Australia’s Jewish community remains on edge after a series of attacks on synagogues, homes and vehicles.
The former home of a prominent Jewish leader was targeted in an arson and graffiti attack in Sydney’s eastern suburb of Dover Heights in the early hours of Friday (January 17) morning.
Two cars were destroyed by fire after being sprayed with anti-Semitic slogans while the house was splashed with red paint.
The current residents are not Jewish, but it was previously owned by Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said everything possible was being done to catch the perpetrators.
“Civil society stands united in condemning this flagrant racism,” he said.
His police minister called it a “disgusting act of hatred that will not be tolerated”.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese labelled the attack an “outrage” and welcomed the Australian Federal Police charging a man over death threats to members of a Jewish organisation.
“This is the first charges that have arisen from Special Operation Avalite that I established last month. that continues to work to identify prolific anti-Semites causing high harm in the community,” the PM said.
Most recent anti-Semitic attacks have so far gone unpunished, including the firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue, the largest in the nation.
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton branded the perpetrators as “terrorists who are targeting people to intimidate and scare them.”
Zionist Federation of Australia CEO Alon Cassuto said: “This isn’t just an assault on Jews, it’s an attack on all Australians.”
Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who is Jewish, told the ABC: “The recent rise in anti-Semitism we’ve seen over the last year has been the worst that I’ve seen in my lifetime and it’s been shocking.”
“It’s rightly called the world’s oldest hatred, it’s hard to stamp it out,” he added.
A recent global survey claims that 4.2 million Australian adults harbour anti-Semitic attitudes.
That’s around 20% of the nation’s adult population and a 6% increase on a decade ago.
The study which was carried out by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), placed Australia 15th globally for countries with the lowest levels of anti-Semitic attitudes, according to the Australian Jewish News (AJN).
It concluded from a survey of 58,000 people in more than 100 countries, that around half of all adults across the world hold anti-Semitic beliefs and deny the historic facts of the Holocaust.
ADL Chief Executive Jonathan Greenblatt described the findings as “deeply alarming.”
“Anti-Semitism is nothing short of a global emergency, especially in a post-October 7 world,” he asserted.
“It’s clear that we need new government interventions, more education, additional safeguards on social media and new security protocols to prevent anti-Jewish hate crimes.”
While 61% of Australian respondents believe the Holocaust is described accurately in historical accounts, the figures are significantly lower among younger age groups.
The ADL study reported 18% of those those aged 18-49 think the death toll is exaggerated, 9% had never heard of the Holocaust, and 8% believe it’s a myth.
The research found that 57% of Australians view Palestine favourably, compared to 40% who feel the same about Israel.
The AJN reports one in five Australians express favourability toward Hamas, including one third of those aged 18-34 and 39% of those who immigrated to Australia as adults.
Globally, 46% of the world’s adult population — an estimated 2.2 billion people — hold deeply entrenched anti-Semitic attitudes.
That’s double the number recorded by ADL’s first worldwide survey a decade ago.
With Australian Associated Press (AAP)
