According to a report anti-Semitism is surging in the Australian state of Queensland and the Jewish community is calling for action.
The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies survey states that 6 in 10 members of the Queensland Jewish community say they have been victimized by anti-Semitism, reported 4BC News Talk.
“That might be bullying at a school yard, that might be bullying in a workplace, or harassment, or just seeing a swastika in a park,” Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies Vice President Jason Steinberg told the news outlet.
Steinberg said that anti-Semitism is a daily occurrence in Queensland.
“What we’re seeing in Queensland and in Brisbane is a growth of anti-Semitism, but also hatred against other religions and races.”
Steinberg urged the state to update hate legislation that is 30-years old.
“That’s why the government’s looking into the laws and that was part of our research – that they’re looking at shoring up the vilification legislation and hate crimes to make it harder for people to do this,” he said.
The Board of Deputies is calling on the government to outlaw displaying the Nazi flag, the Brisbane Times reported.
“Of those Jews in Queensland who experienced anti-Semitism, half were either abused, harassed, intimidated or bullied simply because they are Jewish and, distressingly, many of these incidents occur in the workplace,” Steinberg told the Times.
He added that 15 percent of the state’s Jewish community also experienced “hate-fuelled incidents” related to Israel or Zionism.
“We have also seen an increase in activity by white supremacist, neo-Nazi and other far-right extremist groups whose members seem to act with impunity, as well as anti-Israel activists targeting local Jews,” he said.
That number may actually be higher, as 9 out of 10 victims don’t report being targeted. Steinberg said that their reluctance to come forward was fuelled by fear of reprisals or a belief that going to the police would not make any difference.
Incidents in 2021 have already exceeded the number of incidents for all of 2020, according to data compiled by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the Times reported.
Anti-Semitism acts recorded by the group included harassment, graffiti, emails, phone calls and leaflets.
Steinberg said that the three decade old hate laws need an update. He urged the state to act, proposing a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison.
“We are also calling on the state government to ban the public display and sale of items that include Nazi symbols, such as the swastika, which are used by racists with impunity,” he said. “This will empower the police to remove and confiscate these items and be a useful tool in countering the proliferation of extremist ideologies.”