Hate crime

Australia passes toughest hate crime laws in country's history, despite significant opposition

The Combating Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism (Criminal and Migration Laws) Act 2026 expands and strengthens Commonwealth criminal offences to address the spread of hatred and extremism.

|ByMATHILDA HELLER
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese attends a press conference following a shooting at Bondi Beach, at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, December 14, 2025.
Beth Israel Congregation hosts Shabbat services at the Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi, on Jan. 16, 2026.

‘We are not made of wood and paper’: Jackson synagogue marks first Shabbat after arson

"We will not only survive, we will thrive,” the congregation’s student rabbi and spiritual leader, Benjamin Russell, told his community, draped in the only surviving tallit that survived the fire.

|ByGRACE GILSON/JTA
Winnipeg Friends of Israel share image of antisemitic graffiti, including a swastika, spray painted on a community center. January 4, 2025

Winnipeg man arrested for spray painting swastikas on synagogue, mosque, school

The suspect had allegedly vandalized the Congregation Shaarey Zedek marble facade and door glass panels with graffiti that included swastikas and the word “hate.”

|ByMICHAEL STARR
A Jewish family walks in Manhattan, NY, May 3, 2024.

'Curse all of you': Queens man indicted for threatening to kill Jews, Zionists, police

The X account, which also had the tag "BXSniper," also expressed animosity toward white people and US President Donald Trump, who was described as a devil and pedophile.

|ByMICHAEL STARR

Sydney nurse charged for threatening to kill Israelis

Twenty-six-year-old nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh was arrested on Tuesday and charged with threatening violence, using a carriage service to threaten to kill, and using a carriage service to menace.

FEBRUARY 25, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
Two Australian nurses who were suspended for saying they would, and have already killed Israeli pateints, February 12, 2025.

Australia toughens hate laws with minimum sentences for terrorism, Nazi salutes, incitement

"Public discourse has increasingly been weaponized, with hateful rhetoric aimed at attacking groups in the Australian community," read an explanatory memorandum.

FEBRUARY 6, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
View of a car graffitied and torched in a Sydney suburb. January 16, 2025.

Man who fired gun outside NY synagogue while shouting ‘Free Palestine’ pleads guilty to hate crime

A man has pleaded guilty to hate crime charges after firing a gun outside an Albany synagogue while shouting "Free Palestine!" in December 2023 - he faces up to 20 years in prison.

FEBRUARY 5, 2025ByBEN SALES/JTA
The FBI logo is seen outside the headquarters building in Washington, D.C., July 5, 2016.

Two punished for separate Long Island antisemitic incidents at Jewish sites

“Hate-fueled behavior and violence have no place in Nassau County," said Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.

FEBRUARY 3, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
Police at a hostages rally in Central Park, March 24, 2024.

Sydney area man charged for antisemitic abuse of woman

The 21-year-old man was charged with intimidation intended to cause fear of physical harm.

FEBRUARY 3, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
Police officers and detectives inspect the area where anti-Israel graffiti was written on a wall in the Sydney suburb of Woollahra on December 11, 2024.

France: Antisemitic incidents decrease 6%, but anti-Jewish violent acts rise 25%

There were 106 violent antisemitic incidents in 2024, compared to 85 acts of physical violence in 2023.

JANUARY 29, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
People attend a demonstration against anti-Semitism at the Place de la Bastille after three teenagers aged 12 to 13 were indicted in Courbevoie, accused of rape and anti-Semitic violence against a 12-year-old girl, in Paris, France, June 20, 2024.

Australian PM announces national antisemitism database after antisemitic kindergarten arson attack

"Every act of antisemitism is an affront to who we are as Australians," Albanese said on X.

JANUARY 21, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
Firefighters work at the scene of a fire at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea, Melbourne, Australia, December 6, 2024.

France commemorates 10 years since Hypercacher attacks, still grappling with antisemitism, jihadism

"This is our mourning, and this is our fight," said Prime Minister Francois Bayrou.

JANUARY 13, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
Flowers and messages in tribute to the victims of last year's January attacks are seen in front of the Hyper Cacher kosher supermarket at the Porte de Vincennes in Paris, France, January 6, 2016.

How many more attacks before Australia defends its Jewish community? - editorial

Just this weekend, two Sydney synagogues, a home, and cars were vandalized, as part of the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents in Australia.

JANUARY 13, 2025ByJPOST EDITORIAL
A PRO-PALESTINIAN rally is held outside Sydney Opera House, last month. From Sydney to New York, thousands called for the genocide of millions of Jews, celebrating October 7 as an act of defiance against evil.

Australian pro-Israel counter-protesters told ‘go back to Germany’

"Go Back to Poland! Go Back to Germany!" A woman shouted at pro-Israel activists at the Free Palestine rally in Melbourne's central business district.

JANUARY 12, 2025ByMICHAEL STARR
Members of the Palestine Action Group gather ahead of a rally, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in Sydney, Australia May 3, 2024.