Antisemitic incidents rose 35% in the last year with more than 440 recorded cases, including physical assaults and graffiti, according to a report by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

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"The ECAJ 2021 Antisemitism Report," issued on Sunday, recorded 272 attacks – physical assaults, verbal harassment, vandalism and graffiti – and 175 threats in the year ending in September, up from 331 in the previous 12 months.

The rise in acts of Jew-hatred includes an uptick in abuse and harassment, which rose 14% from 128 to 147 incidents, and graffiti, which went from 42 instances to 106. The discovery of antisemitic posters and stickers increased a whopping 157%, from 28 to 72.

Eleven incidents of vandalism were recorded, and the number of physical assaults remained stationary at eight incidents, while threats via email, phone and mail declined.

The increase tracks with the findings of a smaller regional study conducted earlier in 2021.

In the survey of Jews in the state of Queensland, which includes Brisbane, Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef, six in 10 Jews reported experiencing anti-Semitism though the vast majority, 91.5%, said they had not reported the incident.

In a press release on the ECAJ report, Julie Nathan, the group's research director and report author, said: "Behind the statistics lie some horrific personal stories of persistent antisemitic bullying of Jewish students at schools, the brutal physical assault of a man on his way to synagogue," along with the flying of a Nazi flag above a synagogue in Brisbane and the spray-painting of a synagogue in Adelaide.

"What is perhaps worse is the disgraceful discourse online and occasionally in the mainstream media of those who, for whatever reason, seek to rationalize or minimize this egregious behavior," she said.

Like elsewhere in the world, antisemitism against Australia's Jewish community was impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and Israel's Operation Guardian of the Walls operation against Hamas terrorist infrastructure in the Gaza Strip in May, during which more than 4,000 rockets at Israeli population centers.

"A total of 88 incidents was logged for the month of May alone, when the hostilities between Israel and Hamas occurred, compared to between 22 and 46 incidents for each of the other 11 months of the year," said Nathan.

She also reported the threat from extremist groups including Hizb ut-Tahrir, which the Anti-Defamation League says "seeks to establish a worldwide Islamic theocracy," and the neo-Nazi group, National Socialist Network.

Reprinted with permission from JNS.org. 

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The Israel Defense Forces plans to establish a special team that will examine the recruitment process and conditions of service for IDF soldiers who serve outside the IDF framework, Defense Minister Benny Gantz and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi decided Wednesday.

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The move comes as a response to a testimony by Gilboa Prison Warden Freddy Ben Shitrit, who alleged that female IDF soldiers used to be "pimped out" to Palestinian prisoners in order to keep them happy.

Ben Shitrit made his statements to acommission of inquiry probing a prison break in which six security prisoners broke out of Gilboa Prison in northern Israel.

The IDF said in a statement it will "examine the unitary atmosphere in organizations and will present the conclusions and recommendations in order to ensure appropriate conditions and a safe service environment that respects all soldiers … in light of the IDF's responsibility towards security service candidates, who enlist in the IDF or other security organization."

A previous investigation into the claims in 2018 was closed due to a lack of evidence.

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The head of Iran's prison system acknowledged Tuesday that videos purportedly obtained by a self-described hacker group that show abuses at the Islamic republic's notorious Evin prison are real, saying he took responsibility for the "unacceptable behaviors."

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The alleged hackers said the release of the footage was an effort to show the grim conditions at the prison, known for holding political prisoners and those with ties abroad who are often used as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.

The comment by Mohammad Mehdi Hajmohammadi came the day after The Associated Press published parts of the videos and a report about the abuse at the facility in northern Tehran.

Writing on Twitter, Hajmohammadi vowed to "avoid the repeat of such bitter incidents as well as confront the perpetrators."

"My apologies to the Almighty God, the dear Supreme Leader, our great nation and the noble prison officers whose efforts will not be ignored because of the wrongdoings" of others, he wrote.

State television in Iran also reported Hajmohammadi's remarks. An arm of state TV later said the country's judiciary chief ordered an investigation into the abuse as well.

Hajmohammadi, however, offered no plan on how to address the abuses at Evin. Since its construction in 1971 under Iran's shah, the prison has seen a series of abuses that continued into the Islamic republic.

After Iran cracked down on protesters following the disputed 2009 re-election of hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, many of the arrested protesters ended up in Evin. Lawmakers later pushed for reforms at Evin, following reports of abuses at the prison – which led to the installation of the closed-circuit cameras.

In one part of the footage, a man smashes a bathroom mirror to try to cut open his arm. Prisoners – and even guards – beat each other in scenes captured by surveillance cameras. Inmates sleeping in single rooms with bunk beds stacked three high against the walls, wrapping themselves in blankets to stay warm.

Four former prisoners at Evin, as well as an Iranian human rights activist abroad, told the AP that the videos resemble areas from the facility in northern Tehran. Some of the scenes also matched photographs of the facility previously taken by journalists, as well as images of the prison as seen in satellite photos accessed by the AP.

An online account that shared the videos with the AP calls itself "The Justice of Ali," a reference to the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law who is revered by Shiites. It also mocks Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. However, the account did not respond to AP questions about its membership or how it conducted the hack.

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Australia wants Leifer extradited for allegedly sexually abusing children while working as a principal in an ultra-Orthodox school in Melbourne. Prosecutors say she is feigning mental illness to dodge extradition.

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Maha and Wafa al-Subaie, who are seeking asylum in Georgia after fleeing their family, said Absher – a government e-services app – was bad for women as it supported Saudi Arabia's strict male guardian system.

"It gives men control over women," said Wafa, 25. "They have to remove it," she added, referring to Google and Apple.

Absher, which is available in the Saudi version of Google and Apple online stores, allows men to update or withdraw permissions for female relatives to travel abroad and to get SMS updates if their passports are used, according to researchers.

Neither company was immediately available to comment. Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said in February that he had not heard of Absher but pledged to "take a look at it."

A free tool created by the interior ministry, Absher allows Saudis to access a wide range of government services, such as renewing passports, making appointments and viewing traffic violations.

Saudi women must have permission from a male relative to work, marry and travel under the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom's guardianship system, which has faced scrutiny following recent cases of Saudi women seeking refuge overseas.

The al-Subaie sisters, who stole their father's phone to get themselves passports and authorisation to fly to Istanbul, said they knew of dozens of other young women who were looking to escape abusive families.

Tech giants could help bring about change in Saudi Arabia if they pulled Absher or insisted that it allows women to organise travel independently – which would significantly hamper the guardianship system – they said.

"If [they] remove this application, maybe the government will do something," Wafa told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview.

The sisters' plea added to growing calls from rights groups, diplomats and U.S. and European politicians for the app to be removed from online stores.

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said on Wednesday that she had asked tech companies in Silicon Valley "tough questions" this month about the "threats" posed by apps like Absher which allow Saudi men to restrict women's movement.

"Technology can, and should, be all about progress. But the hugely invasive powers that are being unleashed may do incalculable damage if there are not sufficient checks in place to respect human rights," she said in a statement.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has introduced reforms, such as lifting the driving ban for women, and indicated last year that he favoured ending the guardianship system. But he has stopped short of backing its annulment.Western criticism of the kingdom has sharpened with the trial of 11 women activists who said last month that they had been tortured while in detention on charges related to human rights work and contacts with foreign journalists and diplomats.

The public prosecutor has denied the torture allegations and said the women had been arrested on suspicion of harming Saudi interests and offering support to hostile elements abroad.

A Saudi teen won global attention and asylum in Canada when she holed up in a Thai airport hotel in January to escape her family. Two other Saudi sisters who hid in Hong Kong for six months were granted visas in March to travel to a third country.

"Increasing cases of women fleeing the country are indicative of the situation of women in Saudi Arabia," said Lynn Maalouf, Middle East research director for rights group Amnesty International.

"Despite some limited reforms, [they] are inadequately protected against domestic violence and abuse and, more generally, are discriminated against."

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