Antisemitic attacks on Australian Jews have continued to escalate, with the latest incident targeting a former home of an Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO. The house was vandalized and set on fire, leaving the community reeling.
The incidents are part of a 15-month trend of increasing antisemitic violence in Australia. In recent months, Jewish members of parliament have been targeted with broken windows and attempted arson at their offices. A synagogue in Melbourne was doused with flammable liquid and set on fire, while another in Sydney had red swastikas defaced.
The Australian government has struggled to respond effectively to these incidents, with some politicians downplaying the severity of the attacks or arguing over whether certain words were used. The co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry believes that the lack of clear condemnation from leaders is contributing to a sense of insecurity among Jewish Australians.
“My family’s story began as one of persecution and hope, but now it feels like we’re living in a different country,” he said. “We’ve been told stories about what it means to live with antisemitism, and I have relatives who died in pogroms. For us, Australia was always our haven, but the kids of Holocaust survivors are telling me they’re glad their parents aren’t alive to see this.”
As a result, Jewish Australians are taking steps to protect themselves, from installing security measures around their homes to avoiding wearing certain symbols in public.
The co-CEO is urging Australians to take a stronger stance against antisemitism and to recognize that these attacks are not just isolated incidents, but part of a larger trend. “We can’t just shrug off the question of our own safety anymore,” he said. “The question before us now is: Will someone get killed before it does?”
Source: https://www.thefp.com/p/in-australia-jew-hate-is-out-of-control