A group of pro-Palestinian activists in Australia have posted a hit-list containing the names and details of just under 600 Jewish Australians who support Israel. The Jews targeted are engaged in creative and cultural work. At least two of the list-makers and spreaders have been identified; one is a well-known author and illustrator of children’s books and the recipient of hundreds of thousands of Australian dollars in grant money from government agencies.
“Nazi-like”: Hundreds of Jewish Australian artists and their families doxed by high-profile pro-Palestine activists [“dox” is a verbalized noun meaning “to release the documents on someone,” i.e., personal details and contact information, including but not limited to home addresses, telephone numbers, credit card numbers, bank accounts, property records, family members, political and community affiliations, genealogies, DNA records and etc.]
A “despicably” published spreadsheet containing the names, occupations and social media profiles of almost 600 Jewish Australian artists led to death threats after it was shared by high-profile pro-Palestinian activists.
Almost 600 Jewish Australian creatives and artists, who were members in a WhatsApp group chat, had their personal details indexed into a spreadsheet with the link made public.
The spreadsheet included the names, phone numbers and images of the chat group members, with details of their private conversations also released.
It circulated online with the label Zio600.
The link to the spreadsheet was removed and the file-sharing website which was used to collate the information and the website released a statement advising the document had been deleted due to privacy and harassment breaches.
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies made a post online in response to the incident and wrote: “This is not normal.”
“Activists have despicably published the names, images, professions and social media accounts of 600 Jewish people who work in academia and creative industries.
“They have also published a spreadsheet with links to the individuals’ social media accounts and a separate file with a photo gallery of more than 100 Jewish people.
“This has led to death threats, seen a five-year old child be threatened by an activist and forced at least one family to go into hiding. Photographs of family members of the 600 Jewish people have also been circulated on social media, including photographs of children.”
Among the high-profile pro-Palestine activists was Clementine Ford, who shared the link on her personal social media page and has kept the post up despite the link no longer existing.
Ford told her more than 250,000 Instagram followers that she would keep the post up “for now” due to “so much good conversation in the comments”, and explained she was proud to be fighting to end “Israel’s brutal oppression of Palestinians.”
“I’ll also note that it is predictable to see media players try to DARVO [Deny, Attack, Reverse Victim and Offender] this with their ‘anti-Semitic doxing’ spin, ignoring of course that anti-Zionist Jewish people were involved in collating this info into this link and also were responsible for leaking it in the first place, not to mention the reasons it was leaked at all,” she said.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said numerous community members had told him they felt relieved their parents or grandparents who survived the Holocaust “are not alive to see this”.
“There is great shock and disbelief that people are once again drawing up lists of Jews,” he said.
“The individuals responsible are Nazi-like in their consumptive hatred and the sadistic pleasure they take in inflicting pain.
“Our community members who were motivated to speak up by the October 7 attacks and historic levels of local anti-Semitism should be proud and we stand with them in unity and solidarity.”
Alex Ryvchin said numerous community members had told him they felt relieved their parents or grandparents who survived the Holocaust “are not alive to see this.”
The Herald Sun on Friday reported many Jewish residents living in Melbourne suburbs were packing up their lives and moving away due to anti-Semitic attacks they have received.
One resident said he was fearful for the safety and well-being of his child with the daily reminders of pro-Palestine activists making his family feel “unwelcome and unwanted.”
“Every Jewish-owned business here is being attacked, either online or in person, stickers of the Star of David, intimidation of staff, boycotting,” he told the Herald Sun.
He said four other Jewish families were feeling the same way but were too scared to speak out.
The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies said it was “unacceptable” for members of their community and their families to be put on lists and targeted in a threatening manner “simply because they were Jewish”.
“There is no room for lynch mobs in modern Australia.”
Rivchyn called on his fellow Australians to resist the harassment and bullying and when asked to “sack or blacklist Australian Jews” to say: “Not in our time and not in our country.”
Full article here.