A progressive Jewish organisation has warned that the rise of far right neo-Nazi groups is a significant driver of antisemitism in Australia and singled out One Nation supporters as the most likely group of voters to be anti-Jewish.
The Jewish Council of Australia’s submission to the royal commission says Pauline Hanson’s One Nation, which now leads both Labor and the Coalition on primary vote, has “cultivated relationships with far-right networks” that hold antisemitic views.
These far-right groups, the submission says, include the now outlawed Australian neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network (NSN), which protested outside NSW Parliament late last year and unfurled banners calling for the “Jewish lobby” to be banned.
ASIO boss Mike Burgess has consistently warned that right-wing extremism, particularly neo-Nazism and white supremacy, is a persistent and volatile national security threat in Australia. He has also highlighted antisemitism as a “threat to life” and the spy agency’s top priority.
In its submission, the Jewish Council says the “commission must recognise that far-right extremism, in both its street-activist and mainstream-political forms, is one of the primary drivers of antisemitism in Australia today.”
The council’s submission says there is a “long history of One Nation members endorsing and promulgating antisemitic views”. One example, it says, was the ABC’s revelations that Tyler Green, the One Nation candidate for the South Australian seat of Mawson, had published more than a dozen extremist posts on social media, including comments about “Jewish bankster wars”.
The submission also points to findings of the Crossroads25 survey, conducted by pollster YouGov and commissioned by The Jewish Independent, which tracked Australian attitudes to Jews, Israel and antisemitism in August 2025.
According to that survey, One Nation supporters were the most negative of all voters about Jews (17.3 per cent) but were second lowest on the anti-Israel scale (12 per cent).
One Nation has been contacted for comment. In a recent interview with this masthead, Hanson admitted One Nation had shut down party branches she said were “infiltrated by extremists”.
Dr Josh Roose, an associate professor of politics at Deakin University, said it was important to distinguish between “neo-Nazis who want a race war in Australia and forceable mass deportation, and a white populist party who may well be anti-migration but have not yet advocated for the extermination of minority groups”.
“Historically, because One Nation has been a fringe political party with very low levels of electoral success, there has been an intersection between some of their members and potentially some of their candidates and the extreme right,” Roose said.
“One Nation is like any other political party. Their platform may not align with the views of their extreme members. However, as the party emerges, as far as polling indicates, as a major political force they will face a significant reckoning as they can no longer hide behind ignorance about their candidates’ views.”
Roose said One Nation can no longer avoid accountability if they want to be a major player.
“It is incumbent on One Nation, a right-wing populist party, to distance itself openly and publicly from right-wing extremists who appear to be gaining some inspiration from the party’s rise,” Roose said.
The Jewish Council, which was given leave to appear in the royal commission’s first hearing block into lived experiences of antisemitism, published its submission on Tuesday.
There are significant tensions between the council and the peak body, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, which says the council is a “fringe group” and not representative of most Jews.
Earlier this year the Jewish Council came under fire over a paid advertisement opposing Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s state visit to Australia. Doubts were raised about the accuracy and consent of some Jewish signatories.
However, the council says it has about 2500 Jewish supporters across the country and represents “a significant and growing proportion of Jewish people who support human rights, Palestinian freedom and justice, and are not represented by legacy pro-Israel Jewish organisations”.
In its submission, the council urges the commission to acknowledge “the Australian Jewish community is politically and religiously diverse”.
“Many Jewish Australians, including members of the Jewish Council, are critical of Israel and/or Zionism. Any response to antisemitism that treats the Australian Jewish community as a monolith aligned with the Israeli state will fail,” the submission says.
The council’s submission says: “Antisemitism is real, it is rising, and it demands a serious response.” It urges Commissioner Virginia Bell to “not recommend approaches that conflate antisemitism with criticism of Israel, restrict lawful protest, or treat any one section of the Jewish community as speaking for all Jews”.
“Such approaches cause direct harm to Palestinians and their allies, and also limit the democratic rights and political agency of Jewish people,” the submission says.
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Alexandra Smith is a senior writer and former state political editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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