Is antisemitism in Australia changing?

Antisemitism is nothing new. But experts say the kinds of anti-Jewish incidents and attacks we're seeing now have never happened before in Australia.

MP David Southwick hugs a member of the Jewish community during a community solidarity rally following the arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue, Melbourne Credit: AAP / Diego Fedele/AAP Image

Sarah Bendetsky grew up in Russia, where she says she was exposed to antisemitism as a child. She told SBS Examines she'd never experienced it in Australia until recently.

"After the 7th of October [2023], the whole anti-Israel rhetoric turned into being an anti-Jewish rhetoric, right in our backyard."

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She said her teenage daughter was approached on her way to school by a stranger, who "screamed 'heil Hitler' to her face, with the Nazi salute".

Sarah runs Souper Kitchen

, a food security charity that provides kosher meals for those in need in Melbourne.

She said the wheels of their food truck were pierced in the night, and online, they were flooded with "crazy online hate".

"What does a modest social trader cafe in Melbourne, using all the funds to feed the hungry people of all descents, have to do with the war in Israel?" Sarah said.

"It's antisemitism. It's just an excuse."

This episode of SBS Examines asks: what is antisemitism, and is it changing?