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Amid Meteoric Rise in Antisemitism, Australian Business and Political Leaders Declare Support for Jewish Community
Supporters of Hamas gather for a rally in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Reuters/Joel Carrett
Amid a meteoric rise in antisemitic outrages in Australia following the Oct. 7 Hamas pogrom in southern Israel, more than 600 of the country’s prominent personalities have signed an open letter denouncing antisemitism and racism.
Published in several major newspapers, the letter underlines that in the seven weeks since the atrocities, antisemitic activity in Australia increased by 482 percent — a figure that rose again on Tuesday to 591 percent, according to the most recent tally of incidents by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).
It notes that the Australian Jewish community “has been a vital part of Australia’s diverse cultural landscape for over 200 years, making significant contributions across business, the arts, medicine, and public service.”
However, “since Oct. 7, there has been a concerning rise in antisemitic incidents throughout Australia. Across the country, there have been a staggering number of reports which detail offensive language, harassment, threats, and appalling vandalism at significant landmarks across Australia,” the letter states.
Signatories to the letter include media mogul Lachlan Murdoch; key business leaders in banking, finance, and other sectors; Jewish leaders; and national politicians, among them former Queensland premier Anna Bligh, former Victoria premier Ted Bailleu, and former New South Wales premier Mike Baird.
The letter addresses “our Jewish employees, business partners, customers, and all who are affected,” acknowledging “the heightened feelings of threat being felt by your community right now” and affirming “your right to physical and psychological safety.”
As well as physical assaults, including the beating of a Jewish man in Sydney at the hands of a pro-Hamas mob on Oct. 28, Australia’s Jewish community of 100,000 has endured verbal abuse, attacks on property, and threats of gun violence. In one notorious episode in the immediate aftermath of the Hamas atrocities, hundreds of pro-Hamas protesters gathered outside the Sydney Opera House chanting “gas the Jews,” “f—k the Jews,” and other epithets.
The publication of the letter on Tuesday coincided with the Australian government’s announcement that giving a Nazi salute will now be treated as a criminal offense.
“No one will be allowed to glorify or profit from acts and symbols which celebrate the Nazis and their evil ideology,” Australian Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement. “There is absolutely no place in Australia for hatred, violence, and antisemitism.”
Similar legislation was introduced at the state level earlier this month in Victoria. The law has already been used to charge a 24-year-old Melbourne man who gave a Nazi salute outside a court in the city on Oct. 27.
The post Amid Meteoric Rise in Antisemitism, Australian Business and Political Leaders Declare Support for Jewish Community first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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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.
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Trump Urges NATO Countries to Halt Russian Oil Purchases
US President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, Aug. 26, 2025. Photo: Jonathan Ernst via Reuters Connect
i24 News – US President Donald Trump issued a letter to NATO nations on Saturday, impressing upon them to stop purchasing Russian oil and impose major sanctions on the regime of Vladimir Putin to end its war in Ukraine.
“I am ready to do major Sanctions on Russia when all NATO Nations have agreed, and started, to do the same thing, and when all NATO Nations STOP BUYING OIL FROM RUSSIA. As you know, NATO’S commitment to WIN has been far less than 100%, and the purchase of Russian Oil, by some, has been shocking! It greatly weakens your negotiating position, and bargaining power, over Russia,” the message read.
“Anyway, I am ready to ‘go’ when you are. Just say when? I believe that this, plus NATO, as a group, placing 50% to 100% TARIFFS ON CHINA, to be fully withdrawn after the WAR with Russia and Ukraine is ended, will also be of great help in ENDING this deadly, but RIDICULOUS, WAR. China has a strong control, and even grip, over Russia, and these powerful Tariffs will break that grip.”
Trump’s post comes after the recent flight of multiple Russian drones into Poland, widely perceived an escalatory move by Russia as it was entering the airspace of a NATO ally. Poland intercepted the drones, yet Trump played down the severity of the incident and Russia’s motives by saying it “could have been a mistake.”
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Netanyahu Says Getting Rid of Hamas Chiefs in Qatar Would Remove Main Obstacle to Gaza Deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the US Independence Day reception, known as the annual “Fourth of July” celebration, hosted by Newsmax, in Jerusalem, Aug. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/Pool
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Saturday that getting rid of Hamas chiefs living in Qatar would remove the main obstacle to releasing all hostages and ending the war in Gaza.
Israel on Tuesday targeted the Hamas leadership in Doha.