There was a steep rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Australia after the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel, the commission was told.<\/p>\n
Most of the more than 50 people who gave evidence at the hearings said they never imagined facing such prolific anti-Semitism in Australia, a place where they had grown up feeling safe and accepted.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Peter Halasz says he was afraid to wear his Star of David in public amid rising anti-Semitism. (Dean Lewins\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n
Holocaust survivor Peter Halasz told the commission he was afraid to be recognised as Jewish for the first time since he had fled Nazi-occupied Hungary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI found myself, for the first time since childhood, afraid to wear my Star of David in public,\u201d Mr Halasz told the inquiry on Monday.<\/p>\n
A Jewish nurse described the terror of being admitted to hospital herself about the time footage emerged of two NSW health workers claiming they had killed Israeli citizens and would do it again.<\/p>\n
The woman said she had tried to hide her Jewish identity at the time, including cancelling kosher meals, but still feared she would be identified and targeted.<\/p>\n
Sheina Gutnick, the daughter of one of the victims of the Bondi attack, recounted being pointed at and called a \u201cf***ing terrorist\u201d while shopping with her baby before the mass shooting.<\/p>\n
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Sheina Gutnick says she was subjected to anti-Semitic abuse while shopping with her baby. (Dean Lewins\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n
Schools have been a hotbed for anti-Semitism, with students \u201cparroting\u201d what they were seeing online, one former high school teacher told the inquiry.<\/p>\n
A year 10 student told the inquiry Nazi salutes were directed at her while studying the Holocaust. Students had also thrown coins at her and asked if she would pick them up.<\/p>\n
Australia\u2019s special envoy to combat anti-Semitism, Jillian Segal, told the inquiry the fastest-growing form of anti-Semitism in Australia was the conflation of the actions of the Israeli government with Jewish people.<\/p>\n
Ms Segal said it was a \u201cfashionable\u201d form of anti-Semitism spread by online influencers, but one she believed could be combated with education.<\/p>\n
Jewish university student Mia Kline said she felt she had been \u201dput on trial\u201d for the actions of Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The 22-year-old said when she reported Jewish students feeling unsafe on campus, senior university leaders refused to act because there was a difference between what was \u201churtful\u201d and what was \u201chateful\u201d.<\/p>\n
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Jillian Segal says anti-Semitism has conflated the Israeli government\u2019s actions with Jewish people. (Dean Lewins\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n
\u201cNo senior university official would ever say to a student from any other minority community, no, what you\u2019re feeling is not actually suffering against your people,\u201d Ms Kline said.<\/p>\n
The commission will probe the intelligence and law enforcement response leading up to the attack, including what was known about the shooters and what was done with that information, in a second block of public hearings from May 25 to June 12.<\/p>\n
Those hearings will also explore security arrangements at the festival targeted in the attack and how intelligence about individuals is utilised and shared to inform decisions, including the granting of firearms licences.<\/p>\n
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