Jewish girl feels safer in bomb shelter than in Sydney
Lucinda Garbutt-Young and Ben McKay |
A survivor of the Bondi attacks who became the centre of online conspiracy theories says his daughter feels safer in Israeli bomb shelters than she does in Australia.
The anti-Semitism royal commission has resumed in public view on Monday after a behind-closed-doors stretch focused on security issues.
For the next fortnight, commissioners will be trained on the role of media – particularly the ABC and SBS – and the nature, prevalence and drivers of anti-Semitism and other hate speech on social media.
Arsen Ostrovsky knows first hand how social media can amplify disinformation from his experience following the Bondi terror attack on December 14.
Mr Ostrovsky, separated from his family who had fled to the beach, was shot in the head and, fearful of his life, lay bleeding on the grass at the targeted Hanukkah celebration.
A photo of his bleeding scalp, and another receiving medical treatment, became parts of a conspiratorial campaign to deny the attacks took place.
His nine-year-old daughter, who grew up mainly in Israel, found it safer to be there even during war than in Australia, Mr Ostrovsky told the commission on Monday morning.
“This is the same daughter who, when we go to school, has to go through not one or two, but at least three layers of security,” he said.
Online hate speech against Jews now used updated language but had the same meaning, he told the commission.
“What I’ve seen is a lot of code words, for example, instead of Jew, it’s ‘Zion’ or ‘Zionist’. (People) are claiming that somehow, because I am a Zionist, I am less deserving of the same rights and the same protections as everyone else,” he said.
Mr Ostrovsky was the first of six witnesses to give evidence on Monday, and will be followed by Steven Lowy, the son of business titan Sir Frank Lowy.
Another is Lee Kofman, an Israeli-Australian author who established a WhatsApp group of Jewish artists and creatives.
The membership of that group – which was accused of targeting pro-Palestinian advocates – was leaked in 2024 along with a transcript of their discussions in a highly contentious act.
Ben Cohen, understood to be the man wrongly named as the 2024 Bondi Junction stabbing perpetrator by Sunrise, and two other people listed under pseudonyms will also give evidence.
Social media giant Meta – which owns and operates Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads – has confirmed it will appear before commissioners in the coming days.
A 2024 study by the Melbourne-based Online Hate Prevention Institute, which studies anti-Semitism and other hate speech, found a five-fold spike in anti-Jewish content on social media in the months after Hamas’ October 7 attack.
The degree of vitriol varied across platforms, with three singled out for “particularly concerning” levels of incitement to violence: Facebook, X and little-known far-right platform Gab.
The royal commission held its its first three weeks of hearings in May, taking evidence from many witnesses including school students who said they experienced anti-Semitism from friends.
AAP