Antisemitism quadrupled in Australia following October 7th – study

Report published by Australian Jewish group finds that the number of antisemitic incidents skyrocketed fourfold during the 12 months after October 7th.

By World Israel News Staff

Australia experienced a fourfold increase in the number of antisemitic incidents over the past year as compared to the prior 12 months, a report issued by a local Jewish organization claims.

On Sunday, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) issued a report which documented 2,062 reported incidents of antisemitism across the country from October 2023 through September 2024.

By comparison, during the preceding 12 months, just 495 antisemitic incidents were reported.

ECAJ Research Director Julie Nathan said the 316% surge was the largest single-year increase ever recorded.

“In the 12 months that followed there was a 316% increase in the overall number of reported antisemitic incidents in Australia compared to the same period in the previous year. Whilst the number of reported antisemitic incidents has fluctuated from year to year previously, there has never been anything like an annual increase of this magnitude.”

Nathan said Hamas’ invasion of Israel on October 7th, 2023 encouraged anti-Jewish activity outside of Israel.

“For anti-Israel activists in Australia and elsewhere, the slaughter acted as a signal that it was now open season against local Jewish communities too, who overwhelmingly support Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.”

The rise in antisemitism has been marked not only by a quantitative increase in the number of incidents but also a qualitative shift, Nathan continued, lamenting that the number of reported incidents did not fully represent the worsening situation in Australia.

“If anything, the raw numbers understate the seriousness of the surge in antisemitism that has occurred. There have been many new forms and expressions of anti-Jewish racism that would once have been considered alien to Australia, but which have become commonplace.”

“There were anti-Israel protests outside synagogues and Jewish schools, convoys of vehicles driving though suburbs with a high proportion of Jewish residents, anti-Israel activists targeting small businesses owned by Jewish families, residential homes being targeted with hate graffiti and stickers, and a huge increase in physical assaults against Jews and verbal abuse on the streets.”

In late November, video footage went viral showing an Queensland shopkeeper ejecting two Israeli customers out of her store, while hurling antisemitic epithets.

“I don’t give a f**k about Israel but I do care about the fact that you’re a dirty filthy f**king Jew,” the woman shouted.

In another incident in late November, a dozen cars and at least three buildings in Woollahra, a suburb of Sydney, were spraypainted with the words “F*** Israel, with one of the cars set ablaze.