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Arrest Made as Spree of Antisemitic Crimes Continues Across Australia
Illustrative: Southern Sydney Synagogue in the suburb of Allawah, Australia, was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti on Jan. 10, 2024. Photo: Screenshot
The recent wave of hate crimes targeting Jews in Australia has shown no sign of abating, with more incidents over the weekend as political leaders and law enforcement stepped up efforts to counter an alarming surge in anti-Jewish incidents.
The New South Wales (NSW) Police announced on Monday they had charged an unnamed 21-year-old man with stalking and intimidation intended to cause fear or physical harm after a woman reported an incident of alleged antisemitic abuse in Bondi on Saturday. Law enforcement also charged the unnamed man with an unrelated Jan. 15 incident of destroying or damaging property and breach of bail.
Separately, Jewish women said that three young men threw eggs at them from a car, also in Bondi over the weekend, in a crime that Detective Superintendent Darren Newman believed to be motivated by their appearance. Law enforcement later found an abandoned car with egg cartons and a gas can. Reports said that three men fled the scene of the crime.
On Saturday, the NSW police announced plans to double the officers assigned to Strike Force Pearl, a division created to counter the wave of antisemitic crimes. NSW Police Force Commissioner Karen Webb said that the “extra investigators under Strike Force Pearl means those who commit antisemitic acts will be caught and brought before the courts. I want to reassure the Jewish community that we will do everything we can to find the perpetrators of these hateful crimes.”
On Sunday, the NSW Jewish Board said that in three weeks they had seen 10 publicly reported antisemitic incidents which included vandalism and arson. The group said that number “doesn’t include the graffiti appearing in our streets on a daily basis or the abuse and harassment that goes unreported.”
Other regions of Australia also experienced antisemitic vandalism in recent days. Someone graffitied a house in Melbourne on Friday. Police say they believe the suspect also spat on a man passing by the scene. Port Phillip Mayor Louise Crawford said in a statement that “while, thankfully, this incident did not involve physical injuries, it is still a cowardly attack targeting Port Phillip’s Jewish community.” She added that Port Phillip “celebrates and values its diverse community. An attack on any group is an attack on our city’s long-standing value of inclusion for all.”
In Perth, a home, a “for sale” sign, and a traffic sign each received antisemitic vandalism. Western Australia Premier Roger Cook said that “the graffiti we have seen in parts of Perth overnight is absolutely vile” and that he stood “with Western Australia’s Jewish community and offer my full support to all those affected by these cowardly actions.”
Cook went on to express confidence in law enforcement finding those responsible: “We know that the police intelligence unit are on top of this — they have a number of leads that they are pursuing and they will stop at nothing until these thugs are apprehended.”
On Saturday night, individuals spay painted homes and multiple vehicles in Sydney suburbs. Also in Sydney, on Wednesday someone vandalized Mount Sinai College, a Jewish day school, and a shopping center. The black message read, “Jews are real terrorists.” The school is located near a child care center which someone graffitied with “F—k the Jews” and set on fire the previous week.
On Friday, police arrested a 37-year-old man in Kingsford for allegedly vandalizing a wall with “a number of drawings and writings, including a Nazi symbol and a swastika.”
NSW police say that they have charged 12 people so far through the investigations of Strike Force Pearl. These crimes include fires at two businesses in Bondi in October 2024, damage of 10 vehicles and buildings in Woollahra in November 2024, and property damage in Woollahra in December 2024.
NSW premier Chris Minns said on Saturday morning that he wanted to make clear that “whether it is malicious damage, vandalism, graffiti, or whether it is a potential mass casualty event, terrorism in our streets, we regard all of it as appalling and will do everything we possibly can to combat it.” He added, “I am of the strong belief that violent acts don’t begin with violent acts; they begin with hateful words at some point earlier in the process.”
Member of Parliament Allegra Spender announced plans to introduce a measure on Tuesday to criminalize the promotion of hate based on race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, nationality, ethnic origin, or political opinion. Spender said that “this law doesn’t constrain people’s opinions, but it does restrain people from promoting hatred because we’ve seen that promotion of hatred leads to real-world violence.”
Calling herself “a very big advocate for free speech,” Spender argued that “if you are trying to vilify groups to drive hatred, I think Australians want to see a line drawn on that. I think we need to have laws against extreme expressions of words that can really create an environment where hatred and violence can flourish.”
Executive Council of Australia Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim said the legislation “is not a radical departure from what we’ve seen elsewhere, for instance in Western Australia.” He said that “the provisions in Western Australia have been in place for more than a generation and they have been tested in front of juries, which have convicted and imposed stiff sentences. And they have broad public support.”
In a letter sent on Thursday, Israeli Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli wrote to Australian Jews that “we are following closely the alarming rise in antisemitism across Australia. On behalf of the government and citizens of Israel, we send you our love, support, and unwavering solidarity.”
The post Arrest Made as Spree of Antisemitic Crimes Continues Across Australia first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Dutch Nurse Under Police Investigation for Alleged Threats Against Israeli Patients
Pro-Hamas demonstrators march in the Dutch city of Nijmegen. Photo: Reuters/Romy Arroyo Fernandez
A Muslim nurse in the Netherlands is under police investigation after allegedly threatening to administer lethal injections to Israeli patients — an incident that has sparked public outrage and intensified fears over rising antisemitism and patient safety in Europe’s health-care systems.
The comments were widely circulated by Israeli influencer Max Veifer, who also exposed a recent case in Australia where two nurses were suspended for two years over antisemitic threats and remarks.
In a video shared on social media, Veifer denounced Dutch-Muslim nurse Batisma Chayat Sa’id’s remarks as a serious violation of medical ethics.
“Someone like that should be prosecuted and barred from treating patients. Imagine your grandparents being cared for by someone so hateful,” the Israeli influencer said.
Zorgwekkende dreiging op Instagram: Nederlandse verpleegkundige is bereid om “zionisten een extra spuitje te geven” en bereid “zionisten te laten sterven binnen de gezondheidszorg.” pic.twitter.com/xTnXNi1wH5
— CIDI
(@CIDI_nieuws) July 29, 2025
The incident was sparked when an Israeli-Dutch woman living in the Netherlands commented on a social media post by far-right politician Geert Wilders, who cautioned about what he called the country’s looming radical Islamization by 2050.
A social media account belonging to the Muslim nurse also commented on the post, claiming it would happen by 2027, to which the Israeli woman responded, “Your dream is our nightmare. But people wake up from nightmares. Our Netherlands, our Israel.”
“Nothing belongs to you! My grandparents built the Netherlands. I was born and raised here, and I will do everything in my power to help this country get rid of the Zionist cancer,” the nurse further replied.
“You know what I’m doing with Zionists — giving an extra injection as a nurse specialist. Letting them go to heaven!” Sa’id continued.
When the Israeli woman threatened to report her, Sa’id replied: “Haha, try your best! I don’t have a boss — I’m the boss! All Zionists can die, inside healthcare and beyond, and I’m happy to help with that!”
Shortly after her posts gained widespread attention, Sa’id deleted all her social media accounts, insisting that her identity had been stolen and that she was not responsible for such comments.
On Wednesday, local police detained Sa’id for questioning, but she denied the allegations, asserting that someone had impersonated her online.
“It seems someone is pretending to be me, posting false and defamatory statements,” the nurse said. “I want to make it clear — I hold no hatred toward Jews or any people, race, religion, or identity.”
Even after announcing plans to file an identity theft complaint, she faces skepticism from authorities, who have assigned a digital forensics expert to scrutinize her online accounts.
Last year, an account under her name also posted threatening messages aimed at Jewish people, including “Your time will come — don’t spare anyone,” and another in which she described the burial of Israelis in Gaza as “a dream come true.”
Earlier this year, two Australian nurses — Ahmad Rashad Nadir and Sarah Abu Lebdeh — gained international attention after they were seen in an online video posing as doctors and making inflammatory statements during a night-shift conversation with Veifer.
The widely circulated footage, which sparked international outrage and condemnation, showed Abu Lebdeh declaring she would refuse to treat Israeli patients and instead kill them, while Nadir made a throat-slitting gesture and claimed he had already killed many.
Following the incident, New South Wales authorities in Australia suspended their nursing registrations and banned them from working as nurses nationwide.
They were also charged with federal offenses, including threatening violence against a group and using a carriage service to threaten, menace, and harass. If convicted, they face up to 22 years in prison.
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French Authorities Halt Gaza Evacuations After Palestinian Student Expelled Over Viral Antisemitic Posts
Anti-Israel demonstration supporting the BDS movement, Paris France, June 8, 2024. Photo: Claire Serie / Hans Lucas via Reuters Connect
French authorities have halted evacuations from Gaza after a Palestinian student was expelled from the prestigious Sciences Po Lille and placed under investigation, following the viral circulation of hundreds of antisemitic posts praising Nazi leader Adolf Hitler and calling for the murder of Jews.
The incident drew widespread condemnation and public outrage, prompting French ministers to demand answers and call for an investigation into how the Gazan student was allowed into the country in the first place.
On Friday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced that all further evacuations from Gaza would be suspended pending the completion of the investigation into the student’s background.
After receiving a scholarship, 25-year-old Nour Atalla, a Palestinian from Gaza, arrived in the country in early July to begin her master’s degree in law and communications this fall at the Institute of Political Science in Lille, northern France.
Barrot confirmed that discussions are ongoing about the student’s possible return to Gaza, making clear that she must leave the country pending the investigation’s outcome.
“She has no place at Sciences Po, nor in France,” the top French diplomat said.
On Thursday, local authorities reported that a criminal investigation is underway into Atalla, with the public prosecutor in Lille confirming the case was opened for “apology of terrorism, apology of crimes against humanity using an online public communication service.”
Barrot admitted lapses in the screening process that allowed her entry and has mandated a comprehensive review of everyone evacuated from Gaza to France.
“The security checks, carried out by the French services and Israeli authorities, did not detect the antisemitic content,” the French diplomat said.
Atalla is one of 292 Gazans admitted to the country following a court ruling that opened the door for Gazans to seek refugee status based on their nationality.
She was offered a place at Sciences Po Lille University based on “academic excellence” and following a recommendation by the French consulate in Jerusalem.
On Wednesday, the university announced it had revoked Atalla’s enrollment after hundreds of her past antisemitic and violent social media posts went viral, sparking widespread condemnation from political leaders and members of the local Jewish community.
In several of these posts, she glorified Hitler, praised Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, massacre across southern Israel, called for the execution of Israeli hostages and the killing of Jews, and expressed support for terrorist organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
In one post, Atalla shared a video of Hitler giving a speech about Jews, writing, “Kill their young and their old. Show them no mercy … And kill them everywhere.”
In another post shared on Oct. 7, 2023, the day of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, she wrote, “We must do everything we can to match the bloodshed — as much as possible.”
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Florida State University Student Suspended for Allegedly Assaulting Jewish Classmate at Gym
Female student at Florida State University, believed to be graduate student Eden Deckerhoff, who allegedly assaulted male Jewish classmate at gym on campus. Photo: Screenshot/StopAntisemitism
Florida State University has suspended a female student who allegedly assaulted a Jewish male classmate at the Leach Student Recreation Center on Thursday after noticing his wearing apparel issued by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
“F—k Israel, Free Palestine. Put it [the video] on Barstool FSU. I really don’t give a f—k,” the woman said before shoving the man, according to video taken by the victim, who filmed the encounter. “You’re an ignorant son of a b—h.”
According to StopAntisemitism, a Jewish civil rights advocacy group, the assailant is graduate student Eden Deckerhoff. Florida State University (FSU) reportedly employs her mother, Rosalyn Deckerhoff, as a teaching professor in its College of Social Work.
“The matter is being reviewed for potential criminal charges and for charges under the FSU Student Code of Conduct,” the university said in a statement on Tuesday. “While this process is underway, the student shown prominently in the video has been prohibited from returning to campus. Our commitment to swiftly and effectively responding to incidents of hate is unwavering. We appreciate the prompt report of this incident, which allowed us to address this instance of antisemitism without delay.”
It continued, “Florida State University strongly condemns antisemitism in all forms and follows Florida law, which protects Jewish students and employees from discrimination motivated by antisemitism, harassment, intimidation, and violence.”
The incident is a surprise occurrence at FSU, which has not come under the same scrutiny as many other US universities for allegedly allowing antisemitism to fester on campus.
In 2024, as a tide of antisemitic discrimination swept across the US, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) directed the state university system to streamline the transfer process for Jewish students seeking to leave a school where they have a “well-founded fear of antisemitic persecution.”
Under the new policy, the State University System of Florida and the Florida College System may waive certain transfer application requirements that would “unnecessarily” delay transferring from one school to the next. The policy also affords Jewish students more time to submit their applications and relieves them of minimum credit requirements that would also prevent or delay their matriculating at a new campus.
“With leaders of so-called elite universities enabling antisemitic activities rather than protecting their students from threats and harassment, it is understandable that many Jewish students are looking for alternatives and looking to Florida,” DeSantis, who was seeking the 2024 Republican nomination for president of the United States at the time, said in a press release. “Throughout my tenure as governor, we have implemented measures to safeguard our Jewish communities from hatred in the K-20 school system, and with this announcement, we want to again make it clear that Jewish students are welcome to live and learn in Florida, where they will be respected and not persecuted due to their faith.”
DeSantis had previously enacted policies to curb extreme anti-Zionist activity on higher education campuses in Florida.
Following the Hamas-led massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, the state’s university system, working in consultation with the governor, directed public universities to “deactivate” chapters of the national group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) for defending Hamas following the Palestinian terrorist group’s invasion of the Jewish state earlier that month. In a memo, State University System of Florida chancellor Ray Rodrigues referenced how, following Hamas’s onslaught, the National Students for Justice in Palestine organization called for a “Day of Resistance” on college campuses across the US, distributing propaganda aimed at demonizing Israel and seemingly defending Hamas.
In December 2021, DeSantis’ office issued a statement advising Florida State University not to allow the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), with which it was an institutional partner, from operating a boycott of Israel on its campus. The association had just moved towards — and ultimately arrived at — an endorsement of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.