4 hours ago
5
Witnesses appearing before the royal commission into antisemitism have faced calls to be sent to concentration camps, been labelled demonic and told to burn in hell in abusive and often misogynist online posts that have alarmed royal commissioner Virginia Bell.
Bell said during public hearings this week the royal commission had received reports about a “dramatic increase in online hate messages after they have given evidence”, including one matter that had been referred to the Australian Federal Police for investigation.
A new analysis by former treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s Dor Foundation catalogued over 1000 posts and comments containing antisemitic and abusive material directed towards the royal commission and witnesses who appeared in the first hearing block, including children.
Some of the posts called for witnesses to be “executed”, to “burn in hell” and used dehumanising language like “cockroach”, “parasite”, “rat”, “vermin”, “evil dog” and “pig”.
In one post, a victim of the Bondi terror attack was referred to as “subhuman” and his daughter, who survived the attack, was called a “lying cow” for recounting her traumatic experience of the Bondi shooting.
Dor Foundation chief executive Tahli Blicblau said: “Abusing witnesses to a royal commission strikes at something fundamental – the principle that Australians can participate in democratic processes without fear.”
She said the abuse included death threats, Holocaust glorification, dehumanising racist slurs and intimidation campaigns targeting ordinary Australians, including children.
“This was not abstract hostility, but the direct targeting of individuals giving evidence about this very subject matter.
“Many of the people targeted were not public figures. They are individuals sharing deeply personal experiences, but the message sent to them online was unmistakable: speak up, and you will be punished for it.”
Bell said on Tuesday the royal commission was “keeping a close eye” on online abuse of witnesses and keeping a record of offensive social media posts.
“What this undiluted level of hatred and bigotry directed towards members of the Jewish community is thought to benefit by those who post these remarks is lost on me,” she said.
“But the commission has as one of its principal objects understanding and assessing the lived experience of antisemitism by members of the Jewish community and it is being informed by conduct of this character.”
When the Albanese government was resisting a royal commission following the Bondi massacre, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke warned that such an inquiry would provide a public platform for “some of the worst statements and worst voices” and risked Jewish Australians reliving horrific examples of antisemitism.
Blicblau said the abuse and targeting of royal commission witnesses instead showed why the inquiry was vital.
“We need to be asking why the sentiment is there and why it is allowed to be platformed,” she said.
A spokesperson for the eSafety Commissioner said the agency was working with the foundation to determine whether any of the material meets the threshold for investigation and potential action under its adult cyber abuse scheme.
The agency has powers to investigate and seek the removal of certain forms of seriously harmful online content, including cyberbullying content.
“eSafety has consistently raised concerns with providers, platforms and other stakeholders about the impact of online hate on individuals and communities, including antisemitic material online and the role algorithms play in amplifying harmful content,” the spokesman said.
Jeremy Stowe-Lindner, the principal of an Australian Jewish school, wrote in an opinion piece for this masthead this week that he had received a deluge of social media abuse after appearing at the inquiry to testify about discrimination experienced by Jewish students.
“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,” Stowe-Lindner wrote.
“Most commenters are perfectly happy to attach their names to their abuse.”
Frydenberg, whose Hungarian-born mother escaped the Holocaust to travel to Australia, launched the Dor Foundation last February to combat the surge of antisemitism since the October 7 attacks and subsequent war in Gaza.
“The frequency and intensity of antisemitic attacks in our country is unprecedented,” Frydenberg said at the time.
“The intolerance we are seeing is un-Australian and undermines our shared values of freedom, respect, fairness and equality.”
Cut through the noise of federal politics with news, views and expert analysis. Subscribers can sign up to our weekly Inside Politics newsletter.
