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<\/p>\nA Perth teenager was bullied on the online worldbuilding game Minecraft because he was Jewish, a royal commission on antisemitism has heard.<\/p>\n
The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion is in its second week of public hearings and has heard from people with a lived experience of abuse.<\/p>\n
A family of three gave evidence using a pseudonym on Monday, with the 15-year-old boy telling the inquiry students from his Perth public school directed Jewish slurs at him while playing Minecraft.<\/p>\n
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The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has begun its sixth day of hearings. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)<\/p>\n
The boy took screenshots of a number of the comments, which included: “I hate Jews” and comments which called him a “filthy penny sniffer”.<\/p>\n
“It made my stomach turn upside down,” the boy said of the comments.<\/p>\n
He told his parents of the incident after he felt the situation had “got out of hand”.<\/p>\n
“I’ve got no friends left,” he said he told his parents.<\/p>\n
The boy’s dad said he had been “furious” to learn of the incident, and reported the behaviour to his son’s school.<\/p>\n
He told the commission the school was “extremely supportive” and spoke to the students involved in the abuse and their parents.<\/p>\n
He said the students eventually apologised for their comments.<\/p>\n
‘Horrifying’ cartoon of Jewish group leader<\/p>\n
According to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), there was a 316 per cent increase in antisemitic incidents between 2023 and 2024.<\/p>\n
That number dropped by 19 per cent between 2024 and 2025, with more than 1,600 antisemitic incidents recorded by ECAJ last year.<\/p>\n
ECAJ research director Julie Nathan told the commission an incident that had multiple victims, such as the Bondi terror attack, was only counted once.<\/p>\n
She said not all anti-Israel incidents or comments were counted as antisemitic events.<\/p>\n
“If they are saying that Israel as the state of the Jewish people should be destroyed, I consider that to be antisemitic,” she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Nathan said anti-Israel comments, placards or graffiti which included Nazi analogies were also considered antisemitic.<\/p>\n
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Ms Nathan recalled to the commission her personal experience with antisemitism. (ABC NewS: Liam Patrick)<\/p>\n
She said she had also been targeted by antisemitic abuse, with the commission shown a caricature of Ms Nathan with curly hair, makeup and the words: “Julie simply desires to be filled with Aryan seed.”<\/p>\n
“It was horrifying,” Ms Nathan said.<\/p>\n