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A pair of full-page newspaper advertisements claiming to represent Jewish opposition to Israeli President Isaac Herzog current visit to Australia triggered widespread anger across the country’s Jewish community.
Evidence quickly emerged that the campaign relied on false, non-consensual, and misleading names.
The ads, funded by the progressive Jewish Council of Australia, ran Monday in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
Under the headline “Jews say no! Over 1,000 Jews have said no to Herzog,” the ads claimed that “welcoming an alleged war criminal in the aftermath of the Bondi massacre betrays Jewish communities, multicultural Australia, and everyone who stands for Palestinian human rights and international law.”
That claim unraveled almost immediately.
Names Used Without Permission
Several people named in the advertisements publicly stated they never signed or authorized the use of their names. Among them was David Slade, managing director of Slade Pharmacies and president of United Israel Appeal Victoria. “Let me be absolutely clear: I did not sign, endorse, or authorize my name to be included,” Slade said.
He described the inclusion of names without consent as a “gross ethical failure” and questioned how a campaign claiming broad Jewish support could rely on such tactics. Slade also reaffirmed his support for Israel and Herzog’s visit.
Other Australians likewise reported that their names appeared without permission, reinforcing concerns that the ads misrepresented both individuals and the community at large.
In addition to names being included without permission, some entries were blatantly fictitious or deliberately provocative. At least one entry was a transliterated Hebrew vulgarity — “Milkek Tachat,” which translates to “a** licker.” Others closely resembled fictional characters. These irregularities deepened doubts about the list’s legitimacy.
Additionally, while claiming more than 1,000 Jewish signatories, the published list contained far fewer names. Even if taken at face value, it would represent only a tiny fraction of Australia’s Jewish population, estimated at roughly 110,000 to 120,000.
Jewish Council of Australia, please review your sloppy list more carefully.
One of the “signatories” is Milkek Tachat, which literally means “ass licker” in Hebrew.
You know what to do with your list. https://t.co/BzYxrjUGbz pic.twitter.com/8LNgUFU70H
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) February 9, 2026
A Fringe Campaign Framed as ‘The Jews’
The ads claimed to speak in the name of “the Jews.” In reality, they did no such thing. The petition behind the campaign explicitly allowed non-Jews to sign as “non-Jewish allies,” exposing the central claim of Jewish opposition as fundamentally misleading.
Mainstream Jewish leadership rejected the portrayal. Executive Council of Australian Jewry CEO Peter Wertheim said claims of widespread Jewish opposition to Israel were false. He described the Jewish Council of Australia as an “outlier” in remarks to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
“This myth that is being put out in the media is misleading; it is trying to elevate what is a micro opinion within the Jewish community as some substantial body of opinion,” Wertheim said.
“There are, of course, differing opinions in the Jewish community,” he said. “But on the basic matter of Israel’s right to exist and to live in peace and security, it is near unanimous.”
Independent data supports that view. A 2023 survey by Monash University found overwhelming support for Israel among Australian Jews, including strong personal and communal ties to the Jewish state.
Jewish Australians also criticized the decision by two major newspapers to run the ads without verifying consent or accuracy. By publishing a campaign built on disputed names and misleading claims, the outlets amplified a fringe narrative while marginalizing representative Jewish institutions.
What the ads claimed was a collective Jewish rebuke now stands exposed as a manufactured narrative. Built on false attribution and misleading framing, the campaign sought to cloak itself in Jewish legitimacy while disregarding truth and consent.
For many in Australia’s Jewish community, the issue is no longer political disagreement. It is the deliberate distortion of Jewish identity — and how easily such distortions can be elevated to national platforms while claiming to speak “for the Jews.”
Take Action
CAM has launched Report It — a secure app to report antisemitic incidents anonymously and in real time. Don’t stay silent — download it today on the Apple Store or Google Play. See it. Report it. Stop it. Together, we can fight this hate.
