NCJWA survey finds antisemitism widespread

The National Council of Jewish Women of Australia (NCJWA) on Wednesday revealed the alarming results of a national research survey of Jewish women’s lived experiences of antisemitism, finding 81 per cent of Jewish Australian women say that they or an immediate family member has experienced Jew hatred since October 7, 2023. Moreover, one in five Jewish women report that they or an immediate family member has been subject to physical violence or verbal abuse.

Other disturbing findings included: 69 per cent report accusations that they are “genocidal” because they self-identify as Jewish, Israeli or Zionist; 66 per cent say they have been blamed for the actions of the State of Israel or the IDF; 59 per cent encountered claims that Israel has no right to exist; 52 per cent heard claims that the October 7 attack on Israeli civilians was “justified” or did not occur; and 43 per cent encountered accusations that Jews are modern-day Nazis.

Concerning comments made by respondents included: “A nurse at a Queensland hospital screamed at me and said I didn’t deserve care because I’m Jewish,” “A manager at my work made fun of the rapes of Jewish women,” “I’ve had death threats on the phone, by email, and online,” and “Educators at my university question the Holocaust, and said that Yad Vashem (the Holocaust museum in Israel) has a pro-Jewish bias and so can’t be trusted.”

The NCJWA survey received 668 responses – 152 between July and August 2025 and 516 between December 2025 and mid-February 2026.

A NCJWA report stated, “Of those who responded to our survey after the Bondi massacre, almost all said they now actively managed their safety through vigilance, self-censorship or by adjusting behaviour.”

The report concluded, “This survey shows that antisemitism in Australia, as experienced by Jewish women and their children, is widespread, rather than marginal and episodic. Physical and verbal abuse, as well as explicit threats, are experienced in many domains, including schools, universities, workplaces, social settings and online. Alongside abuse directed at them, Jewish women describe social exclusion and institutional silence. Safety has become something to actively manage, not assume.”

The NCJWA released the results of the survey on the same day NCJWA vice-president Shirley Leader appeared before the Royal Commission.

Leader told the Commission, “We are exhausted,” and “We also know that our detractors are actually counting on that exhaustion and are hoping that we will pack up our bags and leave.”

She added, “But this is existential for us. This is about our ability to live our lives openly as Jewish women in Australia with the same rights as all other women, and so we will continue.”

Leader said that the antisemitism included “gendered aspects”, including the denial of Hamas’s sexual violence inflicted on Israeli women on October 7. “Jewish women have reported to us that they find this particularly harmful because another denial that they have seen has actually come from the women’s sector – so-called feminists in Australia who have sought not only to keep silent about the sexual assault of Israeli women but … to deny it and even to mock it.”

She told the Commission, “We see an intersection here between antisemitism and misogyny.”

Leader called for the end of government funding to “individuals, organisations, purveyors of hate”, and for stronger protections for Jewish women through the offices of the eSafety Commissioner and state-based Women’s Safety Commissioners.

NCJWA president Lynda Ben-Menashe also provided testimony to the Royal Commission last week stating, “We can’t focus on domestic violence right now, because we’ve got to work out how to deal with the hate speech and violence being directed to us right now. It is visceral now that our priority has to be protecting our children and holding our families together.”

Commenting on the survey results she said, “Throughout history we’ve seen that when Jewish citizens are targeted it’s a sign that social cohesion is fraying and fractured. The human rights protections a liberal democracy gives to minorities like Jews protect everyone … It’s vital that action is taken to ensure this protection extends to Jewish Australians, as much as it does to everyone else in this great country.”

To view the full report visit: tinyurl.com/yffaf3ps