Antisemitism in Recent World History

THE RISE OF ANTISEMITISM IN AUSTRALIA - WHY?

“When hateful things were chanted from the steps of the Opera House. When Jewish writers and academics were doxxed. When people marched through city streets calling to globalise the intifada.

When, on separate occasions, arsonists burnt a Melbourne synagogue to the ground, tried to torch another and set fire to cars outside the Sydney home of a Jewish community leader.

When the prime minister’s special envoy on antisemitism, Jillian Segal, handed down a report articulating the problem and how best to eradicate it through cultural changes in schools, universities and public broadcasters.

They warned us, but either we didn’t believe them or didn’t want to hear.”

So wrote journalist Chip Le Grand in the December 16, 2025 edition of the Sydney Morning Herald, two days after what is now known as “the Bondi Massacre”, one of the most horrific antisemitic attacks in our country’s history. And I would like to add, “When Jewish families arrive at the Aged Care home in Eastern Melbourne, where their elderly parents are accommodated (and where I conduct weekly music programs) only to discover the building daubed with swastika-emblems of “the Antipodean Resistance”, you could imagine the terror such symbols would strike in the heart of these seniors, especially our few remaining Holocaust survivors.

The thought of such attacks taking place in Australia was difficult for peace-loving Australians to contemplate. But this report was fresh on the heels of the most horrific antisemitic attack in our country’s history. 

The Sydney beachside suburb of Bondi is home to the country’s most iconic beach and at the same time one of the largest Jewish populations Down Under who have lived there in peace and security. On a beautiful sunny late-autumn day that tranquil illusion was shattered. A gunman opened fire on the peaceful crowd killing fifteen and wounding forty. And, seven months later, we are still asking ourselves “Why?”

I mean, this is not Nazi Germany. This is not a nation controlled by radical Islamist ideology…. Is it?

But we must ask ourselves the question: What doors have we opened to allow this warped ideology into the Great South Land? How has this evil venom found its way to Australia at this time in history, and how has it been allowed to foster unchecked?

Hatred of the Jewish people is nothing new to 21st century post-Holocaust thinking. This cancer has invaded many nations. And we cannot ignore the elephant in the room - radical Islam. We have invited into our country many who are opposed to our previously tolerant culture, and in particular many who bear a deep hatred towards the Jewish people.

So, how are we to think Biblically about this?

First, we must recognise that we are in a spiritual battle until our Lord Jesus returns. 

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

“..........for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.” (2 Corinthians 10:4 - NASB)

These events do not happen in a vacuum or simply due to changes in our culture or demographics, (although they are certainly contributing factors). There is a spiritual dynamic behind them that Christians must be aware of. This is not simply a sociological aberration or a psychological deviation. This is an issue with its roots in pre-ancient history when demonic entities and fortresses were designed to challenge the one true God and His covenant people. We are certainly witnessing the manifestation of such forces in our world today.                                               

THE BIBLICAL FRAMEWORK

The conflict surrounding Israel and the animosity towards the Jewish people should be viewed through specific Biblical lenses:

DIVINE PROMISES and PURPOSES

• Unbreakable Decrees: Passages like Jeremiah 31:35-36 compare the permanence of Israel's national standing before God to the unalterable laws of the sun, moon, and stars. 

• Divine Fidelity: Passages such as Romans 11:1-2 explicitly affirm that God has not rejected the people He foreknew, emphasizing that His calling is irrevocable. 

• Historical Fulfillment: Scriptural accounts record that throughout history, foundational promises made to the patriarchs and the nation came to pass precisely as declared. 

• The "Apple of His Eye" is a term for Israel, describing the nation as God’s treasured possession. This imagery appears five times in the Old Testament, most famously in Zechariah 2:8, where God warns that anyone who harms His people "touches the apple of His eye" will consequently suffer His judgment. It highlights God’s immediate, protective response to the cry of His children. Many Bible teachers argue that targeted antisemitism and historical persecution are fueled by a “Satanic” desire to thwart divine promises. Of course, such attempts are foolishness. Nothing can thwart the promises and plans of Almighty God. 

• The Enmity of the Serpent: In Genesis 3:15 we see the earthly beginnings of a perpetual spiritual conflict between the seed of the serpent" (the Antichrist) and “the Seed of the woman” Jesus Christ, extending throughout biblical and world history. This is manifested in the battle of Satan and his subordinates with God’s covenant people Israel.

However, its roots are traced to the confrontation between the Creator God and proud Lucifer at the beginning of time. This has always been and will always be a reality until the final triumph when Satan is cast into the Lake of Fire and the Lord Jesus Christ, will finally “crush the serpent’s head” and establish His eternal Kingdom (Revelation 20). Ultimately in the conflict between that Prince of Darkness and Him who is the One True Light of the World, the Lord Jesus, Satan will be totally defeated and destroyed.

• Eschatological Prophecy: Revelation 12 speaks of the dragon - who is Satan making war against the "woman" (Israel and her offspring, a spiritual representation of Israel and the Messiah) but in the end being cast into the Lake of Fire - (Rev.20:10). 

All these factors are enough to make Satan very angry. He is still doing his worst to destroy God’s people.

So, the root and the fruit of antisemitism are not simply sociological, but spiritual. And whether it be here in Australia or elsewhere we are urged to, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

As far as antisemitism is concerned this “devouring” takes place firstly in the mind. Seeds of suspicion breed hatred, eventually giving way to conspiracy theories about Jews controlling the world’s financial systems, which are so obviously false as to be laughable. “Jews own an estimated 1.1% of total global wealth, a figure largely proportionate to or reflective of demographic and socio-economic factors rather than any form of collective economic control. The idea that a specific religious or ethnic group "owns" or controls the world economy is a long-standing conspiracy theory with no basis in fact.” (Antisemitism Uncovered)

So, how can we fight antisemitism in the so-called “Lucky Country”?

It has been my experience, working amongst Jewish Australians, first for a year with FOI in Sydney in 2015 and for a subsequent 10 years in Melbourne, that a foundation of friendship, trust and non-judgmental relationships must be established before you have earned the right to be heard. Showing an interest in the personal lives of Jewish people and caring for them through compassionate action is a worthy approach to building friendships with anyone. Our ministry is not called “The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry” for nothing. From its outset FOI has sought to express the love of the Messiah for His people. This is how we can overcome the evil of antisemitism on a personal level. 

On a global level, no human effort has succeeded to date in overcoming the scourge of hatred of the Jewish people. Such ingrained hostility requires divine intervention and will only happen when Yeshua ha Mashiach, the Lord Jesus Christ returns.

With the Jewish people worldwide, we echo the affirmation of the “Ani Ma’amin”, an ancient prayer of Maimonides and one of the 13 principles of the Jewish faith, "I believe with perfect faith in the coming of the Messiah, and though He may tarry, still I await him every day."

And while they still await His first coming, having not recognised His first, we continue to reach out to them with love and declare to them the finished work of His advent.

And as the Apostle John declares so fervently at the end of the Book of Revelation, we cry: “Even so, Come Lord Jesus!”