Australia's antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, has told a royal commission that hatred towards Jewish people has become 'almost fashionable' in the country. Speaking on the fourth day of public hearings, Segal said young Australians were particularly hostile, with the conflation of the Israeli government and Jewish people being the 'fastest-growing' form of antisemitism.
The commission also heard from a Sydney nurse, identified as AAV, who said New South Wales Health was 'not safe for Jewish people'. AAV, a dual Australian-Israeli citizen, said colleagues had called her 'Zionist scum' and that she feared for her safety when undergoing knee surgery in February 2025, after nurses allegedly boasted about killing Israeli citizens.
Another witness, a clinical psychologist named Sarah, said Jewish Australians were seeking psychological help due to growing harassment, including exclusion from professional spaces. She said she and other Jewish colleagues left a Facebook group of 2,500 clinical psychologists after being accused of 'taking the side of the oppressor'.
One woman, using the pseudonym ABM, said she left a global company after her chief executive asked her to use a 'less obviously Jewish' name. She agreed but resigned months later, feeling a sense of shame. The commission continues to hear evidence of workplace discrimination and verbal abuse.
