SYDNEY — The Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion opened its first public hearings in Sydney on Monday morning. Commissioner Virginia Bell, a former justice of the High Court, addressed the commission to begin proceedings.

"The sharp spike in antisemitism that we've witnessed in Australia has been mirrored in other western countries, and seems clearly linked to events in the Middle East," Bell said. "It's important that people understand how quickly those events can prompt ugly displays of hostility towards Jewish Australians simply because they're Jews. Displays of hostility that are sometimes expressed in images and sentiments that can sometimes be traced back to the Middle Ages if not earlier."

The first fortnightly block of hearings is focused on defining antisemitism, its historical and contemporary manifestations, and its current impact on Jewish Australians. The hearings are scheduled to continue into Monday afternoon, when Holocaust survivor Peter Halasz OAM is due to give evidence to the commission.

Sheina Gutnick appeared as the first witness. She recounted an incident in December 2024 at Westfield Bondi Junction, where a man pointed at her Star of David necklace and called her a "fucking terrorist."

"I felt shocked, exposed and unsafe," Gutnick told the commission. She said the abuse and other experiences caused her to live with a constant fear and awareness that limited her willingness to move around in some public spaces.

Gutnick's father, Reuven Morrison, was killed after hurling a brick at one of the gunmen involved in the 14 December attack that left 15 people dead. The attack was the deadliest shooting in Australia since the Port Arthur massacre. Morrison had fled Ukraine for Australia at age 14 and met his wife, another Jewish refugee, at Bondi Beach.