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Jewish Australians feel unsafe after rise in attacks: antisemitism envoy / Photo: © AFP
Jewish Australians feel unsafe after rise in attacks: antisemitism envoy
Jewish Australians feel "very unsafe" after a surge in threats, vandalism and violence since the outbreak of hostilities in Gaza, Australia's antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal said Thursday.
A year after being appointed to her role, Segal released a string of recommendations for combating antisemitism while decrying an upswing in violence against the Jewish community in Australia.
Since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which sparked the war in Gaza, she reported a "deeply troubling" increase in antisemitism, citing a 300-percent rise in incidents in one year.
"We've seen cars being torched, synagogues being torched, individual Jews harassed and attacked, and that is completely unacceptable," she told a news conference.
Segal, who was named as a special envoy to combat antisemitism by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, pointed to an alleged arson attempt against a Melbourne synagogue on Friday.
In other incidents on the same day in Melbourne, about 20 protesters reportedly swarmed an Israeli-owned restaurant, and cars were set on fire and daubed with antisemitic graffiti in another part of the city.
"These are not isolated events, and they form part of a broader pattern of intimidation and violence that is making Jewish Australians feel very unsafe," Segal said.
"This should concern every Australian, because the safety and dignity of one community affects us all."
Among a broad set of recommendations, she called for hate and intimidation laws to be strengthened where needed, and for improved education, including about the Holocaust.
In a 16-page report, she called for universities to be made accountable for antisemitism and for creating a climate free of intimidation.
She also urged efforts to crack down on the spread of hate and antisemitism online.
"Antisemitism in Australia has reached a tipping point that threatens social harmony, undermines trust in institutions and marginalises Jewish Australian citizens," the report warned.
"As the world's oldest hatred, antisemitism will never be totally defeated but, with resolve, unity, leadership and purpose, it can be marginalised and returned to the fringes of society."
P.Nowak--GL
