Australian Jewish community beefs up security among growing fears of anti-semitism

AUSTRALIA’S Jewish schools are in lockdown amid heightened fears of anti-Semitic attacks, after dozens of Jewish children were traumatised by a gang of teens.

AUSTRALIA’S Jewish community is taking extra precautions to ensure its safety after dozens of Jewish children were traumatised by a gang of teenagers who stormed a Sydney school bus and allegedly hurled racial abuse and threats.

School’s across Sydney’s eastern suburbs have beefed up security after yesterday’s attack amid growing concern over the rise of anti-Semitism in the country.

NSW police arrested five juveniles this morning over the incident, which happened yesterday afternoon. They were questioned at a police station but were later released without charge into the custody of their parents pending further investigations, a police statement said.

“The Jewish community is scared that this will continually escalate, as it is around the world, to a more dangerous time,” Australian Jewish News associate editor Joshua Levi told news.com.au.

“What we’re seeing in this last month is scary.

“Sometimes I’ll pay cash instead of credit card because I don’t want people to see my surname. That’s not something you should have to do in Australia”.

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The bus, carrying about 30 children aged 5-12 years from three Jewish schools, were subjected to “physical and racial threats” by a group of eight male teenagers, aged 15-17, who boarded at a bus stop in Randwick, police said. No one was injured.

Jackie Blackburn said her three daughters, aged 8, 10 and 12, would need counselling after their terrifying bus ride.

She told Nine Network that her eldest daughter had phoned her from the bus pleading for help, saying: “There are eight very dangerous, drunk men on this bus.”

The daughter’s phone went dead, but Ms Blackburn said she was soon phoned by her daughter’s friend from the same bus.

“They’re threatening to slit our throats; they’re chanting ‘Palestine’ and they’re going crazy about Palestine — ‘must kill the Jews’ and ‘heil Hitler’,” she said.

“It was just very anti-Semitic and very scary for all the kids.”

Isabelle Stanton, whose two daughters, aged 8 and 12, were on the same bus, told The Daily Telegraph the youths had screamed: “We are going to murder you” and “Free Palestine”.

“The kids are aware of what is going on in the Middle East, but the conflict in the Middle East should not be imported here — we are now feeling very vulnerable,” Ms Stanton said.

The Australian government is a staunch ally of Israel, and angered Arab and Islamic countries in June by changing its description of East Jerusalem from “occupied” to “disputed.”

“How can abusing a five-year-old kid help anyone in the world? It makes no sense,” Mr Levi said.

“They are senseless attacks by people at emotional times but the problem is the mistakes create fear among everybody. It shouldn’t happen; we’re Australians.

“Sure, we’re Jewish but we’re Australian. Half the community was born here. I was.

“I might be Jewish but I’m just a normal guy; I’m no different to anyone else.”

This comes as the head of a leading Jewish lobby group warned of a rise in anti-Semitism in Australia, saying legitimate political protests are being hijacked and turned into displays of racial hatred.

“There definitely has been a rise not only in Europe but here in Australia and that is of great concern,” NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief Vic Alhadeff said.

In Sydney on Sunday, about 10,000 people rallied at a park in the city’s eastern suburbs in support of Israel, while thousands descended on the city centre to support Palestine in the wake of the one-month conflict that killed 67 in Israelis and more than 1870 Palestinians.

Mr Alhadeff, who has welcomed the Abbott government’s decision to dump plans to dilute race-hate laws, insists free speech and political protests were a “democratic right”.

“We all have a right to protest, we all have a right (to) express differing opinions. That should always be done respectfully and peacefully,” Mr Alhadeff told AAP.