Opinion

Numbers show antisemitism in Australia can’t compare to Islamophobia

It’s possible to see the relative intensity of the two problems – for Jews it’s worse by about sixty to one.

Greg Rose and Anthony Bergin

Mar 5, 2025 – 12.53pm

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This week a 16-year-old boy in Western Australia was arrested following an alleged online threat to a Sydney mosque that referenced the 2019 attack in Christchurch, where more than fifty worshippers were murdered.

The prime minister condemns the alleged threat, saying that “racism and Islamophobia will not be tolerated”. Perth police are investigating a spate of antisemitic graffiti that has appeared across the city in the last month. Police wouldn’t stop “until the thugs responsible were caught”, Premier Roger Cook says.

correction —

The original version of this article misstated Australia’s Muslim population.

Greg Rose is professor of law at University of Wollongong and co-author of Two States for Two Peoples: The Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Anthony Bergin is a senior fellow at Strategic Analysis Australia.