Rashi Elmaliah is not a diplomat or elected official. A strategic advocacy consultant based in Israel, she never planned to become a public advocate. But after Hamas’ October 7 attack, she found herself speaking out—first as a form of personal coping, then as a voice for others who felt silenced.
“It started as self-therapy,” Elmaliah said in an interview with ynet. “Like many Israelis, I have children in the army. There was so much going on. Then you hear a blatant lie about Israel or our soldiers, and at that moment, nothing else matters.”
Rashi Elmaliah
(Video: Yaron Brenner)
What began as personal reflection turned into public engagement. Elmaliah said friends and strangers began reaching out, urging her to continue. “People kept messaging me: ‘Please keep going. We can’t speak out—we’ll lose our jobs.’”
Born and raised in Australia, Elmaliah said she was stunned by how quickly antisemitism surged across the country following the attacks. “Australia was built on multiculturalism. Jews have always been an integral part of Australian society—my university, Monash, is named after a Jew. Yet suddenly, the entire system turned on us.”
Elmaliha described massive protests in Australian cities that included antisemitic slogans and calls for violence. She accused the media of spreading disinformation and the government of validating it by recognizing a Palestinian state and refusing to call out incitement. She singled out Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong for what she called a dismissive approach toward Israeli victims.
“Wong visited Israel and refused to go to the Nova site,” Elmaliah said, referring to the massacre at the Nova music festival. “This government had every opportunity to push back against hate and didn’t.”
She said Australia's failure to condemn extremist rhetoric created a climate where attacks on Jews felt inevitable. “For two years, people saw synagogues burned and nothing happened. So they felt emboldened. Now they think they can shoot Jews and get away with it.”
She also cited examples of bias in schools and public life. “My nephew’s teacher wore a Palestinian pin next to a pride flag,” she said. “I told him, ‘Try wearing that in Gaza.’”
Though no longer an Australian resident, Elmaliah said she was devastated when the current government was reelected. “Not because I care about party politics—I don’t vote there anymore—but because almost no one in power did the bare minimum to stop this hatred.”
She said many in the Jewish community are afraid to speak. “Doctors are afraid in their hospitals. Academics can’t speak out. Some are forced to take courses in Islamophobia, while their own communities are under threat.”
On a recent trip to Melbourne, she wanted to visit her alma mater, Monash University, to speak with students. But security personnel advised her not to go without protection. “They told me I wasn’t safe at my own university,” she said. “That some radicalized person might think I deserve harm. And I thought of my kids.”
Despite the threats, Elmaliah remains firm. “We can’t be silent. Be proud, be Jewish. Don’t let them beat us with fear.”