AFL legend Gerard Healy has spoken out about what he described as the 'confronting reality' facing young Jewish footballers in Australia, as disturbing accounts of anti-Semitic abuse at junior games were aired during the Royal Commission into Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion.
The former Sydney Swans star said the famous 'Aussie fair go' had been 'brutally robbed' from the Jewish community as players as young as eight and 10 were targeted with vile slurs and threats.
Healy's comments came after AJAX Junior Football Club detailed a series of incidents involving children at the Melbourne-based Jewish club. The club's submission to the commission described 'explicit Nazi-era death threats' directed at players and officials following the October 7 attacks in Israel in 2023.
'One of our players overheard opposition players saying: 'Jew f****ts must have paid the umpires',' AJAX president Daniel Onas told the commission. In another incident during an under-14s game in May 2024, a player was reported for allegedly saying: 'Hitler should have finished you off.'
The club also detailed an incident at an under-8s premiership carnival where a child from another team allegedly told an AJAX player: 'You are Jews so we can beat you.'
Healy said attacks directed at children on football fields showed the extent of the problem. 'This is a big famous football club in existence for over 40 years, that can't find a council, or a government to give them a facility and club rooms to call their own,' Healy said. 'Given the obvious security issues made incredibly difficult with regular ground changes, that's surely an easy challenge for a motivated AFL and government partnership. What will it take to get some serious buy in, before it's too late.'
The controversy has added to mounting pressure on the Australian Football League over its handling of anti-Semitism in the sport. The league has already intensified its crackdown on racist, sexist and homophobic abuse across all levels of football in recent months following several high-profile incidents.
Earlier this year, the AFL was referred to the Royal Commission after controversy surrounding a tribute before the Swans' season opener linked to the Bondi terror attack. An original version of the tribute reportedly included direct references to the Jewish community before those references were removed. The Swans later admitted the wording change was an 'error of judgement' made by the club in an attempt to use 'inclusive language', while insisting there had been no directive from the AFL to alter the script. Healy publicly criticised the handling of that incident, saying 'the word Jew wasn't mentioned at all on the night'.
The commission has also heard broader concerns about rising anti-Semitism in Australia. Jeremy Stowe-Lindner told hearings he had witnessed an 'avalanche' of incidents directed at Jewish students, claiming some had been spat on and now avoided Melbourne's CBD because of safety fears. 'We can't go into the CBD in Melbourne anymore because of what we'll face … students attending university campuses have been spat on,' he said.
Peter Wertheim told the inquiry there had been 2062 anti-Semitic incidents reported to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry between October 2023 and September 2024. Mr Wertheim said the Jewish community were 'concerned' about whether it was still safe to live in Australia.
The AFL previously investigated anti-Semitic abuse directed at Jewish draft prospect Harry Sheezel in 2022. 'The AFL is aware of discriminatory commentary online directed towards a draft nominee,' the league said. 'To denounce a young man on the eve of realising his dream of being drafted to the AFL is deplorable and unacceptable, and there is no place for this type of behaviour anywhere in our community.'
