Islamophobia and antisemitism are on the rise in Australia following recent events in the Middle East.

The ABC has reported Australian Muslims are now receiving death threats, verbal abuse, and physical assaults, while Muslim-owned businesses are being boycotted.

The attacks began in Australia roughly seven weeks after October 7, 2023, and have increased compared to previous years, the report says.

Islamophobic Register Australia says there has been a 1,300 per cent increase in Islamophobic incidents since October 7, 2023. There were also more than 230 incidents reported over the seven weeks since the fighting started. Executive Director Sharara Attai has stated that the level of Islamophobia at the moment is unprecedented.

Incidents are shocking, as women have been spat on, there have been arson attacks in mosques and Muslim leaders in Australia are concerned the war has changed the attitudes of non-Muslims towards their community.

In addition, people have experienced racism regarding their pro-Palestinian views, and some have even lost their jobs.

The 2024 Scanlon Mapping Social Cohesion report says that by July 2024, 34 per cent of adults surveyed said they had a negative attitude towards Muslims.

On the other end of the spectrum is the Jewish community which has also been experiencing increased antisemitic attacks.

Most recently, was the attack on the Adass Israel synagogue in Ripponlea, with the incident becoming a counter terrorism investigation as police attempt to find and arrest the perpetrators.

Furthermore, the ABC reported that numerous instances of antisemitism have taken place in Australia with many Jewish people being the target of offensive Jewish slurs or given Nazi salutes.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry reported a 591 per cent increase in incidents of anti-Semitism in Australia, with 662 antisemitic incidents in total reported during October and November 2023.

Jewish community leaders are now concerned that their peaceful lives in Australia may be in jeopardy, calling the of hate campaign “national shame” for Australia.

Thirteen per cent of people now report a negative attitude towards the Jewish community, according to the Scanlon Mapping Social Cohesion report.

The Conversation reports that in 2024, Australian Jews’ perceptions of antisemitism showed a significant rise on previous years, with 64 per cent viewing it as a “very big” problem and 28 per cent considering it “fairly big”.

Ms Attai from Islamophobia Register Australia said that both islamophobia and antisemitism should be called out and have no place in Australia.

As a result, special envoys (Jillian Segal and Aftab Malik) to combat islamophobia and antisemitism have been appointed by the federal government.

The envoys will listen to and engage with each community and with all levels of government to combat any form of racism and discrimination towards Muslims and Jews.

Monash University has also recently weighed into rise in tensions by launching its $1 million Campus Cohesion research program, aimed at examining the discrimination experiences of Jewish and Muslim students and staff.

As the university’s website states, the two-year, action-based research program “investigates the nature and experience, both distinctive and shared, of antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian sentiment on Monash campuses to develop practical solutions to support campus cohesion and safety