By: Nomi Kaltmann as seen in On Jewish Now
17 December 2025
It has been a shocking few days. The country my family chose to settle in more than 160 years ago has experienced its first mass gun violence event in more than three decades, and it was directed at Jews. it is almost impossible to comprehend.
Historically, Australia has been understood as the goldene medina, the lucky country, for Jews who live here. We grew up believing this country had our back. That we could thrive fully and openly in both of our identities, as Jews and as Australians. That the world was our oyster.
If you were Jewish in Australia, you could reasonably expect to reach the highest levels of government, business, law, media and philanthropy. Our ancestors came here, including many thousands of Holocaust survivors—like my grandfather— because they wanted a good, quiet life. They wanted to practice Judaism openly, raise their children safely, and live without fear of persecution.
Australians are not used to antisemitism. Being Jewish was often seen as mildly interesting, sometimes exotic, but rarely something that would be held against you personally or professionally. For generations, that assumption largely held true.
Yet in the last two years, everything has changed for us.
Since October 9, 2023, when people chanted “fuck the Jews” and “where are the Jews” on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, Jewish Australians have been warning our government that we do not feel safe. We have said, again and again, that we do not feel protected. And yet the government’s response has been hesitant and inadequate.
Australians are not naturally cynical about government. We tend to comply, even when it is hard. During Covid, when borders closed and lockdowns stretched on for months, most people accepted it. We understood that the government was acting in the public interest. We had faith that the state was doing its job. But now, my community feels betrayed by the Australian government that we used to trust.
Jewish leaders and community organizations have been raising the alarm about rising antisemitism from the very beginning. It started with incitement and open vilification. It moved quickly to physical assaults, the doxing and intimidation of Jewish creatives, and then to the arson attack on the Adass Israel synagogue. At every stage, the official response lagged. Statements were issued, but there was no clear signal that this behavior would be met with zero tolerance. Police action was slow and charges were rare. When prosecutions did occur, consequences were minimal.
For anyone familiar with Jewish history, the trajectory is chillingly recognizable. Antisemitism does not fade on its own. When it is excused or minimized, it grows bolder and more violent. And now, people I know have been murdered for being Jewish and celebrating their faith on Australia’s most iconic beach.
I know that many non-Jewish Australians feel shaken, too. This does not align with how we understand ourselves as a nation.
What happens next will define us. Australia cannot absorb this massacre and move on. Jewish Australians should not have to argue for our own safety. The state exists to protect its citizens, and it has failed my community. If Australia is serious about being a country governed by law, fairness and equal protection, then antisemitism must be confronted early, publicly and without hesitation. Anything less tells Jews that the security we believed was guaranteed here was always conditional.