A list of Australian Jewish creatives in a private WhatsApp group was made public in February. The group, formed in the aftermath of the October 7 massacre in southern Israel, sought to facilitate discussions among Jewish artists and writers on how to address the increasing antisemitism and anti-Israel bias originating from within the arts community in Australia.
Among others, Australian author and commentator Clementine Ford shared a link to the list on her Facebook page, along with a group chat log. The shared link included a spreadsheet containing social media account links and another file containing photos of over 100 Jewish individuals.
The repercussions were immediate: Members of the 600-strong group were doxxed, received abusive messages and one family had to go into hiding after receiving death threats.
Jewish group member Lillian Kline was shocked. The 49-year-old mother of four lives in Melbourne and works in investment and philanthropy. She is very cognizant of how good Australia has historically been to her family, who fled there from Eastern Europe following the Holocaust.
Kline’s grandparents, like many other Holocaust survivors, chose Australia because it was situated far from Europe. Although a small Jewish community existed in Australia before the war, a significant influx of Jews, particularly survivors, arrived after World War II and established schools and synagogues in the post-war period.
“My grandparents chose Australia because like many other Eastern European Jews, they looked to Australia as the goldine medina,” she told The Times of Israel, using the Yiddish expression for “golden country.”
“My zeide [grandfather] famously told us that upon disembarking from the ship in Port Melbourne, he picked up a newspaper that had a cricket player on the front page. He showed it to his two daughters proudly exclaiming, ‘Look at what makes front page news here. We chose the right country!’” said Kline.
But an atmospheric shift following the October 7 onslaught is particularly concerning for the Jewish community where nearly everyone has a close relative who sought refuge in Australia after surviving the Holocaust. The anxiety is palpable, as there are growing concerns about the enduring safety of the haven that Australia has historically represented.
Until now, many would have considered the circulation of a list targeting Jews for punishment for support of the State of Israel to be inconceivable.
While WhatsApp groups such as the one targeted have been characterized as nefarious lobbying efforts by pro-Palestinian activists, Kline, a co-initiator of one of the groups, denies such claims.
“In the immediate aftermath of the October 7 massacre, together with three other amazing Melbourne Jewish women, we spearheaded a Jewish grassroots activist community of approximately 700 Jewish professionals,” she said. “Many, many Jewish members of the community were deeply impacted by the events either directly through family or friends in Israel, or simply by virtue of being a member of the world Jewish family we feel we are.”
“The WhatsApp group started as a way to support one another and share grief and quickly mobilized into activity around how to combat the explosion in antisemitism we and our families were all experiencing,” said Kline.
The resulting threats and intimidation faced by many members of the group have been devastating for some members.
“These were private conversations never intended to be shared,” said Kline. “The double standards and hypocrisy we have witnessed since the publishing of these Jew lists is profound. Jews chatting in private WhatsApp groups have somehow described as ‘nefarious lobbying’ where other similar activity by pro-Palestinian activists is seen as legitimate advocacy, activism, protest and resistance.”
Keren Zelwer, a 47-year-old speech pathologist and mother of three, shares a family history shaped by the need to escape antisemitism. In the 1930s, her paternal grandparents sought refuge from Polish antisemitism, while her maternal grandparents, survivors of the war in Siberia, eventually settled in Australia after being denied entry to British Mandate Palestine on the Exodus ship.
Zelwer has clearly noticed the rise in antisemitism in Australia since the war began.
“To be honest, I was probably a bit naive as to how much antisemitism there was before October 7, as it was more below the surface,” Zelwer said. “This really exploded after October 7 to a degree that I haven’t seen before. No longer is it shameful to weaponize the Holocaust against Jews, and it’s something that isn’t hidden, particularly online. I’m particularly shocked by the way that anti-Zionists are holding Jews to a different set of societal rules and expectations than anyone else by claiming that Zionists using legitimate forms of activism is somehow wielding Jewish power.”
Reports from Australian Jewish organizations confirm that concerns about rising antisemitism are well-founded. The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) published a report in September 2023, predating October 7, highlighting that even prior to the outbreak of the war, antisemitism in Australia was on the rise. Its 2023 report noted a 120 percent increase in assaults (from five to 11) and a 100% increase in vandalism (from 11 to 22 incidents) year over year.
Given recent widely reported attacks on Jewish businesses and individuals since October, it’s anticipated that next year’s report will reflect a further escalation in incidents, including assaults, threats against Jewish businesses and violent protests.
“I have never seen our community so fearful and so shaken. Every conversation I have, including with Holocaust historians and survivors, is punctuated by utter disbelief,” said ECAJ co-chair Alex Ryvchin. “Perhaps one of the most notorious incidents has been the publication of a ‘Jew list’ containing personal information of hundreds of Jewish artists and academics leaked from informally organized WhatsApp groups by lay people across Australia,” he said, referring to the informal Australian Jewish WhatsApp groups who had their chats leaked, leading to doxing, threats and loss of income.
While historically antisemitic incidents in Australia have been infrequent, they have occasionally occurred. Menachem Vorchheimer, a 50-year-old ...
