Former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus says Australia should consider banning protests outside synagogues and Jewish schools by introducing laws similar to those that protect abortion clinics. Source: Sydney Morning Herald.
The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion opened a new block of hearings yesterday into Jewish community security, with counsel assisting, Richard Lancaster, SC, saying Australian Jews had been under “constant threat” since October 7, 2023.
Commissioner Virginia Bell granted pseudonyms to a number of witnesses appearing on Monday to protect their identity, while others gave evidence in closed court.
One witness said the number of antisemitic incidents – ranging from abuse to threats and violence – reported to Jewish Community Security Groups hit an all-time high last year.
A total of 1576 incidents were reported to the groups across Australia in 2025 – a rise of 22 per cent compared to 2024.
Mr Dreyfus said Jewish schools have now “hardened” the exterior of their buildings, and said the commission it should consider recommending new laws “analogous to the restrictions on protest activity around abortion clinics” as part of its final report.
The High Court ruled in 2019 (with Bell serving on the bench at the time) that creating buffer zones around abortion centres where protests were prohibited did not unduly limit freedom of political expression and would reduce distress and anxiety to patients entering and leaving.
“I think because of the events we’ve heard in recent years … it’s time to consider whether we need some similar restriction on protest activity outside synagogues, schools and Jewish places of gathering … not to ban political protest, not say that people cannot express their views in our community, but rather to protect Jewish Australians,” Mr Dreyfus said.
Serving as the attorney-general between 2022 and 2025, Mr Dreyfus told the commission no other religious group in Australia had to walk past guards to get to their place of worship.
“The Jewish community does, in response to a real and assessed risk. No one would wish for this, but it has been necessary, and sadly continues to be necessary,” he said.
Mr Dreyfus also told the commission that Australia should again consider legal changes to criminalise hate speech, establish a national gun registry, and impose new restrictions on social media.
FULL STORY
‘I had never experienced that form of abuse’: Former attorney-general calls for new protections (By Michael Bachelard, Sydney Morning Herald)
