{"id":56271,"date":"2026-07-22T21:14:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T21:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/56271\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T21:14:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T21:14:19","slug":"royal-commission-told-jewish-camp-kids-feared-being-murdered-in-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/56271\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal Commission told Jewish camp kids feared being \u2018murdered in sleep\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jewish kids at a youth summer camp were \u201ccrying because they were scared that someone was going to come and murder them in their sleep\u201d following the Bondi terror attack, while Jews in wheelchairs suffered physical assaults in antisemitic incidents in Melbourne in 2024, the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion<\/a> has heard.<\/p>\n

A Jewish youth camp leader from Sydney in her early 20s detailed the sharp contrast between the nature of the camps and activities she attended with the same youth movement group growing up compared with now.<\/p>\n

The camp leader \u2013 who gave evidence on Wednesday under a pseudonym \u2013 said children were no longer free to wear Jewish paraphernalia on their way to and from camps and other events, which these days mostly occurred behind security within the gates of a synagogue.<\/p>\n

She said groups used to host days at the pool, trips to the movies and picnics in parks, and kids would attend protests wearing the youth movement\u2019s identifying jerseys and participate in Clean Up Australia Day, but safety concerns <\/a>meant those kinds of events in public places could no longer take place.<\/p>\n

The camp leader said children in the group had disclosed \u201ca lot of really traumatic experiences\u201d that had happened at their non-Jewish schools, and it was \u201cheartbreaking\u201d that students often didn\u2019t understand that the antisemitic treatment they received was not OK.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne instance was on a recent camp a year 12 student shared with me that upon receiving her school captaincy, her photograph was photoshopped by her peers to have payot (sideburns that Orthodox Jewish men wear) and \u2018Jew Jew Jew\u2019 written on it and it was circulated around the school,\u201d she said. \u201cThe school couldn\u2019t do anything about it because they couldn\u2019t find where it originated so they didn\u2019t know who to get in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

The camp leader spoke of the difficulties of a summer camp that took place shortly after the December Bondi Beach terror attack, where \u201cmany [children] who \u00adusually would just be homesick were suddenly crying because they were scared that someone was going to come and murder them in their sleep\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018Horrific\u2019 attacks<\/p>\n

Naomi Levin, CEO of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, gave evidence to the royal commission of \u201creally horrific incidents\u201d that took place on the streets of Melbourne\u2019s CBD during the weekly pro-Palestine protests.<\/p>\n

The worst, Ms Levin said, was in August 2024 when an anti-\u00adracism rally and pro-Palestine protesters clashed outside the Victorian parliament.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the worst day we have ever experienced here in Victoria for antisemitic incidents,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were Jewish individuals in wheelchairs who suffered physical assaults, there was a level of vitriol against Jewish people who were peacefully demonstrating that was outside what we\u2019d ever seen before, and there was a perception that police didn\u2019t step in and didn\u2019t do what was needed to be done, and that continued at future protests.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms Levin said government funding for security had, at different points in time, been \u201cmore dependent on the election cycle than the needs\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve seen over the past few years is very ad hoc funding. So after an incident there\u2019s an injection of funds but it all has to be spent in a pretty short space of time \u2026 or it can\u2019t be spent on particular needs, it has to be directed into one area,\u201d Ms Levin said.<\/p>\n

The royal commission also heard evidence from a Victoria Police commander that the force did not have \u201creliable\u201d data to draw on regarding the prevalence of antisemitic incidents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s our biggest issue … there are mechanisms to work through antisemitic incidents, but it\u2019s just not that reliable,\u201d acting commander Kelvin Gale of Victoria Police\u2019s crime and counter-terrorism group said of the available data.<\/p>\n

The force\u2019s assistant commissioner, Chris Gilbert, agreed that better data would be an \u201cadvantage\u201d but he said Victoria Police was in a \u201cvery strong position\u201d regarding its ability to assess risks to the Jewish community regardless.<\/p>\n

Read related topics:Israel<\/a>\"Lily<\/a><\/p>\n

Lily McCaffrey is a reporter in The Australian’s Melbourne bureau. You can email her at lily.mccaffrey@news.com.au<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jewish kids at a youth summer camp were \u201ccrying because they were scared that someone was going 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