Australia to chair the J7 group, taking helm of global antisemitism response

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has confirmed that Australia will assume the rotating chair of the J7 Task Force and also host the group’s next international summit later this year.

The J7 is a coalition of Jewish representative bodies from seven major diaspora communities, created in 2023 in response to escalating antisemitism worldwide.

ECAJ President Daniel Aghion KC described the timing of the J7’s formation as striking. “When J7 was established, none of us could have anticipated how timely and relevant it would become in so short a time,” he said.

The J7 includes Jewish community organisations from Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Argentina. Its creation predates the Hamas terror attacks of October 7, 2023, but its mission has taken on renewed urgency in the months since.

“It is rare for Australia to host international meetings of Jewish communities from multiple countries,” Aghion noted. “The J7 meeting at the end of 2025 will be an opportunity to showcase how J7 members, through their regular meetings over the last two years, have been sharing best practice ideas in legal and legislative responses to antisemitism; effective responses to online hate and harassment; school and public education that is specifically directed against antisemitism; and fighting antisemitism on campuses.”

Australia’s new leadership role follows a period of heightened concern at home. The most recent J7 Annual Report on Antisemitism, released during a press conference in Berlin, documented a 317 per cent rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia in 2024. This was the largest increase recorded among all member nations.

Alex Ryvchin, Co-Chief Executive Officer of the ECAJ, attended the recent Berlin meeting as Australia’s representative. He joined international Jewish leaders in presenting the findings of the report, which highlighted sharp increases in antisemitic incidents across all seven member countries. Ryvchin has been an outspoken critic of inadequate responses to antisemitism in Australia and has warned of serious consequences if the issue continues to escalate unchecked.

While the Berlin meeting drew global attention to the issue, ECAJ sees the upcoming summit in Australia as an opportunity to spotlight domestic efforts and contribute to global solutions. “The ECAJ is proud to be taking on the leadership role in J7,” Aghion said. “We feel sure that its work will be of great interest to the Jewish community and beyond.”

The J7 continues to call on governments worldwide to adopt the Global Guidelines for Countering Antisemitism, a new international framework that encourages stronger legal accountability, improved education systems and better protection of Jewish communities.