The Australian Jewish News, 4 December 2025
Antisemitism Co-Lab builds community response
A Sydney Co-Lab united 80 organisations to strengthen collective strategies for combating rising antisemitism.
By Carly Adno
Read the article online at The Australian Jewish News
A powerful Antisemitism Co-Lab took place over two days in Sydney this week, bringing together leaders and partners of the Jewish community for a series of talks and workshops focused on strengthening unified action against antisemitism.
Organised by Australian Jewish Funders (AJF) and The Dor Foundation, the conference saw funders, activists and leaders from 80 organisations gathered in one room, creating a safe space for shared purpose and collaboration.
Over two days, attendees with diverse perspectives workshopped constructive, evidence-based approaches to address rising antisemitism, supported by a framework for collective action.
Dor Foundation chair Josh Frydenberg was unable to attend in person as he recovers from surgery for a sports injury, but in a video message said: “Today is not a day to lament what we have lost over the last two and a bit years, but it’s actually to celebrate what we have found – a new sense of meaning and purpose. We have a long road ahead but we have many allies, millions of them across the Australian community and indeed across the world. So working together, we can make a real difference.”
Dor Foundation CEO Tahli Blicblau said, “As a community, we need to set the same shared goal and understand the role each of us play to achieve it.
“Collaboration is not easy. We will disagree at times. But I hope everyone here can all agree to at least one principle: we must lift each other up, not bring each other down.”
Australia’s antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal was among the keynote speakers at the conference. Speaking to the AJN, Segal said it was pleasing to see the community responding to the threat of antisemitism in a positive way.
“The message of the conference is coordinate, combine, cooperate, in order to maximise effectiveness and impact,” she said.
“Even more importantly, as far as I’m concerned, is to bring those programs together in a way that comes under the umbrella of the envoy’s plan, and so we can all see a collective impact and try and have a beneficial and lasting role in combating antisemitism together.”
One of the conference’s most moving moments came from Professor Jennifer Westacott, chancellor of Western Sydney University and guardian of The Dor Foundation. Speaking about the impact her troubled upbringing had on her fight against antisemitism, Westacott shared deeply personal reflections.
“My father was many things, but most profoundly, an antisemite,” she said.
“I remember seeing an image when my parents were watching TV. This showed two people in striped prison clothing, hanging by their necks in a street somewhere. I have never been able to shake off the image of their faces.
“I must have been very distressed because my father said something to me like ‘Don’t worry, that only happens to the Jews.’
“All my life I have questioned my own morality of not challenging his views.”
Westacott described a failure of “collective leadership” in Australia after October 7 as she watched institutions “hiding behind free speech to avoid taking action against antisemitism”.
AJF CEO Tracie Olcha said the conference reinforced the idea that “shared responsibility is our greatest strength”.
“No single organisation, philanthropist or community can carry this alone,” she said.
“But together, we have collective power – grounded in trust, in relationships, and in the willingness to imagine what is possible when we sit side-by-side.”