The Genie of Antisemitism Is Out of the Bottle

Last weekend at Glastonbury, antisemitism took centre stage—literally. On stage, performer Bob Vylan led the crowd in chanting “Death to the IDF,” a chant disturbingly repeated with enthusiasm. Footage has since emerged of him escalating to “Death to every IDF soldier.” This wasn’t protest; it was incitement. A direct call for the death of Jews who serve in Israel’s defence forces—soldiers, many of whom are conscripts, women, medics, even reservists who ran from their homes on October 7 to defend civilians from a massacre.

We’ve seen this before. On October 9, 2023—just two days after Hamas’ atrocities—crowds in Sydney chanted “Death to the Jews” and “Gas the Jews” on the steps of the Opera House. The Albanese government tried to whitewash it with ‘experts’ suggesting the chant was simply “Where’s the Jews?” As if ears no longer work. That moment signalled something far more sinister: open Jew-hate had become socially acceptable again, at least in certain circles.

Unlike Sydney, there is no ambiguity in Bob Vylan’s words. No twisting of language. Just a plain call for death—one that aligns disturbingly with Hamas’ own declaration that October 7 should happen “again and again.” That’s not politics. That’s a war cry.

This past Friday night in Melbourne should have been peaceful. Instead, it was marred by terror. Worshippers at an East Melbourne synagogue welcomed the Sabbath unaware that an arsonist had firebombed the front door. It was an attempt to burn people alive in their house of worship.

It brings to mind the evacuation of the South Caulfield Synagogue in November 2023. Across the road, a pro-Palestinian riot raged in the park, days after the firebombing of a Palestinian-owned burger joint—Burgertory—whose owner falsely blamed Jews. That attack, in the end, was carried out by Muslims.

Elsewhere in the city, a mob of about 20 protesters wearing keffiyehs attacked Miznon, a Jewish-owned restaurant in the CBD. They chanted “Death to the IDF,” allegedly threw chairs, glassware and tomatoes, and spewed vitriol at diners. Ironically, one of Miznon’s owners has publicly supported humanitarian aid to Gaza. So much for nuance.

These weren’t random acts. These were coordinated, hate-fuelled attacks. The synagogue attack was arson. The restaurant attack? Terror. Are we witnessing our own Kristallnach, Night of the Broken Glasst? In 1938, the Nazis shattered Jewish synagogues, shops and homes. The broken glass littering the streets gave the pogrom its name. The glass is cracking again.

Two years ago, it would’ve sounded paranoid to predict this. But the antisemitic genie was released on October 9, 2023, in Sydney. Since then, there’s been an avalanche: “From the river to the sea,” “Death to the IDF,” “Jew Die” graffitied on a Melbourne Jewish school. Synagogues vandalised or firebombed. A childcare centre in Sydney firebombed. Businesses doxxed. Jewish university students assaulted or made to feel unsafe. Jews attacked in the streets.

This is not “just about Israel.” It is, increasingly, about Jews. And no, claiming to be “anti-Israel” doesn’t grant immunity from antisemitism. Israeli governments come and go—left, right, secular, religious. They’ve all tried and failed to make peace with the Palestinians, largely because radical Islamist ideology doesn’t allow for the very existence of a Jewish state. Hamas and Hezbollah don’t want borders. They want eradication.

When Israel withdrew entirely from Gaza in 2005, it wasn’t enough. Because the goal was never peace. The term “Palestinian” itself is a Roman invention—introduced by Emperor Hadrian after crushing the Jewish revolt in 135 CE to erase Judea from the map. Anyone living there was Palestinian. Even Golda Meir, Israel’s fourth Prime Minister once held a Palestinian passport.

In 1947, the UN offered both Jews and Arabs a partition plan. The Jews said yes. The Arabs said no—and launched war. In the decades since, Golda Meir’s warning still rings true: “Peace will come when the Arabs love their children more than they hate us.”

Instead, Palestinian leaders pay pensions to the families of “martyrs” who kill Jews. They indoctrinate children with Jew-hate from the cradle and in UNRWA run schools. You cannot reconcile with an ideology that sanctifies your destruction.

Meanwhile, in the West, naive activists have become mouthpieces for this propaganda. The Arab world realised by the 1990s that they couldn’t defeat Israel militarily. So they changed tactics. They poured oil money into Western universities, building an ideological war machine dressed up as human rights activism. Slogans like “apartheid” and “genocide” became mainstream—parroted by people with no grasp of history or the region. How ironic there is no outcry for the slaughter in Syria, Yemen, Nigeria or Iran. No outcry for how Hamas kills Palestinians. The hypocrisy of the likes of Queers for Palestine supporting a genocidal regime who throws gays off a rooftop.

Even Mahmoud Abbas, still clinging to power 20 years into a 4-year term, earned his doctorate in Holocaust denial. His propaganda machine is working—far better than Goebbels could have imagined.

And yet, our government does nothing. Friday night’s attack on the synagogue? Police say it’s not terrorism. Really? If this had been any other minority group, would the response be the same? Would it be downplayed so quickly? It is simply another “Where’s the Jews?” moment.

Only one arrest. Identity politics has failed us. It’s blurred the line between right and wrong. What happened to equality under the law? Since when is it acceptable to terrorise people based on their faith, but only unacceptable when it’s the “right” minority group?

Penny Wong stood at Auschwitz this year and seemingly learned nothing. She’s busy denying visas to Israelis while importing thousands of Gazans raised in a culture that vilifies Jews and the West. Albanese, long a pro-Palestinian voice from his union days, has chosen to enable rather than lead. His silence speaks volumes. Silence is not neutrality. It’s complicity. Jacinta Allen, Victorian Premier does nothing, just a few words here and there.

History teaches us to take threats against Jews seriously. When people say they want to kill Jews, believe them. When hatred becomes fashionable, it must be opposed with urgency. When calls for genocide are met with applause, polite hesitation is no longer a virtue—it’s a betrayal.

If we don’t confront antisemitism with the same resolve we apply to all other bigotries, it will fester and grow. And eventually, as always, we’ll ask too late: why didn’t we act when we still could?

Let’s reaffirm a simple truth: All lives matter. Regardless of religion, race, or nationality, every human being deserves dignity, safety, and freedom. Enough already! Do something! Call an emergency parliament session and get ahead of this. We need consequence. Stop pandering to an ideology which wants to destroy what this country stands for. Show some respect for those who fought and died for our freedoms.

Because if we don’t speak up now, we will one day be forced to answer the same question history asked of others: Why were you silent when the signs were everywhere?