\u201cNazi style slurs\u201d are being hurled at children<\/a> in schools that now look more like prisons due to increased security concerns in the wake of Hamas\u2019 attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. <\/p>\nConway, a Jewish Australian, told the commission several of her shows have been pulled over the last few years, claiming an Australian actor, who she did not name inside the hearing, had sent letters to venues stating \u201cDeborah Conway is a self-confessed Zionist and a supporter of genocide\u201d. <\/p>\n
The letters also allegedly included words to the effect that if they were to platform her \u201cyou are complicit in genocide\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think some of the venues found that incredibly disturbing and they pulled back,\u201d Conway said.<\/p>\n
Conway revealed the name of the actor she has accused of running the campaign while speaking outside the hearing, however NewsWire has chosen not to name the woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe signed her name very boldly and openly and she was proud of the letter she had written,\u201d Conway claimed outside the hearing on Monday.<\/p>\n
Conway also detailed how in another instance, 70 people wearing balaclavas rocked up to a venue hitting pots and pans together, and said if they went ahead with one of Conway\u2019s shows \u201cwe will make sure that we turn up with 300 people, and we will make sure that business is very hard for you\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cSo they pulled it, which I don\u2019t blame them \u2014 I would too,\u201d Conway said.<\/p>\n
The musician also copped a flurry of online abuse after she and a group of about 600 Jewish creatives were doxxed in February 2024. <\/p>\n
\u201cI hope your entire family dies in an air strike and you have limbs amputated without aesthetics \u2014 I assume he means anaesthetics,\u201d Conway read to the commission on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope that after this happens you have no access to clean bandages, antibiotics or food.\u201d<\/p>\n
Anti-Zionism a \u2018genocidal impulse\u2019<\/p>\n
Conway described anti-Zionism as a \u201cgenocidal impulse\u201d, telling the hearing that \u201cwhen people chant from the river to the sea \u2026 that is a call to end the entity of Israel\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI want there to be peace, I want there to be a two-state solution, I want everyone to just relax. Let everyone eat their hummus and get on with it,\u201d Conway said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut unfortunately \u2026 we\u2019re not living in the land of unicorns and rainbows.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said she can\u2019t bear the idea of young artists who are being targeted and vilified for believing Israel should be allowed to exist.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s their crime, and that\u2019s a crime that I think is completely beyond the pale,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they say Zionism equals Nazism \u2026 genocide \u2026 and then they end up with a sign that goes in the bin.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re throwing us all in the bin. It\u2019s not going to end well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Larger than life\u2019: Tribute to slain Rabbi <\/p>\n
The father of a 14-year-old who survived the Bondi attack with bullet wounds paid tribute to Rabbi Eli Schlanger who died in the Bondi attack on December 14 last year.<\/p>\n
The speaker was present at the Chanukah by the Sea event where two gunmen allegedly opened fire, killing fifteen people. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe was so happy, it was an amazing event \u2018til the minute before,\u201d the man said. <\/p>\n
He described Mr Schlanger as \u201clarger than life\u201d and \u201can amazing human being\u201d who was always ready to help. <\/p>\n
His 14-year-old daughter was shot while shielding children during the attack, with the man saying his daughter had asked him afterwards \u201c(Dad) why they hate us so much, why they want to kill us?\u201d<\/p>\n
The speaker also told the royal commission a Jewish community member brought their Mezuzah \u2014 a religious scroll placed at the door of Jewish Homes \u2014 to see if it was intact and correct. <\/p>\n
Once he opened it he found a \u201cFree Palestine\u201d scroll in it instead of the religious verse.<\/p>\n
\u2018No friends left\u2019: Jewish 15yo targeted online<\/p>\n
A 15-year-old Jewish boy, known only as ABB, detailed how he had been bullied since the end of 2024 and was targeted in a Minecraft chat group comprised of children from his school. <\/p>\n
Someone had written \u201cI hate the Jews\u201d in the chat group at one stage, but his stomach turned \u201cupside down\u201d after someone commented \u201crabid filthy rotten gut-wrenching grotesque rabbi yamaka wearing bank owning iron doming Hashem following Jew\u201d on another occasion. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt made my stomach turn upside down, I really just had to step away from my computer for a little bit and then, when I came back, I think I just closed and logged off for the day,\u201d the teen said.<\/p>\n
The children continued with the abuse after the 15-year-old confronted them at school and \u201ctold them to stop because it was destroying my mental health\u201d. \ufeff<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t tell his parents right away because he thought he could handle it, \u201cbut it just got out of hand\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI walked into their room and said I have no friends left,\u201d the teen told the hearing.<\/p>\n
His mother, ABD, said her son had \u201ctears in his eyes\u201d as he told them how his friends had locked him in a part of the game and left him alone to die. <\/p>\n
\u201cAppalled\u201d, ABD said her stomach drops knowing how her son had \u201cnormalised\u201d and had to \u201cmake his peace\u201d with the ordeal.<\/p>\n
\u201c(He) accepted it as part of his school life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
His parents said the school handled the situation really well and held an investigation, with three of the children also apologising to ABB. <\/p>\n
However if ABB is near the group too long at school they tell him to leave, the boy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery time I go up to them, because some of my other friends sit with them \u2026 if I stay there for a little too long, they\u2019ll be like \u2018get out of here\u2019 or something like that,\u201d ABB said.<\/p>\n
ABB also told the hearing of how a group of Year 12s recently shouted something along the lines of \u201cHitler was right to kill them all\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI turned around expecting to see somebody staring at me or pointing at me but I found it was just a group of Year 12 boys who were just talking amongst themselves using it for general conversation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The boy\u2019s father, ABE, said he no longer recognises this country, telling the hearing people used to be \u201ca lot more tolerant\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll of those Australian idioms that we have for people having a fair go, that seems to have been lost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to see something come out of this commission where we can chart the course back towards that Australia, or that attitude that we had in Australia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Propaganda fuelling \u2018disunity\u2019 and \u2018discord\u2019\ufeff<\/p>\n
Rabbi Daniel Rabin, who is part of a synagogue in Caulfield in Melbourne, said \u201cwe wouldn\u2019t be sitting here if this was just about criticism of Israel\u201d, telling the hearing Australians are being fed propaganda which is fuelling the disunity the country is experiencing.<\/p>\n
Mr Rabin acknowledged that criticism of Israel is OK, but \u201chuge lies\u201d are circulating, telling the commission the word \u201cgenocide\u201d is being \u201cthrown into everything\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the seeping through of this propaganda that\u2019s found it\u2019s way everywhere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there are those who naturally have this hateful mission, but I think it\u2019s affecting many regular Australians who are being fed this narrative, which I think is causing so much of the disunity and this discord that we are finding ourselves in at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n
He recounted a campaign of abusive calls his synagogue had received, with the phrase \u201cbaby killers\u201d seeming to be the favourite. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you say somebody is a baby killer \u2026 I can\u2019t think of anything more grotesque to say about a person,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s actually mind boggling that people are accusing us of that and then calling our synagogues \u2026 it\u2019s hurtful, it\u2019s disgusting.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Rabin spoke of having eggs and anti-Semitic slurs thrown at him before October 7, 2023, but the abuse has increased in the wake of Hamas\u2019 attack. <\/p>\n
Just days after the attack a car passing by he and his 10-year-old son shouted out \u201chorrific things\u201d he didn\u2019t feel comfortable repeating at the inquiry.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving my 10-year-old son with me, of course he looked at me and he said \u2018Why do these people hate us?\u2019\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd that was very confronting \u2026 very difficult to explain to him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jewish musician\u2019s career and business destroyed after doxxing <\/p>\n
Jewish musician Joshua Moshe told the hearing how his life started to fall apart after he was doxxed, with he and his wife both receiving hate messages and threats. <\/p>\n
The couple\u2019s homeware shop in north Melbourne was vandalised with boycott stickers and graffiti in the wake of the doxxing, while photos of them both taken from their social media accounts and plastered with \u201cZionists\u201d and \u201cBoycotting\u201d.<\/p>\n
At one point he received a photo of his son along with a voicemail that said \u201cYou racist motherf***er better keep watching your motherf***ing back\u201d. <\/p>\n
The abuse forced the couple to close up their shop and move to a different spot in the city. \u201cThis was devastating to experience \u2026 ongoing torrent of messages.. I was feeling extremely anxious, devastated, feeling like my life was starting to unravel,\u201d Mr Moshe said. <\/p>\n
A saxophonist and composer, Mr Moshe was part of an award-winning band for seven years up until the doxxing incident, when he found out via social media that he\u2019d been kicked out of the band.<\/p>\n
The band had posted an online post \u2014 which they recently issued an apology for \u2014 which said the group was \u201cdisgusted, deeply shocked and betrayed\u201d, claiming Mr Moshe had made comments in a Zionist WhatsApp group. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe explicitly condemn any form of Zionism, racism, bullying anti-Semitism and prejudice of any kind,\u201d the post said.<\/p>\n
Mr Moshe said the Zionism that he believed in was that Jewish people deserved a home in some part of their ancestral homeland. <\/p>\n
ECAJ researcher targeted with \u2018horrifying\u2019 anti-Semitic caricature <\/p>\n
Executive council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) research director Julie Nathan described the \u201chorrifying\u201d moment a sexualised caricature of her was shared on the internet. <\/p>\n
The caricature was accompanied with the words \u201cJulie simply desires to be filled with Aryan seed\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s very much a sexualisation, so you have this Jewish caricature, this is the feminine version of it, with the long, curly hair, and the long fingernails \u2026 It was horrifying to see\u201d Ms Nathan told the royal commission. <\/p>\n
Ms Nathan, who authors the Jewish group\u2019s annual report on anti-Semitism in Australia, said a new form of anti-Semitism has emerged since October 7, 2023 telling the hearing there was a 316 per cent rise in anti-Semitic incidents in Australia according to their 2024-2025 annual report.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re getting much more brazen and much more confident coming out and not ashamed or worried about it being anti-Semitic and inciting violence against Jews,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Online posts or publications are not included in the report \u201cbecause there are so many it\u2019s uncountable\u201d, Ms Nathan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like trying to count the stars,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Pro-Palestine material is also not counted as anti-Jewish, with Ms Nathan explaining a \u201cfree Palestine\u201d sticker would only be considered anti-Semitic if it was stuck on a synagogue or a Jewish school, for instance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael is a state like any other state, and just as we in Australia are free to criticise our government, our country \u2026 we accept that, and even though people may lie about things or may use offensive language,\u201d Ms Nathan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe accept that as being, you know, political discourse or political language. It\u2019s only when it crosses the line into anti-Semitism, that\u2019s when we will count it as anti Semitic.\u201d<\/p>\n
The incidents, which are all personally reviewed by Ms Nathan, are recorded under six different categories including: physical assault, vandalism, verbal abuse, hate messages, graffiti and material such as banners and stickers.<\/p>\n
She spoke of some people on social media screenshotting the annual report and making fun of it, saying: \u201cWe\u2019re doing well boys, let\u2019s keep the momentum going\u201d.<\/p>\n
Fireworks in the street is Israel was \u2018counting its dead<\/p>\n
Fireworks in the streets as Israel was \u201cstill counting its dead\u201d in the wake of Hamas\u2019 2023 attack \u201cset the tone\u201d for the normalisation of Jewish hate in Australia, the leader of a Jewish organisation has told a hate inquiry.<\/p>\n
Many pointed to the Sydney Opera House protest on October 9, 2023, as a critical turning point in the rise of Jewish hate; however, Dor Foundation Tahli Blicblau chief executive instead submitted that scenes at a Western Sydney protest the day prior were pivotal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe events of October 7 were described as a day of pride and courage,\u201d Ms Blicblau told the royal commission on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cCars were driving \ufeffthrough Western Sydney setting off fireworks \u2026 that glorification of violence that night at a time when Israel was still counting its dead really set the tone for a permissive environment in which glorifying violence was accepted and permissible.\u201d<\/p>\n
Research from the Jewish body, which was established in 2024 to combat anti-Semitism, has revealed that most Australians can\u2019t recognise anti-Semitic tropes.<\/p>\n
Radical ideologies had converged in such a way that anti-Semitism was slipping into public discourse easier, Ms Blicblau said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re shrouded just enough in language, often of human rights, to be acceptable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost Australians can\u2019t recognise anti-Semitic tropes when they see them, so they\u2019re presented with these hateful tropes and because they don\u2019t recognise it as being anti-Semitic, it\u2019s more likely to become normalised and accepted.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Blicblau also spoke to the role of online spaces in helping move anti-Semitism away from \u201cshameful radical fringes\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe role of the internet and social media allows these hateful comments to reach millions of people within milliseconds, so in order to combat the new form (of anti-Semitism) \u2026 we need to operate there,\u201d Ms Blicblau said.<\/p>\n
The hearing continues. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jewish singer-songwriter Deborah Conway has accused an Australian actor of running an anti-Semitic boycott campaign against her while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":664246,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[320833,320839,1724,63,689,320836,320835,320845,320844,320830,13043,320829,43,320834,82782,6897,320842,320843,673,44,185009,677,320841,320828,320838,30954,316210,320831,320832,320840,670,8148,320837,41,39,42,40,92326,12000],"class_list":["post-664245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-anti-semitic-abuse","tag-anti-semitic-tropes","tag-asia","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-chat-group","tag-dor-foundation-tahli-blicblau","tag-executive-council-of-australian-jewry-alex-ryvchin","tag-fifty-six-witnesses","tag-gut-wrenching-grotesque-rabbi","tag-hamas","tag-hate-inquiry","tag-headlines","tag-heartbreaking-words","tag-hitler","tag-israel","tag-move-anti-semitism","tag-nazi-style-slurs","tag-new-south-wales","tag-news","tag-newswire-court","tag-oceania","tag-owning-iron","tag-popular-online-game","tag-rabbi-yamaka-wearing","tag-royal-commission","tag-royal-commission-on-anti-semitism","tag-school-life","tag-shameful-radical-fringes","tag-special-treatment","tag-sydney","tag-sydney-opera-house","tag-telltale-games","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories","tag-turning-point","tag-western-asia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=664245"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/664245\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/664246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=664245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=664245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=664245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}