Jewish Australians speak – and contradict the government’s antisemitism report

A new study of Jewish Australians challenges the methodology and conclusions of a government-backed report on antisemitism, alleging contradictions in its approach to defining antisemitism and its impact on free speech. The grassroots report, Not in Our Name: Jewish Australians Speak Out, presents an alternative perspective to the findings of a November 2025 report commissioned by Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism (ASECA).

Contrasting Reports and Definitions of Antisemitism

The ASECA report informed a government response that included $159.5 million in security funding, the creation of an Antisemitism Education Taskforce, university “report cards,” visa cancellation powers, and the official adoption of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. Not in Our Name, authored by Dr. Leia Greenslade and Professor Linda Briskman, is based on a survey of 384 Jewish Australians and 30 in-depth interviews with those who oppose Israeli policy in the Occupied Territories.

Researchers say the two reports reveal a fundamental disagreement over how to define antisemitism, Jewish identity, and the boundaries of acceptable speech in Australia. They argue the government’s report does not hold up to scrutiny, even based on its own data.

Methodological Concerns with the ASECA Report

The ASECA report utilizes a ‘Generalised Antisemitism Scale’ that combines prejudice against Jewish people with political opposition to the Israeli state, treating both as antisemitic under the IHRA definition. Critics contend this approach assumes anti-Zionist attitudes are inherently antisemitic, then proceeds to “discover” widespread antisemitism.

The report’s own qualitative findings appear to contradict its quantitative results. Focus group participants, according to the report on page 7, “did not perceive Jewish individuals as collectively responsible for the actions of the Israeli government.” Pages 8 and 10 state that many participants expressed support for Jewish communities while simultaneously criticizing Israeli government actions, and that Australians consistently distinguish between the Australian Jewish community and the actions of the Israeli government.

The report classifies the ability to separate a people from a state as a “knowledge gap,” effectively defining knowledge as agreement with the position that anti-Zionism is antisemitic. Analysis of the report’s data indicates the gap between its subscales is largest among students and young adults, suggesting education drives political opposition to Israel without increasing prejudice against Jewish people. The report, however, concludes that universities foster antisemitism, a finding that contributed to recommendations to defund non-compliant universities.

Dissent Within the Jewish Community

The Not in Our Name respondents, 85 percent of whom are university-educated, present a contrasting perspective. Participants described evolving from Zionist beliefs after experiences in Israel or through engagement with concepts of structural oppression and colonialism. One participant, identified as Lori, described joining anti-Zionist Jewish groups and “making connections with the Jewish community probably for the first time.”

Respondents linked rising antisemitism to Israel’s military actions, rather than viewing it as an isolated phenomenon. Lesley, a participant, observed that antisemitism increases “every time Israel goes to war,” and that the recent conflict has triggered a particularly strong reaction. Some participants reported experiencing more abuse from within the Jewish community than from outside it, with Noah stating he’d “seen way more anti-Semitic slurs coming from Zionist Jews than I’ve seen from even the neo-Nazis.”

Recommendations and Funding

The ASECA report recommends surveillance and punitive measures, including funding cuts, media monitoring, an education taskforce, and a hate crimes database based on the IHRA definition. In contrast, Not in Our Name advocates for fostering pluralism within Jewish institutions, diversifying curricula to include Palestinian perspectives, and emphasizing Jewish values such as Tikkun Olam (Repair the world), Chesed (Loving kindness), and Tzedek (Justice).

The ASECA apparatus receives millions in public funding, while the Not in Our Name report was produced by two academics with limited resources. The government adopted all 13 recommendations from the ASECA report without scrutiny, despite the recommendations being published five months before the Bondi Beach massacre and not addressing the intelligence failures that preceded it.

The Not in Our Name report’s participants emphasize the distinction between Jewish identity and the state of Israel, with one participant stating, “Being Jewish is in the heart. It’s not in the land.”