasters to encourage them to develop programmes that add to social cohesion, and working with the federal and state governments to implement initiatives to monitor and counter antisemitism within the arts.
Response to the Plan
The government had not formally responded to the Envoy’s recommendations.
There are concerns about the Plan and recommendations, with the Jewish Council of Australia, among others, warning that it risks “undermining democratic freedoms, inflaming community divisions, and entrenching selective approaches to racism that serve political agendas”. Amnesty International said the Plan “proposes sweeping, vague, and repressive measures that threaten people’s rights to freedom of expression and assembly”.
Time for action
In a TV interview, former Australian treasurer Josh Frydenberg condemned political leaders for failing to protect Jewish Australians. “This has been all too predictable. And many of us have warned that this day would come.” Referring to the growing number of antisemitic attacks in the country, he said: “While this has all happened, our leaders have been bystanders. They’ve just allowed these flames of hate to burn and to burn in a way in Australia that hasn’t been replicated in any other countries in the world.”
The New South Wales Board of Deputies echoed that fear in a statement following the attack: “This is the moment we have increasingly feared as a community over the past two years, but it is still difficult and heartbreaking to believe it has arrived.”
Jillian Segal also issued a statement following the mass shooting saying: “What once seemed distant or uncomfortable can no longer be ignored. Taunts from the Opera House steps, synagogues set alight and now massacres at a celebration form a clear pattern. This is not the Australia we know and it cannot be the Australia we accept. Australia responded decisively after Port Arthur in 1996. This moment requires the same action. Words are no longer enough.”
Thirty-five people were killed in a massacre at Port Arthur, Tasmania in 1996, which led to gun ownership reforms.
Ms Segal told ABC Radio National that Australia had not been strong enough against antisemitism and government messaging had “not been sufficient”. “Unfortunately, I have to say that I have been holding my breath, fearing that something like this would happen. Because it hasn’t come without warning.”
Opposition leader Sussan Ley accused the prime minister of allowing antisemitism to “fester” and failing to keep Jewish Australians safe.
Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has also blamed Prime Minister Albanese for inaction and doing nothing to stop the spread of antisemitism, accusing him “of pouring “fuel on the antisemitism fire” by recognising a Palestinian state.
Next steps
The prime minister is under pressure to explain how he will fulfil his pledge to eradicate the hate that fuelled the worst massacre in the country since Port Arthur.
As the Executive Council of Australian Jewry said in its statement, the time for talking is over. “We need decisive leadership and action now to eradicate the scourge of antisemitism from Australia’s public life, for which the Jewish community has long been advocating.”
New action
On 18 December, the government announced reforms to hate speech laws and new measures to tackle antisemitism, including new powers to cancel or reject visas for those who spread hate and division, a 12-month taskforce to ensure the education system prevents and properly responds to antisemitism, an aggravated hate speech offence for preachers and leaders who promote violence, and increased penalties for hate speech promoting violence.
The government said it adopts the Special Envoy’s Plan to Combat Antisemitism and has already legislated for hate speech, hate crimes hate symbols and doxxing, and appointed a student ombudsman.
Updated 18 December
