Half surveyed reported antisemitism

Almost half of respondents to a national survey by Maccabi Australia reported witnessing or experiencing antisemitism in a sporting setting, with most incidents going unreported, the Royal Commission heard on Tuesday.

Maccabi Australia general manager David Goldman said the organisation surveyed its national database of about 17,000 members earlier this year and received 669 valid responses.

“47.7 per cent, just under one in two people, had either witnessed or experienced antisemitism,” Goldman said. “Of those … only 30 per cent had reported it, so we believe there’s a massive underrepresentation and underreporting.”

He said qualitative responses revealed a sharp rise in incidents after October 7, and described slurs directed at players as young as 10.

“We do hear slurs around ‘Hitler should have finished the job’,” Goldman said.