Antisemitism is real. Recognising real antisemitism matters.
This is a guide to recognising antisemitism in Australia. Antisemitism is anti-Jewish racism. Like all types of racism it targets people because of their identity.
Who this guide is for
This educational guide is for all people trying to recognise, respond to and prevent antisemitism.
Antisemitism, like other forms of racism, has taken different forms over time. Hostility, prejudice and discrimination directed at Jewish people have been documented for more than two millennia. The forms this hostility takes, and the justifications given for it, have depended on the historical and political context. This guide addresses the forms antisemitism takes in Australia today.
Increasingly, Australian organisations, including universities, councils, workplaces, cultural institutions and government bodies, have been asked to respond to antisemitism by adopting the controversial and unclear International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s non-legally binding working definition of antisemitism (IHRA working definition) to signal that antisemitism is being taken seriously.
We share the goal of ending antisemitism. It is real, and every person and organisation should be equipped to recognise and respond to it. This guide sets out how to identify antisemitism accurately. It also explains why we do not recommend the IHRA working definition as the tool for doing so – a view shared by a growing number of Jewish organisations, legal experts, human rights bodies and Australian institutions.
Antisemitism must be addressed – as must all forms of racism
Antisemitism is present in Australia today, and it causes real harm. Addressing it, alongside addressing all forms of racism, is a responsibility shared across the whole of society.
The authors of this guide
We are Jewish Australians who hold a range of views about Israel and Zionism. We prepared this guide in the shared belief that being precise about what is and is not antisemitism protects Jewish people and the free political speech, expression and right to political protest a democratic society depends on.
We believe that addressing antisemitism begins with recognising it accurately. Approaches that interpret antisemitism too broadly can, and do, treat legitimate political expression about Israel and Zionism as antisemitic. Where that happens the term is debased, legitimate political expression is chilled, and the task of protecting Jewish communities becomes harder.
This guide helps you:
Recognise antisemitism – through a clear test, five distinctions between Jewish people, Israel and Zionism that often cause confusion, five practical questions for telling antisemitism apart from political speech, and clear examples.
Understand contested language – apartheid, genocide, ‘from the river to the sea’ and more – term by term. This section works as a reference: you can look up a single word or symbol when you need it, rather than reading the page through.
Decide what to do next – we set out what organisations should do, and explain why the IHRA working definition is the wrong tool, and why antisemitism is best addressed as part of tackling all forms of racism.
Our sources are linked throughout and listed on the About & resources page, with suggestions for further reading.
A clear test
Antisemitism targets Jewish people because they are Jewish. Identifying who is being targeted, and why, is a more reliable way to identify antisemitism than any list of prohibited words. The test is consistent with Australian laws such as the federal Racial Discrimination Act. We explain how to apply it.
Read the test →The language and symbols people ask about
Apartheid. Genocide. ‘From the river to the sea.’ Intifada. Zionism. Settler-colonialism. The keffiyeh. The watermelon. We work through contested words and symbols one by one: what each means, where it comes from, and what can and cannot be inferred from a person’s use of it.
Open the guide →Grounded in evidence
This guide draws on published scholarship, international human rights analysis, Australian court decisions, and the work of Australia’s own human rights institutions. We provide our sources so that you can check them.
See the sources →A word is not antisemitic because of its intensity, or because of the discomfort it causes. It is antisemitic if it targets Jewish people because they are Jewish.