Josh Frydenberg launches foundation to tackle antisemitism

By Matthew Knott
Read the article online at Sydney Morning Herald
Read the article online at The Age

Former treasurer Josh Frydenberg is launching a high-powered foundation to tackle the national surge of antisemitism, with a focus on stopping the targeting of Jewish Australians online and at university.

The launch of the Dor Foundation, whose board includes prominent business leaders and philanthropists, comes just days after the NSW Health Department stood down two nurses for saying they would not treat Israeli patients, and a parliamentary committee called for urgent action to tackle “brazen” antisemitism in higher education.

Frydenberg, who will chair the foundation, said in a statement: “The frequency and intensity of antisemitic attacks in our country is unprecedented.

“The intolerance we are seeing is un-Australian and undermines our shared values of freedom, respect, fairness and equality.

“Combating antisemitism is not just the Jewish community’s fight, it is Australia’s fight.”

Frydenberg, whose Hungarian-born mother escaped the Holocaust to travel to Australia, has been one of the most outspoken voices calling for tougher action against antisemitism since the October 7, 2023 attacks and the subsequent war in Gaza.

Former Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott will serve on the foundation’s board, as will Reserve Bank of Australia director Elana Rubin, former Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin and philanthropist Jeremy Dunkel.

Tahli Blicblau, former director of strategic intelligence and capabilities at the NSW Crime Commission, will serve as chief executive of the not-for-profit, whose name references the biblical phrase “from one generation to the next” in Hebrew.

“We’re facing a problem on a scale we have never seen before in Australia,” Blicblau said.

Tanya Cherny