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In brief
- The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion has heard from Jewish Australians about their experiences.
- The inquiry has heard that many Jewish Australians feel the need to hide their identity in public.
The normalization of antisemitism and the subsequent silence in response to attacks on their community have left Jewish Australians feeling deeply disheartened, as revealed during a recent inquiry. This was highlighted during the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion’s second day of public hearings, where evidence was presented on the increasing daily harassment of Jews, particularly in the wake of the October 7, 2023, assault on Israel by Hamas.
Nir Golan shared an incident where he fell victim to such hostility while wearing his kippah, a traditional Jewish head covering. While on Sydney’s Oxford Street during a bustling weekday afternoon, he recounted being confronted and verbally assaulted by a man.
The aggressor hurled racial insults like “dirty Jew,” mimicked Nazi salutes, and gestured as if holding a gun to Golan’s head. The distressing encounter unfolded over a brief minute or two, as Golan relayed to the inquiry.
In a disheartening twist, only one individual—a tourist from the United States—stepped in to help, and was unfortunately attacked themselves during the attempt, according to Golan.
Only one person, an American tourist, attempted to intervene and was assaulted in the process, Golan said.
“It was in broad daylight, there were many people around,” he said.
After the man left, Golan said he broke down, started shaking uncontrollably and crying.
“No one came to aid, no one came to help, no one came to do anything,” he said.
The incident was reported to police but Golan said he was told a lack of CCTV footage meant there was little they could do.
He still wears his kippah, but now covers it up with a baseball cap.
Many other instances of antisemitism reported to the inquiry were described as “casual”, often including references to Jewish stereotypes.
Casual anti-Semitic incidents may seem minor compared to physical violence, but they painted a broader picture of how prevalent the beliefs were, Lea Levy said.
On one occasion, a colleague told her a company owned by South African Jews didn’t want to purchase an asset because they were “stingy”.
Other experiences pertained to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza, which followed the Hamas attack, and Jewish Australians being called “baby killers” and “genocide lovers”.
Afraid to wear Star of David in public
Businessman Peter Halasz says for the first time since the holocaust, he was afraid to be recognised as Jewish in public after the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7.
Halasz was born in Budapest a month after the start of World War II, but would survive and make it to Australia, going on to found swimwear giant Seafolly with his wife and fellow Jewish refugee Yvonne Halasz.
“What is happening in Australia today is not a faint echo of a distant past,” Halasz said.
Forced into hiding during the Nazi occupation of Hungary, Halasz’s mother risked everything on 15 December, 1944, when she went to visit her father for his birthday at a separate apartment hideout.
”She kissed me goodbye and that was the last time I saw her. I was five years old,” Halasz said.
While Halasz’s mother was visiting her parents, the Hungarian Nazis raided the building, took all the Jews down to the banks of the Danube River and shot them.
Growing up in an environment where being Jewish was something to be hidden, Halasz said coming to Australia was the first time he felt comfortable being openly Jewish.
But he was not prepared for the way in which the country changed after the October 7 attacks, with Jewish businesses and schools targeted and the community feeling under threat.
“I found myself, for the first time since childhood, afraid to wear my Star of David in public,” he said.
“I found myself for the first time since I fled Hungary feeling that my identity was something I should hide.”
Mr Halasz was far from alone in feeling afraid of the future should antisemitism continue.
The commission’s initial hearing block will run until May 15.
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