Australian Man Charged with Anti-Semitic Threats Against Zionist Council

A 52-year-old man from North Queensland, Australia, has been charged with two hate crime offenses following alleged anti-Semitic threats directed at the Zionist Council of Queensland. Chris McComb, a resident of Mossman, is suspected of demanding, among other things, the expulsion of Jews and Israelis from Australia. The Zionist Council confirmed it received the communication, stating that in early July 2026, a message containing "explicit threats" was submitted via their website's contact form. Police have taken measures to protect the identity of the council representative who received the message, a decision supported by both the council and the Zionist Federation of Australia. The council used the incident to warn of a dangerous new pattern where terms like "Zionism" and "anti-Zionism" are used as a cover for expressions targeting Jews and Israelis. They stated that "anti-Zionism has increasingly become a tool for a modern form of anti-Jewish hatred," presenting itself as political commentary while actually serving to threaten, defame, and intimidate Jewish and Israeli people. The council noted this case reflects a broader trend they have been alerting the government, police, and online platforms about. McComb was arrested on August 27 near Cairns. The investigation is being conducted by a new joint hate crime task force comprising the Queensland Police and the Australian Federal Police. While not charged with terrorism, Assistant Commissioner Anthony Conway of the AFP stated, "Harm to social cohesion at the local community level ultimately impacts Australia's national security. We will not allow divisive and hateful rhetoric to grow and spread." This case occurs amid a sharp rise in reported anti-Semitism in Queensland, with Jason Steinberg, president of the Jewish Representative Council of Queensland, reporting over 100 such incidents in the state this year. Jewish community leader Paul Myers told the Courier Mail that the charges demonstrate that when hate escalates from words to threats, the law intervenes, expressing concern over how normalized such hatred has become and how often it hides behind political opinion.