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Canada’s crackdown on online antisemitism is an example worth following, says the Jewish head of Australia’s Online Hate Prevention Institute
“Antisemitism 2.0.”
That’s what Andre Oboler, CEO of Australia’s Online Hate Prevention Institute, calls what is happening on online social media platforms today.
“Prior to 2008, it did not exist because the platforms did not exist,” he said. “It’s a different world today.”
Oboler, who was in Winnipeg January 27-28 to speak about online antisemitism at the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, spoke with The CJN about the growing threat of online antisemitism in Australia and around the world.
Since Oct. 7, his institute, which monitors online hate, has seen a 400 percent rise in antisemitism on social media platforms.
“The biggest increases are in the platforms dominated by the far right,” he said. “But it is growing everywhere.”
While the Australian government and police forces are actively addressing antisemitic attacks on synagogues and Jewish schools and businesses, they dedicate almost no time or effort to online antisemitism, he said.
On this day 13 years ago the @OnlineHate Prevention Institute was founded. pic.twitter.com/7skyXzt4Jn
— Andre Oboler (@oboler) January 23, 2025
Oberler, who is Jewish, appreciates those responses—he understands the fear being felt by the 117,000 or so Jews in Australia. “There is an antisemitic act somewhere in the country almost on a daily basis now,” he said.
In January, police in Sydney reported they foiled a possible antisemitic attack when a trailer with explosives was discovered. Cars and homes have also been vandalized with swastikas and other graffiti.
But those physical manifestations of antisemitism are made possible by the hate people see online, he added.
“Antisemitism online normalizes it,” he said, noting this is also of concern to Muslims in Australia. “People become conditioned to accept it.”
While governments in Australia are increasing the physical security for the Jewish community, they aren’t doing much about what is happening online. “Nothing is being done to address hate towards whole communities on social media,” he stated.
The Australian Jewish community is also not taking the challenge seriously, he said, noting they are more focused on antisemitism in mainstream media. While that’s important, the mainstream media is not where most younger people get their news and information, he said.
“The impact of social media on those people is not fully recognized by the community,” Oboler said.
The social media platforms aren’t much help either, since they have become reliant on artificial intelligence to decide what is hateful and what isn’t.
“Many times it decides it isn’t hate speech when it’s clearly antisemitic,” he said, adding the only recourse is try to connect with an human being to draw attention to the hateful posts.
In 2023, Facebook and Instagram stopped allowing links to news stories in protest of Bill C-18, the Online News Act, which mandated that digital companies pay news organizations when readers reach a link to a news story.
The recent decrease in fact-checking at Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, only makes the challenge even greater, Oboler said.
For this reason, the Facebook ban on posting news from mainstream media outlets in Canada is “ridiculous,” he stated.
“There’s no block on sharing disinformation and hate, but there’s a ban on professional journalism that can correct disinformation and counter hate,” he said.
Oboler praised the Online Harms Act, which the Liberal government had proposed before Parliament was prorogued.
The act, which has died on the Order Paper in the House of Commons due to prorogation, sought to hold online platforms accountable for harmful content and require them to create safety measures to protect users.
The bill had been criticized by the Opposition Conservatives for curbing free speech and adding a costly layer of bureaucracy.
For Oboler, the proposed legislation is a model for Australia to follow—and he hopes it can be resurrected in the future in Canada.
Ben Carr, Liberal MP for Winnipeg South Centre, isn’t sure that will happen. “Even if we do go back, I’m not sure the government would survive long enough for it to pass,” he said.
According to David Cooper, vice-president for government relations for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the organization remains concerned about online hate directed at Jews in Canada and all other targeted communities.
“While gaps need to be filled in Canada’s legislation, we urge our leaders and authorities to enforce all existing laws to protect Canadians from the impacts of hatred and radicalization,” he said.
The post Canada’s crackdown on online antisemitism is an example worth following, says the Jewish head of Australia’s Online Hate Prevention Institute appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Rubio Heads to Israel Amid Tensions Among US Middle East Allies
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks to members of the media, before departing for Israel at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, US, September 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard/Pool
US President Donald Trump’s top diplomat, Marco Rubio headed to Israel on Saturday, amid tensions with fellow US allies in the Middle East over Israel’s strike on Hamas leaders in Qatar and expansion of settlements in the West Bank.
Speaking to reporters before departure, Rubio reiterated that the US and President Donald Trump were not happy about the strikes.
Rubio said the US relationship with Israel would not be affected, but that he would discuss with the Israelis how the strike would affect Trump’s desire to secure the return of all the hostages held by Hamas, get rid of the terrorists and end the Gaza war.
“What’s happened, has happened,” he said. “We’re gonna meet with them. We’re gonna talk about what the future holds,” he said.
“There are still 48 hostages that deserve to be released immediately, all at once. And there is still the hard work ahead once this ends, of rebuilding Gaza in a way that provides people the quality of life that they all want.”
Rubio said it had yet to be determined who would do that, who would pay for it and who would be in charge of the process.
After Israel, Rubio is due to join Trump’s planned visit to Britain next week.
Hamas still holds 48 hostages, and Qatar has been one of the mediators, along with the US, trying to secure a ceasefire deal that would include the captives’ release.
On Tuesday, Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an airstrike on Doha. US officials described it as a unilateral escalation that did not serve American or Israeli interests.
The strike on the territory of a close US ally sparked broad condemnation from other Arab states and derailed ceasefire and hostage talks brokered by Qatar.
On Friday, Rubio met with Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani at the White House, underscoring competing interests in the region that Rubio will seek to balance on his trip. Later that day, US President Donald Trump held dinner with the prime minister in New York.
Rubio’s trip comes ahead of high-level meetings at the United Nations in New York later this month. Countries including France and Britain are expected to recognize Palestinian statehood, a move opposed by Israel.
Washington says such recognition would bolster Hamas and Rubio has suggested the move could spur the annexation of the West Bank sought by hardline members of the Israeli government.
ON Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed an agreement to push ahead with a settlement expansion plan that would cut across West Bank land that the Palestinians seek for a state. Last week, the United Arab Emirates warned that this would cross a red line and undermine the U.S.-brokered Abraham Accords that normalized UAE-Israel relations in 2020.
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Netanyahu Posts Message Appearing to Confirm Hamas Leaders Survived Doha Strike
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a Plenum session of the Knesset, Israel’s Parliament, in Jerusalem, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun
i24 News – In a statement posted to social media on Saturday evening, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the Qatar-based leadership of Hamas, reiterating that the jihadist group had to regard for the lives of Gazans and represented an obstacle to ending the war and releasing the Israelis it held hostage.
The wording of Netanyahu’s message appeared to confirm that the strike targeting the Hamas leaders in Doha was not crowned with success.
“The Hamas terrorists chiefs living in Qatar don’t care about the people in Gaza,” wrote Netanyahu. “They blocked all ceasefire attempts in order to endlessly drag out the war.” He added that “Getting rid of them would rid the main obstacle to releasing all our hostages and ending the war.”
Israel is yet to officially comment on the result of the strike, which has incurred widespread international criticism.
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Trump Hosts Qatari Prime Minister After Israeli Attack in Doha
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani attends an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council, following an Israeli attack on Hamas leaders in Doha, Qatar, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Sept. 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
US President Donald Trump held dinner with the Qatari prime minister in New York on Friday, days after US ally Israel attacked Hamas leaders in Doha.
Israel attempted to kill the political leaders of Hamas with an attack in Qatar on Tuesday, a strike that risked derailing US-backed efforts to broker a truce in Gaza and end the nearly two-year-old conflict. The attack was widely condemned in the Middle East and beyond as an act that could escalate tensions in a region already on edge.
Trump expressed annoyance about the strike in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and sought to assure the Qataris that such attacks would not happen again.
Trump and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani were joined by a top Trump adviser, US special envoy Steve Witkoff.
“Great dinner with POTUS. Just ended,” Qatar’s deputy chief of mission, Hamah Al-Muftah, said on X.
The White House confirmed the dinner had taken place but offered no details.
The session followed an hour-long meeting that al-Thani had at the White House on Friday with Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
A source briefed on the meeting said they discussed Qatar’s future as a mediator in the region and defense cooperation in the wake of the Israeli strikes against Hamas in Doha.
Trump said he was unhappy with Israel’s strike, which he described as a unilateral action that did not advance US or Israeli interests.
Washington counts Qatar as a strong Gulf ally. Qatar has been a main mediator in long-running negotiations for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza and for a post-conflict plan for the territory.
Al-Thani blamed Israel on Tuesday for trying to sabotage chances for peace but said Qatar would not be deterred from its role as mediator.