Representatives of major Jewish communities from seven countries are decrying sharply rising antisemitism in Australia. The developments there are part of a »dangerous global pattern« that threatens Jews and democracies worldwide, said the »J7« initiative on Wednesday, which is currently meeting in Australia.

»J7« includes organizations from Germany, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, and Argentina. Germany is represented by the Central Council of Jews.

According to the joint statement, the number of antisemitic incidents in Australia is more than five times higher than the average figures before the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 – the highest increase among all »J7« states between 2021 and 2024.

The declaration cites data from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, according to which there were a total of 1,654 documented anti-Jewish incidents in Australia from 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025, compared with 2,062 in the previous year. One incident that attracted international attention was an arson attack on a synagogue in Melbourne in July of the current year. No one was injured.

Lesen Sie auch

Josef Schuster on the J7 Task Force: »We Are a Driving Force«

The President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, on the Large Communities’ Task Force Against Antisemitism (J7), the German chairmanship and a meeting in Berlin

Action against the »scourge«

Daniel Aghion, president of the Australian association, said that »anti-Jewish racism« had moved beyond the fringes of society on the continent and was gaining ground at universities, in the cultural and health sectors, and in workplaces. Jews were concerned for their safety. »J7« must combat this »scourge.«

The Managing Director of the Central Council of Jews, Daniel Botmann, recalled a similarly sharp rise in antisemitic incidents in Germany. Over the past two years, antisemitism has established itself as an ideology that connects the far-right and far-left spectrums as well as Islamists.

Founded in 2023, »J7« sees itself as a »task force« for combating antisemitism. Member organizations include, in addition to the Central Council and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the Anti-Defamation League (USA), the Board of Deputies of British Jews (United Kingdom), the Conseil Représentatif des Institutions Juives de France (France), the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (Canada), and the Delegacion de Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas (Argentina). According to the group, these are the seven largest Jewish communities worldwide outside Israel.