A wave of antisemitic attacks has left Jewish Australians shaken, a community leader said on Monday, as a royal commission turns its attention to security arrangements.
A Jewish leader has described a growing sense of unease after a wave of attacks left the community shaken to its core.
Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies president Jason Steinberg was among several witnesses who appeared at the royal commission’s public hearing on Monday.
He described a “curve” of escalating hostility since October 2023, including a ramming attack on a Brisbane synagogue in February.
Mr Steinberg said the growing number of attacks had dwarfed all previous antisemitism statistics gathered by his organisation.
“It has created a sense of unease,” he said.
“It’s a curve that starts with a very low level of antisemitism and then increases to physical attacks, including a major attack on our main synagogue, where a car rammed the front gates, narrowly missing passers-by and congregants.
“That shook our community to its core, knowing that we can be targeted in that way.”
He also described another incident at a small Brisbane bookshop where musician Deborah Conway appeared in April 2024. During the event, he said anti-Israel protesters began banging on the windows, sending “shockwaves” through a community that includes descendants of Holocaust survivors.
Mr Steinberg said it was a harrowing experience for those who attended.
On Monday, the commission heard that the community’s security obligations had doubled since 2023.
Volunteers with the Community Security Group’s Victorian branch said they had provided more than $9 million worth of security at Jewish events in 2025.
The group’s paid staff and volunteers liaise with the Jewish community and law enforcement agencies to protect schools, religious sites and community events across Australia.
Its budget has tripled since Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attacks on Israel to meet increased demand from community events and synagogues requiring a security presence, the commission heard.
“The pressure has been immense on all of our staff and volunteers,” said the witness, who spoke under a pseudonym.
Another witness, also speaking under a pseudonym, said her daughter volunteered with the group and carried extraordinary responsibility.
She recalled meeting a Jewish friend at a community event who left after learning there was no security.
“We’re sitting ducks,” she said.
The royal commission was called after 15 people were killed and dozens more injured when two gunmen opened fire at a Chanukah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on December 14.
By: Allanah Sciberras and Eleanor Wilson/AAP