‘I Used to Be Just One of the Boys’ — Anthony Halas on How Antisemitism Has Changed Life for Jewish Australians

Australia’s Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion held its first public hearings this week, and among those testifying was Anthony Halas, founder and chair of the Jewish Centre for Law and Justice (JCLJ). 

In a subsequent interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Halas, the son of Holocaust survivors, offered his personal perspective on how surging antisemitic has impacted the lives of Jewish Australians in recent years, particularly in the aftermath of the October 7th attacks in Israel in 2023 and the Bondi Beach Hanukkah massacre last December.

Listen to the interview in full HERE.

“I used to be just one of the boys.”

Anthony Halas grew up in the Australia his Holocaust survivor parents hoped for: ordinary, safe, free of antisemitism.

Now he says anti-Jewish hatred has become so severe he may leave Australia.

Listen here: https://t.co/nH2NPMDt2U

— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) May 6, 2026

Read more:

‘A Chance to Make Sure No Other Family Has to Endure What Mine Has’: CAM’s Sheina Gutnick, Daughter of Bondi Beach Massacre Victim, Testifies Before Australia’s Royal Commission on Antisemitism