Social media giant fails to act as Jewish community fears ‘next Bondi’
A Jewish academic who complained to Facebook over posts glorifying Hitler and comparing Jews to rats told the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion that social media giant Meta failed to take action after claiming the content “did not breach community standards”.
Israeli-born Tali Pinksy, who moved to Australia last year for an academic post, told the commission on Tuesday that she did not believe social media “should be a major driver of antisemitism, but it is certainly a major amplifier”.
Pinksy was one of 12 witnesses who gave evidence to the commission about their experiences of antisemitism on the second day of public hearings before former Supreme Court judge Virginia Bell in Sydney.
SBS chairman and former chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, Dr. Vic Alhadeff also attended the meeting, warning: “I know for sure that I speak for most Jewish-Australians when I say that we fear the next Bondi.”
“And this is our reality, this is our normal, this is our new reality,” Alhadeff said.
During Pinksy’s testimony, the commission was shown a series of social media posts glorifying Hitler, accusing Jews of planning the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the 9/11 terrorist attack, and comparing Jewish people to a plague of rats.
He told the commission that when he tried to report the posts to Facebook, which is owned by Meta, he was given the “standard response” that the posts “did not violate community standards.”
A Meta spokesperson said in a statement that its “hateful conduct policy” prohibits attacks against people based on protected characteristics, including religion and ethnicity, and includes dehumanizing rhetoric, harmful stereotypes and calls for violence.
“We use a combination of AI technology and human review to enforce our policies. While we may not always get it right, we are committed to improving our systems and are continually investing in our ability to detect and remove hateful content at scale.”
The spokesperson said the company “works with Jewish community groups to understand how anti-Semitism is expressed online” and said that when mistakes are made, “people have the opportunity to appeal to us or to the Board of Supervisors.” The Board independently reviews Meta’s decisions.
Pinksy said he plans to return to Israel at the end of the year because he and his family no longer feel Australia is safe.
Another Victorian witness, who used the pseudonym AAP, said her high school-age children attended single-sex Catholic schools and were “probably the only Jewish kids there.”
“Soon [the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023]”Feelings towards the Jewish people have become very negative,” he said. Anti-Semitic messages on social media were reflected “in their face.”
He said insults such as “We owe Hitler an apology. The Nazis should have finished them off” and “Racism only applies to humans” were included.
AAP said anti-Semitic comments such as “dirty Jew” were posted by “ordinary children”.
AAP said some of her son’s friends joked about dressing “like Adolf Hitler or Bondi shooters” for the miserable day in Year 12.
Another witness, known only as Dina, told the commission she grew up on Bondi Beach, which welcomed everyone.
But Dina, whose paternal grandfather was killed in the Holocaust, said the Sydney she knew and loved in her childhood had changed dramatically. He said his children went to “the exact same school” as him, but the level of security was excessive.
Dina said there were “concrete pillars to prevent being hit by cars”, high fences, security guards and often police presence. He said the contrast was “frankly shocking”.
Dina said her children were deeply affected by the massacre at Bondi Beach on December 14. The little girl says as her 8-year-old passes Bondi Beach.[thinks] It’s about dying.”
Dina said, “It is impossible for children not to internalize and understand that they are experiencing this reality. They constantly hear antisemitism around them.”
“When you hear the word Bondi now, it is associated with massacres, terrorist attacks, the death of Jews.
“Shortly after the December 14 attack, as we were trying to process it, I remember telling my husband that it was so painful — even if you weren’t there — because the truth is they came to kill us, we weren’t there.”
Dina said she has seen security guards being hired for Bat Mitzvah, a coming-of-age ritual for girls, and will likely do the same for her own children.
He said he now approaches everyday situations with caution and skepticism.
Jeremy Stowe-Lindner, principal of Melbourne’s Bialik College, said students “will no longer be able to enter Melbourne’s CBD in school uniform” after the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023 sparked a wave of antisemitic abuse.
“We saw Hitler salutes and Jewish insults,” he said.
During a college field trip, two students from another school spit on students, Stowe-Lindner said.
He told the royal commission that it should not be up to the Jewish community to fund its own security measures; he likewise said that “taxes can never be expected to be imposed” on any group of citizens to protect themselves.
He said it was “a tax on Jewish identity.”
Peter Wertheim, a former lawyer and co-chairman of the Executive Council of Australian Jews, said the ECAJ had produced annual reports on antisemitism since 1989.
He said the “gradual trend” is rising. “Afterwards [the Hamas attack of] It increased by 316 percent on October 7, 2023. “It changed our perspective and I think it changed the country.”
The hearing will continue on Wednesday.
Alexandra Smith is a senior writer and former state political editor for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect with: X or email.
