Melbourne families are migrating to Israel over continual anti-Semitic abuse in Australia.
Benjamin Klein, who sits on the board of Melbourne’s Adass Israel Synagogue which was firebombed in December 2024, said “good Aussie people” were leaving because of hatred.
Giving evidence on Tuesday, Mr Klein said some Jewish Australian families see Israel as safer than Australia.
“There’s two people from my son’s class who have picked themselves up and moved to Israel. Those stories never used to happen. We never heard of that,” he said.
“Growing up, people were proud to live in Melbourne. They were part of the Australian community. But now there’s good Aussie people picking up themselves up and moving to Israel.
“And it’s weird because if you think to yourself, Israel is not necessarily a safe place, there’s lots going on there and there’s these wars … it’s quite a scary place, but they’re still picking themselves up from Melbourne and moving to Israel,” Mr Klein said.
The Royal Commission on anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion resumed its fifth block of hearings on Tuesday, with this week focused on security measures in the Jewish community.
The ultra orthodox Jewish Australian community has seen a marked increase in anti-Semitic abuse since the end of 2023, Mr Klein said.
The Adass synagogue could well be the busiest in the southern hemisphere, Mr Klein told the commission, but many devotees still did not feel safe.
“You have to think to yourself, why are people doing that (leaving for Israel)? Why are rational, successful accountants, lawyers, doctors picking themselves up and moving to Israel? “And the answer is they just don’t feel safe. They just don’t feel self safe.” Mr Klein said.
The December 2024 firebombing is subject to an ongoing criminal court case, so details of the incident were not discussed at the royal commission.
The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation has previously revealed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ordered the firebombing.
Anti-Jewish hate causing brain drain, inquiry hears
Rabbi of Central Synagogue Sydney, Rabbi Levi Wolff, said Australia is losing highly skilled citizens amid heightened anti-Semitism.
Rabbi Wolff was asked if the synagogue had seen families leave Sydney recently; he said “many, many families” had “brought properties and apartments in Israel”.
Counsel assisting the royal commission, Richard Lancaster SC, did not ask Rabbi Wolff to clarify his response.
“I’m saddened that Australia is losing people who wanted nothing more than to build their life and to build and contribute to this beautiful country,” Rabbi Wolff said.
“I read an article a few weeks ago of a group of 100 doctors, 100 Jewish doctors, who came together to talk about plans of leaving this country.
“Australia isn’t just losing Jewish doctors. They’re losing people who contribute to make this place what it is. We’re looking for doctors in this country losing professionals and business owners, community builders.”
The Central Synagogue has been doing surveys of members to gauge and collate anti-Semitic incidents.
“I’m quoting all this from their response; ‘I declined to put my religion on my admission form at a time when I felt most vulnerable and at the mercy of others, I felt the need to shield myself by not openly identifying as a Jew’.”
Another respondent felt unsafe putting a religious symbol above their front door.
“In Australia, no one should have to have courage to simply place a symbol of their faith on the doorpost of their very own home,” he said.
The vilification of Jewish Australians, Rabbi Wolff said, was an insult to hundreds of years of history.
“If we want Australians to stand with the Jewish community, they must first understand the Jewish community. Jews have been part of this country since the First Fleet in 1788. They have served in our armed forces and thousands have paid the ultimate price.
“Jews have built and advanced medicine and law, science, education and philanthropy. We are a tiny community, but one that has always sought to contribute far more than our size.
“And that is why I remain, commissioner, very optimistic. I’m optimistic because I’ve now lived here almost 30 years and I’ve experienced extraordinary decency and fairness and generosity from normal great Aussies.”
Rabbi Wolff said since October 2023, many Jewish Australians felt the need to justify their right to live here.
“Imagine having to walk around and get abused in the street for just being a member of a faith.”
When Rabbi Wolff visits family back in New York, he says Jews in the US are shocked at the state of affairs in Australia.
“Over the last three and a half years, I cannot tell you, commissioner, how many comments people tell me as soon as I say I’m from Australia, the first thing is ‘what’s going on in Australia, what’s happened to Australia?’
“It is such a shock for people in the States to hear of the level of anti-Semitism that exists in this country. It’s a very sad reality.”
Commissioner Virginia Bell asked Rabbi Wolff whether “people who are protesting, on behalf of Palestinians’ right to self-determination, are not expressing a value that is inconsistent with Australian values?”
Rabbi Wolff said: “I often hear people say, I’m not anti-Jewish. I’m simply anti-Zionist. And in the same breath, in the same breath, they deny the Jewish people’s spiritual, historical and indigenous connection to their ancestral land.
“To me, it’s almost like saying I’m not racist against Aboriginal Australians; I absolutely love you, I just simply don’t believe that you have any cultural or historical connection to this land.”
The Rabbi also equated criticism of the Israeli regime with intimidation of Australian Jews.
“When crowds march through the streets of Sydney and Melbourne and everywhere else in this beautiful country and chant, ‘Death to Israel, death to the IDF’, Jewish Australians do not hear a nuanced political debate,” he said.
“They hear threats directed to their families and to their communities, and hatred expressed in the streets rarely stays in the streets.
“Hatred spreads into classrooms, it spreads into universities, into workplaces where people in my community have to think twice about wearing a Star of David when they go to work.”
The Rabbi then drew a link between these attitudes and the Bondi Beach terror attack.
“Words shape culture and culture shapes behaviour. And behaviour left unchecked becomes violent. And I saw that on the streets and on the beaches of Bondi. So if it’s left unchecked, there are 15 beautiful souls that are unfortunately not here today.”
More to come
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