Melbourne Jews: living with rising antisemitism

“When we look at Auschwitz, we see the end of the process. It’s important to remember that the Holocaust actually did not start from gas chambers. This hatred gradually developed from words, stereotypes and prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanisation and escalating violence.”

These words were shared in a social media post by the education team at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Poland and they deeply resonate with Melbourne’s Jewish community today.

Since October 7, 2023, the day of the Hamas attacks on Israel, Melbourne has experienced a worrying escalation in antisemitism. What started as a conflict overseas has fuelled a wave of local hostility that has left many of us within the Jewish community feeling concerned and exposed. In the months since, antisemitic incidents have become more visible, more aggressive and alarmingly common.

Victoria has reported a surge in the number of antisemitic incidents, with over 550 cases recorded in 2024 alone. These range from verbal abuse and vandalism to threats and acts of violence. In one of the most shocking attacks, a synagogue in Ripponlea was firebombed with community members inside. Around the same time, a Rabbi’s home in St Kilda was vandalised. The East Melbourne Synagogue was also targeted in a frightening arson attack and on the same evening, the Israeli restaurant Miznon was vandalised by a loud and angry mob of protesters, intimidating staff and patrons. Antisemitic graffiti, including hateful messages such as “Jew die” have been spray-painted on the gates of Jewish schools and community venues, creating an atmosphere of fear across the community.

During a recent school excursion, Year 5 students from Mount Scopus Memorial College were verbally abused by high school students from Gladstone Park Secondary College, singled out simply for being Jewish. In a separate incident, Maccabi junior soccer players were harassed and insulted during a match in Dandenong, with antisemitic slurs shouted from the sidelines from players, parents and even a coach. These incidents are not just distressing, they leave deep emotional scars, particularly on our children.

Jewish-owned businesses across Melbourne have faced intimidation through boycotts, threats, and vandalism. On university campuses, Jewish students have been harassed and often feel unwelcome. Over the past year, I’ve reconnected with several former students I taught in high school who are now studying at university. They have told me they no longer feel comfortable attending lectures in person, opting to participate in their studies online whenever possible.

Neo-Nazi groups, radicalised extremists, and far-left activists openly march through the CBD on a weekly basis, performing Nazi salutes and displaying hate filled banners promoting intolerance and division. Flyers filled with antisemitic propaganda have appeared in Jewish neighbourhoods, while social media continues to be a breeding ground for abuse, threats, and coordinated harassment campaigns.

This climate of hate has also reached my own family. My husband has been subjected to antisemitism with hateful comments targeting our faith and identity appearing beneath his business advertisements. It was deeply confronting to see such vitriol expressed so publicly.

My grandmother used to tell me about her memories of Kristallnacht (the Night of Broken Glass) in Germany in 1938, when Nazi-led mobs attacked Jewish homes, businesses, and synagogues. For her, it was the moment everything changed, as fear and uncertainty replaced the life she once knew. Her childhood in Germany seems worlds apart from the calm and happiness I knew growing up in Melbourne. Sadly, that sense of security is shifting.

Melbourne’s Jewish community has long been woven into the fabric of this city. We are proud Australians. We are educators, business owners, doctors, artists, parents, children and neighbours. We deserve to live, speak, celebrate and pray without fear. Antisemitism doesn’t just harm Jews; it chips away at the decency of society as a whole. And now, as hatred rises again in plain sight, we must ask: will we be the generation that allows it to grow unchecked, or the one that finally says never again?

Natalie Flamm is a Melbourne school teacher.