Commentary by ECAJ co-CEO Alex Ryvchin originally published in the Daily Telegraph on 11 December 2024.

The Jewish community again woke to scenes of terror and dev­ast­a­tion.

More burning cars and broken glass. Another act intended to terrorise us, drive us from our country and make our fellow Aus­trali­ans fearful of asso­ci­at­ing with us.

How long will this continue and with what horrors will it end?

We have been warning the country of this for some time.

Months before the October 7 atro­cit­ies, we reported that anti-Semitism in this country was already reaching historic highs.

The restric­tions and the isolation caused by the pandemic had revived con­spir­acy theories about Jews as spreaders of disease and prof­it­eers.

We had warned of the need to dispel the myths and to show the Aus­trali­an public who the Jewish people really are through deeper engage­ment and education.

Anti-Semitism did not suddenly appear in this society on October 7.

But it has been allowed to become a fact of life, visible in the scorched out synagogue, the graffiti, the street abuse, the exclusion, the boycotts and the threats.

The immediate response of gov­ern­ment was to meet our requests to secure vul­ner­able community facil­it­ies.

This is plainly necessary but we do not want to live behind walls and obser­va­tion towers and armed guards.

We don’t want to de-integrate from a society we adore and a country we have lived in since the First Fleet, a country we have helped build.

We have made our appeals to gov­ern­ment but today we appeal to our fellow Aus­trali­ans – stand with us. Support us. Don’t let those who hate our great country prevail.