Antisemitism in Australia
Real antisemitism harms Jews. Political misuse of antisemitism claims harms justice.
Antisemitism is real and Jewish people deserve safety. But genuine concerns are being manipulated by the right wing pro-Israel lobby to silence criticism of Israel’s genocide in Gaza and annexation of the West Bank. This harms everyone: it diminishes real antisemitism and stifles pro-Palestinian advocacy.
Scroll down to see some recent articles, posts and media releases that cover antisemitism in Australia.
Jewish Council calls on parliament to advance a Senate inquiry into Red Lines Package
MEDIA RELEASE 17 September 2026 The Jewish Council is deeply disappointed that the Red Lines Package was not referred for a Senate inquiry today, with both the Labor and Coalition parties voting against. The Jewish Council joined a broad coalition of human rights, faith and multicultural allies in Parliament on Tuesday for the launch of…
Jewish Council welcomes UK, Canada, France and others banning settlement trade, urges Australia to not be left behind
MEDIA RELEASE 09 September 2026 The Jewish Council of Australia welcomes moves by twelve countries including the UK, Canada, and France in restricting trade with illegal West Bank settlements and urges Australia to follow suit. The move to ban imports comes after an Israeli government announcement that it was pressing ahead with development of ‘E1’,…
Jewish Council welcomes Digital Duty of Care Bill, calls on all parties to back it
MEDIA RELEASE 08 September 2026 The Jewish Council of Australia has welcomed the Albanese Government’s Digital Duty of Care Bill, introduced to Parliament this week, describing it as a significant and overdue step towards the kind of platform accountability the Council has been calling for since the Bondi terror attack late last year. In its…
Complete Injustice for Zomi, Hind and Countless Other Victims: Jewish Council Says Australia Must Expel Israeli Ambassador
MEDIA RELEASE 20 August 2026 The Israeli Government’s decision not to pursue criminal charges over the killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom is a grave injustice and strengthens the case for Australia to impose country-level sanctions and expel its ambassador in response. While the Israel Defense Forces have finally acknowledged for the first time,…
Settler Terrorism Must End: Jewish Council Urges Australian Government to Issue Country-Level Sanctions Immediately
MEDIA RELEASE 18 August 2026 The Jewish Council is calling on the Australian Government to issue country-level sanctions against the Israeli Government, as Palestinian families in the West Bank village of Qusra have spent nearly a week under siege by Israeli settlers. Palestinian residents in the West Bank have faced power and water cuts and…
Petition: Don’t let Israel define antisemitism
Israel’s defenders are pressuring Australian institutions and governments to adopt and enforce the IHRA working definition of antisemitism. Kenneth Stern, who drafted the definition, has warned its adoption is “a disaster” that is being “weaponised to go after Pro-Palestinian speech… and blind us to how antisemitism actually works.” NSW Supreme Court Justice Desmond Fagan has…
Jewish Council Calls on Australian Government to Demand Release of Gaza Doctor Whose Life Is in Immediate Danger in Israeli Detention
MEDIA RELEASE 09 July 2026 The Jewish Council of Australia is calling on the Australian Government to publicly demand the immediate release of Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital. Earlier this week, his lawyer and the Israeli human rights organisation Physicians for Human Rights Israel (PHRI) warned Dr. Abu Safiya’s…
Jewish Council condemns Israel’s deliberate targeting of children as UN inquiry reaffirms genocide finding
MEDIA RELEASE 24 June 2026 The Jewish Council of Australia condemns Israel’s actions in the strongest terms and urges country-level sanctions from the Australian government, following the release overnight of another independent inquiry that has found Israel is deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza. The conclusions of the report reinforce earlier findings that Israel is…
Jewish Council of Australia submission urges Royal Commission to reject conflation of antisemitism with Palestine advocacy and focus on far-right threat to Jewish safety
MEDIA RELEASE 16 June 2026 The Jewish Council of Australia’s submission to the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion, representing the voices of over 2,500 progressive Jewish people in Australia, has been published today. The submission urges the Commission to reject definitions and approaches to addressing antisemitism that conflate it with criticism of Israel,…
Jewish Council demands country-level sanctions as West Bank settler outposts targeted
The Jewish Council of Australia has acknowledged the federal government’s expansion of human rights sanctions against extremist Israeli settlers, but warns that targeting isolated individuals and outposts fails to address the state infrastructure driving the violence. Today’s designations, covering the farming outposts of Moshe’s Farm, Meitarim Farm, Neria’s Farm and Zvi’s Farm, together with Ben…
Jewish Council condemns attempts to cancel Israel-critical Jews at Limmud Oz, stands with Jacob Sacher
The Jewish Council of Australia condemns the decision by Jewish communal organisations Adamama and Shalom to pull out of a partnership with Limmud Oz, because of the programming of progressive Jewish comedian, Jacob Sacher, for his affiliation with the Jewish Council of Australia and Palestine advocacy. The Council views the collapse of this collaboration as…
Jewish Council condemns degrading treatment of flotilla activists by far-right Israeli government minister
The Jewish Council of Australia has strongly condemned the actions of far-right Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir following the release of video footage depicting the humiliation of detained humanitarians. The Global Sumud Flotilla, which included 11 Australian citizens, was intercepted by Israeli naval forces in international waters for attempting to break the illegal blockade…
