Rob Klein, Author at J-Wire

Civic vacuum helped fuel antisemitism, researcher states

Rob Klein — Tue, 16 Jun 2026 05:58:18 +0000

The rise in antisemitism since October 7, 2023 and the Bondi terror attack last December is not simply a security or legal problem. A new research paper argues it also reflects a decades-long collapse in civic education as well as shared national identity, and calls for major reforms to Australia’s school system. A Nation of […]

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Bondi memorial hears community chose pride over fear

Rob Klein — Mon, 15 Jun 2026 03:52:48 +0000

More than 200 members of Sydney’s Jewish community, together with victims’ families, survivors, first responders and supporters, gathered in the rain at Bondi Beach on Sunday night to mark six months since the December 14 terrorist attack that claimed 15 lives. The memorial service was held at Archer Park, the site of the Chanukah by […]

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Group of Eight report calls for stronger action against campus antisemitism

Rob Klein — Sat, 13 Jun 2026 23:48:29 +0000

Australia’s leading universities have been urged to give vice chancellors clearer authority to act quickly on antisemitism on campus, including by building direct relationships with senior police before crises arise. A report led by former chief scientist and former Monash University chancellor Dr Alan Finkel makes 21 recommendations to the Group of Eight on complaints, […]

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When fear takes hold, how do communities keep talking?

Rob Klein — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 08:03:14 +0000

Earlier this year, Rabbi Zalman Kastel had a personal encounter with some people that seemed to him to be antisemitic. His initial response was to feel very stirred up with a mix of fear and anger. On closer examination, he realised that they were teenagers, possibly drunk, and that they also exhibited the same behaviour […]

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Press Council upholds complaint over antisemitic cartoon

Rob Klein — Wed, 10 Jun 2026 00:05:10 +0000

The Australian Press Council upheld a complaint against The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age yesterday regarding a Cathy Wilcox cartoon published shortly after the Bondi Beach terrorist attack. The ruling determined that the image incorporated an antisemitic stereotype. The cartoon, titled “Grass roots”, was published on 7 January 2026, less than a month after […]

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Researchers race to crack the code of animal communication with AI

Rob Klein — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 23:18:10 +0000

Four research teams studying zebra finches, African striped mice, chimpanzees and bonobos have been shortlisted for a US$100,000 prize aimed at advancing two-way communication between humans and other species. The Coller Dolittle Challenge for Two-Way Interspecies Communication, run by the Jeremy Coller Foundation and Tel Aviv University, recognises research using non-invasive methods to understand how […]

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Has Limmud’s broad tent grown broader?

Rob Klein — Thu, 04 Jun 2026 06:43:51 +0000

This week, a 2011 statement by Limmud-Oz Sydney has resurfaced amid controversy over this weekend’s Limmud-Oz festival. This appears to raise questions about whether the organisation’s “broad tent” has grown broader when it comes to antizionism. In 2011, Limmud-Oz was considering giving a platform to Peter Slezak, a Jewish antizionist academic and supporter of the […]

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After Bondi, a daughter’s grief becomes a national mission

Rob Klein — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 06:49:55 +0000

Sheina Gutnick says Australia’s response to antisemitism must move from national hearings and public statements into local communities, where hatred is often first seen and where practical action can be taken. Her father, Reuven Morrison, was killed in the Bondi Beach Chanukah massacre while trying to stop the terrorists. Now, recently appointed as Combat Antisemitism […]

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WhatsApp billionaire’s $200m gift to transform Shaare Zedek hospital

Rob Klein — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 08:12:00 +0000

A record US$200 million gift from WhatsApp co-founder Jan Koum will help transform Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center. The donation from the Koum Family Foundation is one of the largest gifts ever made to an Israeli institution, the largest single donation to an Israeli hospital, and will support a facility that has treated about 2,000 […]

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Debra Messing tells JCA gala it’s time for Jews to be louder and prouder

Rob Klein — Mon, 01 Jun 2026 06:05:48 +0000

Actress Debra Messing has urged Sydney’s Jewish community to stand openly and proudly as Jews, telling JCA’s major campaign event that the answer to antisemitism is not silence but courage, unity and identity. The Emmy Award-winning actress, producer and activist was the guest of honour at the event, held at Randwick Racecourse on Sunday, 31 […]

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