Jews suffered a record 650 anti-Semitic incidents in the 12 months to October, almost twice the average of the past 18 years.

The 2007-08 tally was two per cent above that of the period ending September 30 last year.

These unsettling figures were revealed to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) annual conference in Sydney by researcher Jeremy Jones, who submitted his annual report on anti-Semitism in Australia.

Jones, who is director of community affairs for the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, said he was particularly concerned about anti-Jewish propaganda from extremist organisations, much of it published in fringe publications and on the internet.

In his report to the ECAJ, he noted “particular concern at the negative impact of material from a variety of overseas sources which has as its thesis an eternal enmity of Muslims towards Jews”.

“During the 12 months in review, the combined number of incidents involving physical assault, property damage and direct, face-to-face harassment was almost three times the previous average,” Jones stated.

He said online communities, Facebook and YouTube “have been the venues of crude and intense anti-Jewish prejudice being expressed openly and unashamedly.

(Source: AJN)