World Jewish leaders unite in Australia against rising hate

Jewish leaders from the world’s seven largest diaspora communities met in Sydney today for the first J7 Task Force Summit held in Australia warning that the sharp rise in antisemitism here is part of a wider global pattern.

This includes foreign state-linked attacks. Delegates said the trend now threatens Jewish communities and democratic life worldwide.

The J7 (Large Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism) brings together major Jewish organisations from Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States to coordinate responses to rising anti-Jewish hate. Leaders said the post-October 7 surge, sustained at historically high levels, and foreign state-linked terrorist activity in Australia mirror dynamics they are tracking across their own countries.

New figures show that antisemitic incidents in Australia remain at historically high levels, sitting at more than five times the average annual number recorded before October 7, 2023. Delegates said this aligns with what they are witnessing in their own countries.

The ADL’s Senior Vice President for International Affairs, Marina Rosenberg, said the pattern is now global.

“What is happening in Australia is not an exception; it should be a wake-up call,” she said. “Across North America, Europe and Latin America, we see unprecedented harassment, threats and incitement. When synagogues can be firebombed in Melbourne and Jews threatened in New York, London, Paris, Berlin, Buenos Aires and Toronto, this is a threat not only to Jewish safety but also to democratic stability.”

From Argentina, DAIA President Mauro Berenstein said the situation reflects a region-wide shift.

“We have seen hateful graffiti, physical attacks and threatening rhetoric,” he said. “These incidents do not happen in isolation. We stand in unwavering solidarity with the Australian Jewish community, who are dealing with their own rise in hostility.”

Australia’s representative, ECAJ President Daniel Aghion KC, said the environment has changed in worrying ways.

“Anti-Jewish racism has left the fringes and is spreading in universities, arts and culture, the health sector and workplaces,” he said. “In this climate, Jews have legitimate concerns for their safety and social wellbeing. Hosting the J7 in Australia has never been more important.”

From Canada, CIJA Senior Vice President Richard Marceau said their community has also faced escalating hostility.

“We have seen extremists glorify Hamas ‘martyrs’, attack Jewish and pro-Israel students, harass families and target synagogues,” he said. “This was never only about Israel’s actions in Gaza. It is about fear and division. Canada must stand with international partners to protect democratic life for everyone.”

CRIF Vice President Gérard Unger said the concerns heard in Sydney echo what is happening in France.

“The new figures from Australia are profoundly alarming,” he said. “They show a rise in serious aggression. Democracies must ensure that Jews can live safely, openly and freely in Australia, in France and everywhere.”

Representing Germany, Daniel Bottman said antisemitism has become embedded across multiple parts of society.

“Antisemitism now bridges the far left, the far right and Islamists,” he said. “It has taken root in mainstream life. The strain and exclusion felt after the attack on October 7 continue to affect our community. What Australian Jews are facing mirrors what we see in Germany.”

UK Board of Deputies President Phil Rosenberg said the United Kingdom is experiencing its own trauma.

“The attack on Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester, which claimed two lives, has shaken our community,” he said. “We share many of the same challenges as Australia. Antisemitism is not just a Jewish issue. It is a problem for society as a whole.”

From the United States, Betsy Korn, Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organisations, said the danger is interconnected across continents.

“When we face danger in one place, we face danger everywhere,” she said. “In the United States we are confronting the growing legitimisation of anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric, and we are seeing the same pattern globally, including here in Australia. Normalising hate speech leads directly to violence. We stand together with unity, resolve and an unwavering commitment to strengthening and defending the Jewish people.”

The Sydney meeting focused on how the seven communities can coordinate their responses to security threats, online mobilisation, university unrest, foreign state activity and the spillover of anti-Jewish sentiment into mainstream spaces.

Delegates said the purpose of the J7 is simple: the threats are shared across borders, so the response must be shared as well.