Georgie Purcell facing antisemitic and misogynistic abuse due to having Jewish partner, commission hears

Vile, threatening abuse is being levelled at witnesses to the antisemitism royal commission, the inquiry has heard, while a Labor MP has said attacks on his partner were heightened because they were stacked with misogyny. Meanwhile, data analysis has shown how quickly factual reports are transformed into conspiracy theories online, and that while there was a spike in antisemitism after the Bondi terror attack, there was a “huge spike” in anti-Muslim hate. The royal commission into antisemitism and social cohesion is hearing evidence of “the dissemination of antisemitic content and other forms of hateful speech in the online environment, as well as antisemitism in traditional media and broadcasting”. On Tuesday, Labor MP Josh Burns told the inquiry while he and his office receive thousands of abusive messages, his partner, Victorian Animal Justice MP Georgie Purcell, is attacked because of her association with him. He is Jewish, she is not. Sign up for the Breaking News Australia email He gave the commission examples of abuse directed at him, which included being called a “genocidal Zionist” and the suggestion an attack on his office was an inside job. Comments sent to Purcell included comments about her relationship with him, such as: “You root a Zionist. …