Burns said his office had received more than 1,000 antisemitic phone calls and 10,000 abusive social media messages.
By Shula Rosen
Two Australian lawmakers testified about antisemitic harassment before a royal commission on antisemitism and social cohesion, with one lawmaker saying she was targeted because of her relationship with her Jewish partner despite her public criticism of Israel during the Gaza war.
Australian MP Georgie Purcell, a member of the Animal Justice Party, submitted a 22-page file documenting online abuse directed at her family, including her Jewish partner, federal Labor MP Josh Burns, and their six-month-old daughter.
The submission includes dozens of screenshots of messages directed at the family, including comments about starving the couple’s baby.
Purcell said hostility toward Israel had, in many cases, crossed into antisemitism and warned that extremist pro-Palestine activists were becoming increasingly threatening.
“The motivations may be different, but both contribute to an environment where anti-Semitic abuse is normalised or excused,” she wrote.
Burns told the inquiry on Tuesday that although he and his office routinely receive abusive messages, Purcell has also become a target because of her association with him. Burns is Jewish, while Purcell is not.
Among the messages cited in the submissions was one telling Purcell: “You root a Zionist. You can’t be trusted.”
In his submission, Burns wrote: “The language in the examples reveals how antisemitic abuse directed at Georgie is compounded by misogynistic, often violent and sexualised commentary – directed at her because she is a woman.”
Purcell also included messages received after the birth of their daughter, including one stating: “Shut the f*ck up. You got knocked up by a Zionist, you Nazi c*nt.”
Burns provided additional examples of messages directed at him, including being called a “genocidal Zionist” and allegations that an attack on his office had been an inside job.
He also described the broader impact of antisemitic harassment on his staff following the vandalism of his office, saying the office had received more than 1,000 phone calls and 10,000 abusive social media messages.
Burns said “probably one of the hardest things” was “to have someone you love get abused”.
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