Stop waiting for it to pass. It won’t.

Last week should have put to rest any lingering hope that what we are seeing is temporary, exaggerated or confined to the margins. It is not.

What unfolded across politics, public commentary and the cultural space was not a series of isolated incidents, but a clear reflection of where things now stand for Jewish Australians and for those who support Israel.

There is a tendency in our community to treat each moment as separate. A comment here, a protest there, another public figure saying something reckless, another institution crossing a line. We respond, we condemn, we document, and then we move on.

Last week showed why that approach no longer works.

The Prime Minister’s visit to Lakemba for Eid should not have been controversial in itself. Engagement with communities is part of leadership. But what happened there matters. Being publicly labelled a genocide supporter was not just an insult aimed at one individual. It reflected a narrative that has taken hold in parts of public discourse, one that distorts reality and frames Israel in the most extreme terms.

What was more concerning was the lack of a clear and immediate rejection of that claim. When language like that is allowed to pass without firm challenge, it does not remain at the edges. It begins to settle into the mainstream. Once that happens, it does not stop with Israel. It extends to anyone associated with it, and very often to Jews more broadly.

At the same time, last week again exposed the depth of the double standard being applied when it comes to Israeli victims. Claims that the sexual violence of October 7 was somehow fabricated or debunked are not supported by the evidence, yet they continue to be repeated. More troubling still is what those claims represent. The same voices that insist, rightly, that survivors must be believed and supported are willing to abandon those principles entirely when the victims are Israeli.

That inconsistency is not incidental. It reflects a broader willingness to treat Jewish suffering differently, to question it more readily, and to dismiss it more easily when it does not align with a preferred narrative.

The cultural sphere offered another example. The controversy surrounding the Biennale once again highlighted how comfortable some institutions have become in presenting a one-dimensional and highly selective portrayal of Israel. This is not about avoiding criticism. Israel, like any democracy, is open to scrutiny. The issue is that criticism has increasingly given way to something narrower, where context disappears, complexity is ignored, and Israel is repeatedly positioned as uniquely illegitimate.

That framing shapes perception, and it does so in ways that contribute to a wider environment in which hostility to Israel becomes normalised and, in some cases, spills over into hostility towards Jewish Australians.

All of this is unfolding while much of the community is focused on preparing submissions to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. That focus is understandable and important. StandWithUs Australia is also preparing a submission, and it is essential that the Commission hears clearly and comprehensively about what Jewish Australians have been experiencing.

However, it would be a mistake to treat that process as the central solution.

A Royal Commission can document, investigate, and recommend. It can help establish a record and inform future responses. But it cannot address, in real time, the challenges being faced by Jewish students in classrooms, on campuses and online. It cannot equip young people with the confidence and knowledge they need to respond to what they are encountering every day.

That is why education and advocacy must sit alongside the Commission process, because they are the areas where we are most likely to see real, immediate outcomes.

Our community needs to ensure that the next generation is equipped not only with an understanding of the issues but with the confidence to engage with them. That means a clear grasp of what happened on October 7, an understanding of Israel’s history and the current conflict, and the ability to recognise and respond to the narratives being used to distort both.

It also means fostering a sense of pride. Pride in being Jewish. Pride in supporting Israel. Pride strong enough to withstand pressure and not be diminished by a climate that is, at times, openly hostile.

The lesson from last week is not simply that the environment has become more challenging. It is that waiting for it to improve on its own is not a strategy. The tone of public discourse has shifted. The standards being applied are inconsistent. And too often, those in positions of influence are either contributing to the problem or failing to address it.

Submissions to the Royal Commission are necessary. They will play an important role in documenting what has taken place. But they are only part of the response.

The broader task is education, advocacy, and preparation. To ensure that our young people are informed, confident and resilient. To give them the tools not just to navigate this environment, but to stand firm within it.

Because what last week made clear is that this is not a passing phase.

And if that is the case, then our focus must be not only on recording the challenge, but on meeting it.