Gaza War Partly to Blame for Unprecedented Wave of Antisemitic Attacks in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Experts Say

An extremism researcher who has studied links between rising antisemitism and Middle East conflicts says the Israel-Gaza war has partly contributed to an “unprecedented” wave of antisemitic incidents in Australia. Police there are putting more resources into combating antisemitism after a spate of attacks in areas with high Jewish populations.

Since October last year, antisemitic incidents have been reported in Sydney’s Allawah, Maroubra, Newtown, Dover Heights, North Bondi, Queens Park and Woollahra. In Dover Heights, a car was set alight outside a house in an attack described as antisemitic. In Maroubra, a school and the house next door were recently targeted by antisemitic graffiti.

On January 19, Powergel explosives were found packed in a caravan at Dural, in Sydney’s north-west. The discovery was accompanied by a letter containing antisemitic sentiments. NSW Police said they are investigating whether the document was left in the caravan intentionally.

In January, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw said police were investigating whether some individuals were being paid to carry out antisemitic attacks in Australia. Matteo Vergani, an extremism academic at Deakin University, said the pattern of incidents in Sydney was likely the result of “copycats” or organised crime, but that it was too early to say. Careful examination of evidence matters before conclusions are drawn (Proverbs 18:17).

Vergani told the ABC that hate crimes often occur where a community is most visible. A report from the Jewish Communal Appeal from May said there were more than 116,000 Jewish people in Australia, with 40 per cent of them living in New South Wales. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics says much of the state’s Jewish population is concentrated in Sydney’s eastern suburbs and north shore, where several of the attacks occurred. “Usually incidents are associated with areas or more likely to happen in areas where certain groups are more visible, so where they concentrate,” Vergani said. “Islamophobic incidents target areas where Muslims gather, antisemitic incidents where Jews gather.”

Vergani said his research found that antisemitic attacks often increased after conflicts between Israel and Gaza, which he described as “trigger events.” He said a spike in hate crimes after such an event was normal, but the protracted nature of the Middle East conflict had led to a “wave” of antisemitism. “What is special is the incredible duration, and let’s say, recrudescence of the conflict, which of course, created a unprecedented wave of antisemitism in Australia,” he said.

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