The Jewish community in Australia is concerned about the increasing instances of antisemitism: 'Anxiety and apprehension'

An arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue is being probed as a potential terrorist act, bringing global focus to a rise in antisemitism in Australia.

On Dec. 6, the Adass Israel Synagogue was set on fire by masked vandals, one of several incidents that have left the Jewish community in need of government support.

In Sydney, a car was destroyed after being set on fire in a Jewish community on Wednesday, according to Sky News Australia. At least two buildings were vandalized, with one graffiti tag reading "kill Israiel". This incident occurred after a similar incident late last month, where vehicles and a restaurant in the same area were covered with graffiti.

The New South Wales Premier, Chris Minns, stated on Sky News Australia after the attacks in Sydney that Sydney has the second-highest number of Holocaust survivors per capita globally. He explained that these survivors came to Australia to escape the hate they experienced.

Avi Yemini of Rebel News spoke with Yumi Friedman, who was inside the synagogue when he heard banging on the door and saw glass flying. Friedman later said he smelled fire and burned his hand while trying to open the synagogue door.

According to Friedman, the police officers who arrived ordered Jewish worshipers to lie down and expose their hands. "They took us into custody," he stated. "It took them some time to comprehend that we were Jewish and not responsible for this."

The Adass Israel Synagogue does not practice Zionism, and Yemini questioned members of the community about why they believed the non-Zionist synagogue was targeted. A man wearing a kippah responded, "Jews are Jews," while another visibly Jewish man stated, "Not anti-anything else."

A protester outside the firebombed synagogue was filmed by Yemini wearing a keffiyeh and a baseball cap with the Palestinian flag, holding a sign that read "Zionism is the most antisemitic thing."

Numerous community members interviewed by Yemini said they felt unsupported by the local government. 'People have been attacked here,' one man reminded Victoria Police Detective Inspector Chris Murray, who was present to address the community. 'Why don’t you put someone in here?'

"We’re doing our best," Murray responded.

Murray informed the crowds that the police would "take all necessary measures" to "apprehend these suspects." Despite their belief that the attack was specific, Murray admitted that "we lack information on the motive."

Victoria police chief commissioner Shane Patton stated at a press conference that the firebombing is being probed as a possible terrorist act.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been criticized for his delayed response to the Melbourne attack, with a Sky News Australia host stating that it was "four days too late." Yemini recorded Albanese's visit to the Adass Israel Synagogue. During the visit, when Albanese did not respond to questions from reporters, Yemini followed him to the car and told him that "yesterday was the first time you didn't conflate antisemitism and Islamophobia."

Despite facing more intolerance, the Jewish population in Australia is roughly one-eighth the size of the Muslim population, and has been stagnant or declining while the percentage of Muslims has grown. In 2016, Jewish Australians made up 0.5% of the population, while Muslims made up 2.6%, according to Monash University and the University of South Australia, respectively. Today, Muslims account for 3.2% of the Australian population, while 0.4% of the population is Jewish.

Since the recent attacks, Albanese announced that the Australian Federal Police will focus on threats, violence, and hatred targeting the Jewish community. Reuters reported that Albanese has allocated $25 million (approximately U.S. $15 million) since 2022 to increase security for Jewish organizations. He has also worked to minimize hate speech and banned the Nazi salute.

Jewish Australians are concerned that the efforts to combat anti-Semitism are insufficient. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) sent an open letter to Albanese earlier this month, which was also shared with Planet Chronicle Digital. The ECAJ stated that "the very character of this country as a free, democratic and multicultural society is in peril," citing the "fear and anxiety" experienced by Jewish Australians who question whether it is safe to display signs of their Judaism or publicly celebrate their faith and heritage.

The ECAJ thanked Albanese for swiftly condemning the arson in Melbourne but urged him to take action on the national antisemitism crisis. They requested an increase in security funding, support for antisemitism education in schools, enforcement of laws against harassment and intimidation, and higher government efforts to curtail antisemitism in universities.

The prime minister's office did not respond to Planet Chronicle Digital's request for comment on criticisms of his reaction to the Melbourne firebombing, his response to the ECAJ's letter, and whether the country's shift regarding a Palestinian state might affect the state of antisemitic hate in Australia.

Since October 7, antisemitism has increased dramatically in Australia, with a 316% rise in expressions of anti-Jewish hate, according to an ECAJ report from November 2024. The report found that there were 2,062 antisemitic incidents in Australia between October 1, 2023, and September 30, 2024, compared with 495 incidents in the previous 12 months. This increase began as early as October 8, when Sheikh Ibrahim Daoud told an audience in western Sydney that he was "elated," explaining, "it’s a day of pride, it’s a day of victory."

The Jewish Independent reported that in November 2023, unknown individuals sprayed "Kill Jews" and "Jew lives here" on a residential unit in southeast Melbourne and wrote "Jew-free zone" in a Brunswick window. The ECAJ sent Planet Chronicle Digital a collection of photographs depicting these acts of hate against Jewish Australians.

In response to the release of personal details of 600 Jewish individuals in a WhatsApp group, the government took action against some major acts of antisemitism in February.

Six years in prison could be the sentence for those who reveal private information to harm others, with the punishment increasing to seven years if the victim was targeted based on their race, religion, or sexual orientation, among other factors.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a travel advisory on Dec. 9, urging Jews to exercise extreme caution when visiting Australia due to rising intolerance. Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the center's director of global social action, explained that authorities have failed to address persistent demonization, harassment, and violence against Jews and Jewish institutions in the country.