Wiesenthal Center to Issue Travel Warning to Jews Visiting Australia

Photo Credit: Bundesministerium für europäische und internationale Angelegenheiten / Flickr

Simon Wiesenthal Center’s associate dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper.

Despite Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s announcement on Monday of a new task force aimed at combating antisemitism, and the nation’s top counterterrorism investigators taking charge of the probe into Friday’s attack on a Melbourne synagogue, concerns about Jewish safety in Australia are intensifying (Masked Men Set Melbourne Synagogue Ablaze).

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, a prominent US-based Jewish human rights organization, is preparing to issue a travel advisory urging Jews worldwide to reconsider non-essential trips to Australia. The move comes in response to the suspected terrorist firebombing of the synagogue, a grim reminder of escalating threats faced by Jewish communities in the country.

The advisory would mark a significant escalation in global awareness of antisemitic risks in Australia, underscoring the gravity of the security challenge confronting authorities.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is preparing to issue a travel advisory against visiting Australia for the first time in its history. The looming travel advisory reflects mounting concerns about the safety of Jewish communities in Australia, as authorities grapple with what they now acknowledge as a serious national security threat.

On Monday, Victoria and federal police formally declared last Friday’s pre-dawn firebombing of one of Australia’s busiest synagogues a “likely” terrorist attack. This designation transfers the investigation to the joint counter-terrorism team, granting access to expanded detention, search, and surveillance powers.

“I will be sending a letter to the Australian ambassador to the United States informing him that we are going to place a travel advisory on Australia for Jews around the world,” the center’s associate dean Rabbi Abraham Cooper told The Age.

“My hope is this will be a short-lived initiative but we will want to know specifically what is being done to ensure the integrity of the Jewish community and most importantly, to hold perpetrators culpable for their actions. I do this with a heavy heart but we are not convinced that the authorities in Australia are prepared to take the necessary steps to reassure the Jewish community there,” Cooper added.