Media
Monday, August 25, 2025 | The Courier Mail
Uni rally on Gaza “will stir up hate”
Statement by Jason Steinberg: it was “not surprising” student groups were taking measures.
“They’ve made life almost unbearable for our Jewish stu- dents at our universities, un- bearable because they don’t feel safe, they don’t feel proud of saying they’re Jewish and that’s unacceptable,” he said.
“What it (the motions) does, is it encourages more hatred against Jews in Queensland.
Mr Steinberg said off the back of anti-Semitism across the country, the feeling among the Jewish community was at “its lowest ever”.
“Anti-Semitism is at its peak and these kinds of activities … embolden (students), they feel that it’s OK to scream at a Jew- ish person.”
Thursday 21 August 2025
QJBD President Warns of Soaring Antisemitism and Erosion of Social Cohesion in Queensland
QJBD President Jason Steinberg spoke with 4BC's Gary Hardgrave on the meteoric rise in antisemitism in Queensland, the demonisation of Israel, the lack of leadership which has contributed to the destruction of our social cohesion and the importance of speaking up against hate.
Festival creates division and makes it unsafe for Jews
A major electronic music festival, Earth Frequency Festival, to be held in Queensland, has asked artists to sign a pledge condemning Israel and has, as a result, created a once welcoming space for all, now an unsafe festival for Jews. This antisemitic pledge, along with other public statements, has led Jewish festival-goers to condemn the event and prompted leading Israeli act Infected Mushroom to cancel their performance.
Jason Steinberg, President of the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies, acknowledged that while organisers had attempted to refocus the event on peace, the damage had already been done “Significant damage has been done to our community’s safety and we remain deeply concerned about the falsehoods, lies, and the hijacking of a political agenda that now persist within the festival culture,” Jason said.
“The organisers’ claim that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza is false and spread by Hamas and others who share deceitful information. Genocide means having a clear plan to destroy a group of people. “The only group in this conflict that has openly said they want to get rid of the other side is Hamas, which has said it wants to kill all Jews. Even the President of the International Court of Justice said in January this year that there is no legal finding of genocide against Israel. Saying Israel has committed genocide is not based on law, but on antisemitic propaganda.”
Mr Steinberg said the recent events at UK’s Glastonbury music festival, where chants of “Kill the IDF” were performed, and the subsequent hate-filled repetition of such rhetoric on Australian streets, should have been a warning sign to the organisers. “You would have to be living under a rock in the UK or Australia to believe that antisemitism, anti-Israel, and anti-Zionist rhetoric are not one and the same,” he said. “Our community members deserve to feel safe, and we will continue to stand firm against misinformation and falsehoods that have turned fellow Australians against us.”
Statement by Yael L. (Jewish Israeli living in Queensland)
“The release of Earth Frequency Festival’s ‘Platforming Responsibility and Inclusivity Statement’ marks the lowest point for many of us in the festival community since October 7, 2023. Instead of offering unity and healing, the one-sided statement - co-authored with anti-Israel activists and excluding Jewish or Israeli voices - emboldened antisemitism across EFF’s platforms. What was once a sanctuary of peace, music, and belonging has become a space of exclusion and hostility. Israeli artists, food vendors, and festival-goers have pioneered the psytrance and doof culture. Now, we feel betrayed, excluded, and discriminated against.
We continue to believe in unity, peace, and freedom, but unity is impossible when a whole community is 'othered' and made to feel unsafe. We hope this moment leads to true inclusivity and healing, not division.”
Jason Steinberg – The 160 years old Queensland Jewish community is punching above its weight
Maurice Klein speaks with Jason Steinberg, President of the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies. Jason unpacks his recent article in the Courier Mail, "The Bookends of Hatred are Closing in on Jews" details how Queensland Jews as with the rest of the Australian Jewish community post October 7, have come under attack from the escalating antisemitism now plaguing Australia from the Left and neo-Nazis. Queensland Jews were stunned when the Woodford Folk Festival late December 2023 turned into a hate fest of anti-Israel sentiment and Jew hatred. With may incidents since then, late May this year it was serious neo-Nazi graffiti on the Gold Coast, followed a few days later with 100 plus members of the Jewish community celebrating the Shavuot festival holiday at a private function, only to be gate crashed, abused threatened and intimidated by a protest bunch of left-wing and Islamic Jew haters. We hear from Jason how the nascent state of the art Queensland Holocaust Museum and Education Centre, capped off its first year winning gold and silver recognition at two prestigious international awards, and how the Holocaust museum is having a real impact educating Queenslanders young and old about the Holocaust, with the aim of educating and inspiring Queenslanders to stand up against all forms of racism and hatred. To support the important work of the Queensland Holocaust Museum and Education Centre, please donate at www.hmq.org.au/support.