Australian Jews grapple with mass doxxing, question future in their country

• Published date: 10 July 2024
• Author: RON KAMPEAS/JTA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

Now, months later, it lingers in silences — friends unfollowed, musicians quieted, colleagues ducked

In February, a number of prominent Jews who had expressed anguish over Hamas' Oct. 7 massacre had their personal information outed by pro-Palestinian activists in a doxxing incident that stunned the country. The "Zio600" list was meant to isolate "Zionists," ostensibly in retribution for threats to the careers of Israel's critics.

The subsequent harassment and isolation of those on the list transformed Australian Jews. It changed how the community, known for its disproportionate number of descendants of Holocaust survivors, views the land they love — a place they thought was far removed from the hatreds that plagued their forebears.

"This happened in Australia, lovely, innocent, innocent, bloody innocent Australia," said Geoff Sirmai, a writer, actor and PR professional — and a child of a Hungarian survivor — who was on the doxxing list. He spoke as he watched winter harbor waters rustle seacraft, cradled by the Sydney Opera House and the Harbor Bridge.

Once a safe haven, Australian Jewry struggle with new antisemitic reality

The doxxing happened in "the country that our parents chose because it was so far away," said Estelle Rozinski, an artist and the daughter of Polish survivors who was also on the list.

Some of the most prominent targets of the doxxing described the fallout to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, along with their sense of having been betrayed not just by ostensible colleagues, not just by harsh critics of Israel, but by the country they call home.

The first shock

Lee Kofman, based in Melbourne, is celebrated in Australian literary circles for her candid writings on sex, women, relationships and writing itself, as well as for mentoring other writers. Her signature work is "The Writer Laid Bare."

She found herself struck silent after Oct. 7. Kofman was born in the former Soviet Union, and before she ended up in Australia her family had emigrated to Ashdod, a port city not far from the Gaza border communities where Hamas terrorists massacred approximately 1,200 people.

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The murder of more than 360 people at the Nova music festival — and the failure of those in her Australian milieu to condemn it — traumatized her.

"When I was a teenager, I used to go to music festivals, like the Nova festival, so just the idea that some people didn't care a bit, the people around me…" she said in an interview, trailing off.

She tells other writers that a sense of urgency is essential to writing. When it comes to the topics she writes about, she feels like she has lost that sense.

"I could write, I just didn't feel like I should," said Kofman, 50. "It just didn't feel urgent anymore."

The shock intensified on Oct. 9, when a show of support for Israel at the Sydney Opera House turned ugly.

Jews were at the landmark to watch it bathed in blue and white light in what was supposed to be an emotional balm. Instead, they heard pro-Palestinian marchers shouting "F—- the Jews" and "Where's the Jews." and burning flags. (Organizers of the pro-Palestinian protest condemned what they said was "vile antisemitism" by a a small group among them.)

Police advised the Jews to disperse and to stay away. The sense of alienation deepened for those who had ventured out to find mutual support.

"The Opera House is iconic, it belongs to all Australians," said Sirmai, 62, who was considering heading over to the memorial when his phone lit up with notifications of the unrest. "It's a public place, and to be told to stay away for our own safety seemed wrong."

A police investigation afterward compounded the feelings of isolation. It rejected claims that pro-Palestinian protesters had said "Gas the Jews," an indictable offense in Australia, saying that those who had reported the claim had actually heard "Where's the Jews?" instead.

That interpretation did not soothe Australian Jews.

"'Where's the Jews,' if that was indeed what was chanted, is in many ways far worse because it shows a desire to menace, threaten and find Jews and no doubt do some horrible things if they were able to find them," Alex Ryvchin, the CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Coming together

On Oct. 21 a venerable left-wing Australian literary journal, "Overland," published an open letter admonishing the...