Sharp focus on Victorian antisemitism
According to a breakthrough report, antisemitic incidents – including written and verbal abuse, graffiti and threats – peaked in 2020 and 2021.
For the first time, Victorians will have a better understanding of the nature and prevalence of antisemitism in their state. The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) and the Community Security Group Victoria (CSG) have partnered to publish the first Victorian Antisemitism Report.
According to the report, antisemitic incidents – including written and verbal abuse, graffiti and threats – peaked in 2020 and 2021. These years coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when Victoria’s Jewish community was collectively targeted, particularly following two highly publicised breaches of COVID-19 regulations. The report includes analysis of these events and the antisemitism that arose.
It also includes a comprehensive table of recent antisemitic incidents. Notable in this list is the range of locations – incidents are recorded across Victoria, from Richmond to Mount Martha.
Among incidents reported were threatening antisemitic letters sent to a Jewish organisation, Jewish youths at a scout camp told to “go gas yourselves”, and graffiti on a St Kilda tram stop accusing Jewish people of abusing children.
The report draws its data from the national antisemitism report compiled annually by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) based on incidents reported to CSG. This first edition of the Victorian Antisemitism Report analyses incidents from 2019 to early 2023. Future reports will cover data on an annual basis.
“The Australian Jewish community has been fortunate that the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has, for so many years, collated an annual report on antisemitism at a national level,” said JCCV president Daniel Aghion.
“The national report is an indispensable resource that has given us the opportunity to best understand the challenge we face, but also to efficiently and effectively direct community effort and resources.
“What we have been missing in Victoria though, is analysis of antisemitism at a local level. This first edition of the Victorian Antisemitism Report fills this gap.”
CSG Victoria CEO Justin Kagan said his organisation has a clear definition of an antisemitic incident, which provides for effective data collection.
“The CSG defines an antisemitic incident as any malevolent act directed towards individuals, organisations or properties associated with the Jewish community,” Kagan explained. “Such acts are considered antisemitic if there is evidence of their motivation or content being rooted in antisemitism, or if the victim was specifically targeted due to their Jewish identity or perceived Jewishness.”
Aghion concluded, “The JCCV and CSG Victoria are pleased to work together to produce this report and together encourage policy makers, law enforcement, human rights leaders and our community to read this report carefully. Together we can create an evidence-based plan to prevent further incidents through education, a stronger legal framework and steadfast leadership.”
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