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Two weeks ago, I appeared before the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion to give evidence on behalf of my school, our students and their families.
I outlined the hateful rhetoric my school received online, along with security incidents around our perimeter: Nazi salutes, people yelling “F— the Jews”, passers-by making a shooting gesture, and fascist stickers outside our gates.
I recounted children being spat on, screamed at and asked to leave public transport. I described sports matches in which our students were racially abused, and parents at other schools engaging in intimidating behaviour. I also outlined some of the security measures I have had to take in response to personal abuse directed at me.
I thought my testimony would be the end of it. Instead, in the days following my appearance, the torrent of online abuse intensified.
Since appearing before the royal commission, I have been called a paedophile, a monster, a supporter of baby killing, a parasite, a warmonger, a Nazi, a normaliser of genocide, a child eater, an evil specimen and a c— — much of it posted directly on the school’s Facebook page. One commentator suggested I stop “whining”. In fact, I refuse to “f— off idiot”.
Most commenters are perfectly happy to attach their names to their abuse. Their transparency is surprising unless, of course, they believe their views are sufficiently normalised that concealment is unnecessary.
Many of the forms of antisemitism they articulate mirror the concerns raised before the commission. Appeals for civility and nuance have been reciprocated with hate, vilification and abuse.
What follows is a snapshot of what I have received.
My testimony outlined that accusing Jews of behaving like Nazis is particularly painful for a community significantly descended from Holocaust survivors. The response arrived precisely in that form: I am an “anaemic-complexioned Ashkenazi fake”.
The commission heard testimony that many Jews feel unable to describe the experiences of Jewish children without first issuing ritual disclaimers about the suffering of Palestinians. In my case, I was informed that I have “no feelings for palastinian (sic) children, monster”.
Commission witnesses spoke about the centrality of Israel (or Zion, as the Bible calls it) to Jewish culture, identity and faith. Zion is the land Jews have prayed towards, sung about, mourned for and lived in across millennia. We ask for the dignity afforded to other minorities across Australia: the right to define our own identity rather than have it dictated by others.
Yet commenters have explained to me that “Judaism is not Zionism”, that “Zionism is antisemitic” and that “Zionism is violent genocidal colonialism”. One suggested acceptance into society is obtainable if I would “only amputate that part of your personality”.
The commission heard that many Jews increasingly feel social acceptance is conditional upon publicly distancing themselves from Israel. Or, as one commenter advised, I should “denounce Israel and the barbarism into which it is sunk”. Another insisted that “any Zionist not loudly and explicitly condemning Israel has blood on their hands”.
One accused me of “normalising genocide”; another asked “how many Palestinian kids have you been butchering in the past few years?” The reality, aside from “none”, is that the last Palestinian children I met were in an Israeli school, where Jewish and Muslim children studied together.
The hearings explored how broader anxieties are increasingly projected onto Australia’s Jewish community, which constitutes around 0.4 per cent of the population. Familiar conspiracy tropes remain alive and well. One commenter declared “there needs to be a royal commission into Israel’s influence on Australian governments, politics and business” – a level of influence which, judging by recent events, Jews appear to be exercising remarkably poorly.
I take heart, though, in the words of one commentator: “It’s amazing you got that much stupid in one head.” Having read all the responses to my royal commission testimony, I can only agree.
Jeremy Stowe-Lindner is a principal of an Australian Jewish school and a witness at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.
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