Joint statement from Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBOD), Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV), Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA), National Council of Jewish Women of Australia (NCJWA), and The Dor Foundation (Dor).

Together we represent Australia’s main­stream Jewish communal organ­isa­tions at both national and state level and have appointed Arnold Bloch Leibler (ABL), working with counsel, to represent us before the Royal Com­mis­sion on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.

This Royal Com­mis­sion was estab­lished in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on the Aus­trali­an Jewish community in Bondi, Sydney, in which 15 innocent people were killed. That event laid bare the human cost of hatred and the con­sequences of ever-rising antisemitism.

Since October 7, 2023, Jewish Aus­trali­ans have been subjected to more visible, more vocal and ever more brazen antisemitic attacks.

We have endured fire­bomb­ing, har­ass­ment, doxxing, attacks on syn­agogues, threats against community insti­tu­tions and a sharp escal­a­tion in antisemitic incidents and hate speech. Just this weekend, we witnessed a vehicle ramming attack on a synagogue in Brisbane. These events are not distant or his­tor­ic­al – they are unfolding in real time and have created a climate in which many Jewish Aus­trali­ans feel less secure than ever before.

Antisemitism is not an abstract issue. It affects Jewish families, schools, places of worship and community life. It shapes whether people feel safe wearing a Star of David, parents feel com­fort­able sending their children to Jewish schools, or members of the community can meet with con­fid­ence.

Jewish Aus­trali­ans seek the same freedom and security that every Aus­trali­an expects. We do not seek, but need, armed guards outside our schools and syn­agogues. We do not want to hide who we are just to be part of Aus­trali­an society.

The aspir­a­tion is simple: to live freely and openly as Jews in Australia.

History offers a sobering warning. Societies that have tolerated antisemitism have rarely escaped lasting damage to their civic fabric. When prejudice against Jews goes unchal­lenged, it has been an early warning sign of broader social fracture and demo­crat­ic decline. Antisemitism must be under­stood as an attack on the pluralism that defines modern Australia.

Arnold Bloch Leibler has been retained to assist its clients to engage com­pre­hens­ively, con­struct­ively and respons­ibly with the Royal Com­mis­sion. This includes providing such sup­port­ing evidence as the Com­mis­sion requires including accounts of antisemitism in Australia and the lived exper­i­ence of those directly affected.

ABL will undertake this work on a pro bono basis and will not charge any fees, reflect­ing its long­stand­ing com­mit­ment to com­batting antisemitism and racism, and to pre­serving the dignity and human rights of all Aus­trali­ans.

The work of the Royal Com­mis­sion is important not only for Jewish Aus­trali­ans but for the strength, safety, cohesion and unity of our nation as a whole.