Royal Commission on Antisemitism Hears From Nine Witnesses on Day Six

The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion opened its sixth day of hearings on Monday with nine witnesses scheduled to appear. The first block of hearings is examining the definition of antisemitism, the impact of antisemitism on Jewish Australians and methods to assess its prevalence in institutions.

The commission is streaming the proceedings live from 10am. Witnesses include the chief executive of an organisation launched last year called The Dor Foundation, which works to combat antisemitism on university campuses and online. Julie Nathan, research director at the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, is also scheduled to speak.

Additional witnesses are Joshua Moshe, Rabbi Daniel Rabin, Rabbi Menachem Dadon, three anonymous individuals who will describe their lived experiences, and rock musician Deborah Conway.

Friday the hearings heard from a gay convert to Judaism who became fearful for his safety during a Mardi Gras march. A Canberra student also described being forced to leave her share house after housemates confronted her over Zionism. The previous day of hearings included testimony from a non-Jewish lawyer who said he was called a “sneaky Jew” and a “Jewish rat” at a Sydney pub.

A crisis counselling hotline volunteer told the commission she became anxious about answering calls because of an increase in antisemitic calls after the October 7 attack.

Police charged a woman with using offensive language in a public place after she allegedly hurled an antisemitic slur at a Jewish netball team. The incident occurred at Heffron Park in Maroubra during an under-12s match between Maccabi Netball Club and Saints Netball Club. A Jewish mother who had previously given evidence to the royal commission was present and described the event as shocking.