Antisemitic graffiti blaming Jews for the COVID-19 pandemic in a carpark in Melbourne, Austraiia. Photo: courtesy of ECAJ

The war between Israel and Hamas in May and the persistence of the COVID-19 pandemic were the two major events contributing to a notable increase in antisemitic outrages in Australia over the past year.

In its annual report on antisemitism in Australia published on Wednesday, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) said that Jewish groups had logged 447 incidents in the year leading up to Sept. 20, 2021. The figure represented a 35 percent increase on the 331 incidents logged in 2020.

There were especially alarming leaps in incidents involving antisemitic vandalism. There were 72 instances of offensive stickers or posters being reported — a 157 percent increase on the previous year — and 106 cases of offensive graffiti, representing a 152 percent increase on the past twelve months. Other forms of vandalism aimed at the Jewish community, meanwhile, increased by 10 percent.

Cases of harassment and abuse targeting Australia’s Jewish community of 91,000 — about 0.4 percent of the population — also increased. During 2021, 147 incidents of this nature were reported.

Julie Nathan, ECAJ Research Director and author of the report, noted in a statement that the war in Gaza earlier this year had “contributed to the increase in antisemitic incidents.” She said that “a total of 88 incidents was logged for the month of May alone, when the hostilities between Israel and Hamas occurred, compared to between 22 and 46 incidents for each of the other 11 months of the year.”

Nathan cited COVID-19 as the other key factor behind the rise in antisemitism. “Another prominent theme of the antisemitic discourse expressed during the year was a focus on blaming ‘the Jews’ for the COVID-19 pandemic, notably by COVID-19 denialists as well as by many of those opposed to government health measures, including vaccination mandates and lockdowns,” she said.

She emphasized that “behind the statistics lie some horrific personal stories of persistent antisemitic bullying of Jewish students at schools, the brutal physical assault of a man on his way to synagogue, the spray painting of ‘Free Palestine. F*** Zionist. Free Palestine’ on the signage at the front of a synagogue in Adelaide, the flying of a Nazi flag above a synagogue in Brisbane, and the draping of two Palestinian flags and two shredded Israeli flags at the front entrance of a synagogue in Sydney. What is perhaps worse is the disgraceful discourse online and occasionally in the mainstream media of those who, for whatever reason, seek to rationalize or minimize this egregious behavior.”

Nathan additionally warned of Islamist and neo-Nazi groups inciting violence against Jews. She identified Hizb ut’Tahrir and the National Socialist Network as the main offenders.

The 150-page report also examined the spread of antisemitic tropes in Australian politics, media and education, providing detailed descriptions of both antisemitic incidents and the appearance of antisemitic rhetoric on social media platforms.

Nathan urged greater adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism, which has been endorsed by several governments around the world, including Australia’s.

“To be effective, the definition will now need to be adopted by the public and private sectors, the University sector, civil society, school education systems and sporting organizations among others,” Nathan argued.