Survey reveals community fears
QJBD president Jason Steinberg said, 'The impact after October 7, 2023 has got worse for Queensland Jews.
A new survey of the Queensland Jewish community has revealed widespread fear and reluctance to report incidents amongst escalating antisemitism.
The release of the survey findings coincided with the inaugural Mayors Summit Against Antisemitism held last week on the Gold Coast, bringing national attention to local challenges facing Queensland’s geographically dispersed Jewish population.
Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies president Jason Steinberg said, “The impact after October 7, 2023 has got worse for Queensland Jews.
“We’re getting a report about antisemitism every second day, whether that be graffiti or someone being abused at school or at the workplace.”
The survey revealed that a significant number of respondents were hesitant or unwilling to report antisemitic incidents because they believed nothing meaningful would happen in response.
Steinberg cited as examples community concerns about public displays such as “people chanting Intifada on our streets” and signs saying “from the river to the sea,” which the community views as “a genocidal claim against us.”
Despite these concerns, Queensland Police have been actively enforcing the new antisemitism laws which were introduced in October 2024, making hatred and the display of Nazi swastikas criminal offences.
Steinberg highlighted several recent prosecutions, including a Townsville incident where “a woman chased after an Israeli backpacker with a shovel” and was subsequently arrested and charged.
Police also acted against someone in Brisbane’s southern suburbs who displayed a digital display on their window that was calling for the death of Jews.
“The Queensland Police have been wonderful in finding and bringing charges against individuals,” Steinberg said.
The survey found that the majority of Queensland Jews have experienced antisemitism, creating a climate where community members don’t feel safe displaying religious symbols.
“People don’t feel that they can show their Magen David or wear a kippah, and we want it to stop,” Steinberg said.
Queensland’s Jewish community faces unique challenges due to its small size and geographic spread, stretching from Cairns to Coolangatta and out west to Mount Isa.
While the main populations are in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, the survey captured responses from isolated Jews in Townsville, Rockhampton and other centres without established Jewish communities.
“We’ve got a small and active CSG, but again, much smaller” than Sydney or Melbourne communities, Steinberg noted, referring to Community Security Group resources.
The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies is calling for federal implementation of the antisemitism envoy’s action plan and state adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism.