Australia's Royal Commission Hears Jewish Witnesses on Antisemitism Surge After Bondi Massacre

The public gallery's narrow benches fill with people from across Australia. They attend to testify, support friends, and offer comfort. They also come to listen.

In this small, quiet room, Australia confronts a violent modern form of ancient bigotry.

"The sharp spike in antisemitism that we've witnessed in Australia has been mirrored in other western countries and seems clearly linked to events in the Middle East," Commissioner Virginia Bell said on the first morning. "It's important that people understand how quickly those events can prompt ugly displays of hostility towards Jewish Australians simply because they're Jews: displays of hostility that are sometimes expressed in images and sentiments that can sometimes be traced back to the Middle Ages if not earlier."

The royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion was set up after December's Bondi massacre. Two antisemitic gunmen opened fire on Jews at a beachside Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people and injuring 40 others.

Witness Dina said, "The reality is, they came to kill us. We just weren't there. And it's living with that truth that makes it very hard to feel safe as a Jew in Australia."

She added that children internalize this reality. They hear antisemitism around them, see stickers and graffiti, and know about Bondi. Her eight-year-old daughter cried upon arriving in Bondi for dinner and said, "Now when I come to Bondi, I think about dying."

"The Australian Jewish community is living a very different reality to what I think the rest of the Australian community is living," Dina said.

Joshua Kirsh, who ran for the New South Wales Legislative Council, faced vitriolic antisemitic comments on his campaign ads, including "Fuck off you Zionist cunt." He heard conspiracy theories about Israel paying people to firebomb places in Australia and claims that the October 7 massacre was a false flag.

"I've had a lot of conversations with people in the Jewish community who are incredibly bright and talented and would be perfect fits to be more involved in politics in this country. But their view is that they can't bear the risk of receiving the kind of backlash I have received," Kirsh said.

Stephanie Cunio described how the word "Israel" is used as a demonized term. "If they say 'the Netanyahu government,' then I see it as a perpetrator of violence. But if they say 'Israel,' I see it as a country I love, that is my ancestral homeland."

She understands Palestinian Australians' views but objects when others casually demonize Israel.

In the first week of hearings, witnesses said they saw the Bondi atrocity coming. Their pre-massacre fears were real. One witness said, "Dead Jewish people don't need love; alive Jewish people need people to listen to us when we tell people we feel like history is repeating itself."

Bell, a former High Court justice, sits at a modest desk at the same level as witnesses, without robes.

Vic Alhadeff recounted an interfaith dialogue where counterparts stayed silent on antisemitism after October 7. In a one-on-one meeting, a senior member responded to his concerns by saying, "But look what's happening to the Palestinians in Gaza."

"You have to be made of stone not to care about what is happening to the Palestinians in Gaza. However, why are you holding me responsible?" Alhadeff replied. He noted that much antisemitism holds Jewish Australians accountable for Israeli government and IDF actions, despite having no agency.

Sheina Gutnick spoke of her family's history. Her grandparents hid their Judaism in the USSR. Her father, Reuben Morrison, fled Ukraine at 14 and found refuge in Australia. Bondi now carries a heavy weight after the massacre.

"Bondi holds many complicated and conflicting feelings for me," she said.

Nir Golan described an assault on Oxford Street. A man in military-style clothing shouted racial slurs like "dirty Jew," gave a Nazi salute, and made a gun gesture at his forehead. Golan recorded it, but police said a Nazi salute was not illegal, CCTV lacked audio, and they encouraged him to drop the case.

Bell questioned children about school antisemitism. She told one distressed schoolgirl, "You've done a bit of educating today."

Outside, police cars and armed officers stand guard. Witnesses undergo security screening and are escorted to the hearings.

An anonymous witness, descendant of Holocaust survivors, described a lost friendship after October 7. Protests seemed innocuous but led to harm. After Bondi on December 14, her friend texted love. She replied, "Dead Jewish people don't need love; alive Jewish people need people to listen to us when we tell them we feel like history is repeating itself."

Alex Ryvchin said families ask when to leave. "I completely understand those who are thinking about exit strategies and plan Bs." He will stay and fight.

Natalie Levy's daughter, one of two Jewish children at her school, sees swastikas and hears "Heil Hitler." Levy has been called "kike," "dirty Jew," "baby killer."

An anonymous parent said both older children came home saying they didn't want to be Jewish. They see vile social media comments on TikTok and Instagram like "We owe Hitler an apology" and hear school chants of "Jew, Jew, Jew."

On Wednesday, police arrested a man outside the commission wearing an antisemitic T-shirt merging Israel's flag with a swastika. It said, "Antisemitism, proud to be accused." He claimed ignorance of the hearings.

That day, a self-proclaimed neo-Nazi faced hate speech charges after a National Socialist Network protest at the New South Wales parliament. The banner read, "Abolish the Jewish Lobby."

Witnesses acknowledge international context, including attacks on Jews in the UK and US, West Bank settler violence, and Gaza suffering. They say Australia's debate fails to separate Sydney Jewish schoolchildren from Israeli policies.