Australia is still reeling from a surge in antisemitism since October 7, 2023, leaving many citizens in shock. A group of Australian politicians who spent time in Israel last week say that this growing unrest could shape the nation’s future, with significant changes anticipated at the ballot box during the federal elections set for May 2025.
Two days after the Hamas massacre, on October 9, 2023, a pro-Palestinian protest erupted in front of the Sydney Opera House following the Australian government’s decision to light the building’s iconic sails in the colors of the Israeli flag as a show of solidarity. In addition to condemning the Israeli government’s response to the attacks, protesters chanted “F--k the Jews,” and, according to some witnesses, “Gas the Jews.”
Rather than protecting the Jewish community, police advised them to avoid the area—advice later described as “lamentable” by police officials.
Since then, antisemitism across Australia has surged to unprecedented levels. Data from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry show more than 1,800 incidents of antisemitism between October 2023 and October 2024, up from fewer than 500 incidents between October 2022 and September 2023.
A report published in August in the Contemporary Jewry academic journal found that 64% of Australian Jews view antisemitism as a “very big” problem, while 28% consider it “fairly big.”
This growing crisis has fueled calls for change, creating the potential for more significant support for the Liberal Party, the country’s center-right political party. (The left-wing Labor Party, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, has ruled Australia since securing 77 seats in the 151-seat House of Representatives in May 2022.)
“The way the authorities and the government in Australia reacted—letting the violence and antisemitic chants spread through suburbs and towns—is truly horrific,” Warren Mundine, an Australian businessman, political strategist, and advocate for Indigenous affairs, told The Media Line during a trip to Israel last week. A former Labor Party member, Mundine has since joined the Liberal Party and hopes to return to politics, running in the Liberal preselection for the North Shore Sydney parliamentary seat.
“Now, you're going to start to see the blowback. The government is finally starting to get the message from the Australian community to act,” Mundine, whose trip was arranged by the Israeli advocacy organization DiploAct, said.
As the election approaches, authorities have begun charging individuals for waving Hezbollah flags—since the group is designated as a terrorist organization—and pursuing those behind antisemitic attacks, he said. But after more than 15 months of rising antisemitism, those actions may be too little, too late.
“You’re going to see major changes in the next election,” Mundine predicted.
He highlighted several instances where Jewish synagogues and businesses were vandalized or even burned, with authorities failing to act quickly enough. “We have to act strong against bigotry and antisemitism,” he said.
Many non-Jewish Australians have also been shocked by the rise in antisemitism in a country that has long been “multicultural, multiethnic, multifaith,” he added.
Get the Ynetnews app on your smartphone: Google Play: https://bit.ly/4eJ37pE | Apple App Store: https://bit.ly/3ZL7iNv
Susan Carter, a central member of the New South Wales opposition from the Liberal Party, also expressed disappointment in the government’s response to antisemitism.
4 View gallery
Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne damaged in arson attack
(Photo: Adass Israel congregation)
“The federal Labor government has been very slow to act in this space,” Carter told The Media Line. “They have recently made some starts, but really, this requires leadership. This requires strong leadership from the beginning. Without even waiting, when you see antisemitism, you stand up and say, ‘No, this is unacceptable in this country.’ And we didn’t get that strong leadership from our prime minister. We certainly haven’t got it from our foreign minister, and that’s very disappointing.”
Damien Tudehope, another Liberal Party member of the New South Wales Legislative Council, told The Media Line that some politicians have moderated their rhetoric in order to win the Muslim vote.
“This is just election rhetoric, but it is uncomfortable that Australia, which was always seen as a friend of Israel, is now being portrayed as a country offering misguided commentary from afar,” he said. “I think it is bad for foreign policy.”
He said that this period of rising antisemitism is unprecedented in his memory.
The delegation of Liberal Party politicians visited Israel from December 10 to 16. They met with high-ranking Israeli officials during their trip, including Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana and Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel. They also visited communities near Israel’s northern and southern borders and received briefings from local analysts.
“This was a research trip rather than a holiday,” Tudehope said. “It was an opportunity to visit Israel and have first-hand experience of what is occurring. I have always been a pro-Israel politician and have spoken regularly for Israel, but sometimes it is better to be informed by actually being there. You can read lots of things, but actually mixing with people and interacting with them gives you a much better perspective on what is actually happening in the country.”
4 View gallery
Torah scroll salvaged from of a Melbourne synagogue torched in an antisemitic attack
(Photo: Tania LEE / AFP, Sky News Australia)
Tudehope said what struck him most was how Israel's day-to-day life remains vibrant and thriving. “In Australia, there’s this picture of a country constantly at war,” he said. “And while Israel is at war, the situation is complex. It strikes me that everyday life just continues—it’s a prosperous, thriving, bustling country.”
Another common misconception among Australians is that the October 7 attacks were an isolated event. “It’s really almost the crescendo of two decades of rocket attacks on the borders, followed by continuing problems, evacuations of towns, and the disruption of children’s education,” Carter said.
The trip, she added, gave her a “broader understanding of what the Israeli people are facing and the geopolitical context in which they find themselves.”
One especially powerful moment for Carter was a visit to the site of the Nova music festival attack. Like many areas in Israel, the site is surrounded by eucalyptuses, a species of tree native to Australia that was brought to Israel before the establishment of the state. “You see iconic Australian trees, but they’re not holding koalas—they’re wrapping themselves around memorials for young people who died at a party. It will take me a while to process,” Carter said.
Tudehope issued a call to action for Australia regarding its antisemitism crisis. “We have to be very careful about how our children are learning in schools and universities about the nature of conflicts and how they have been resolved,” he said. “Universities and secondary schools need to stop picking winners and losers in this debate and become more informed about geopolitical situations.”