Jewish creatives have names details published after WhatsApp leak

pWere sorry this feature is currently unavailable Were working to restore it Please try again laterppAdd articles to your saved list and come back to them any timeppAntiZionist activists have published the names images professions and social media accounts of hundreds of Jewish people working in academia and creative industries in an escalation of social tensions over the October 7 attacks and subsequent war in GazappThe dissemination of almost 600 names and their personal details was taken from the purported membership of a private WhatsApp Group formed last year by Jewish writers artists musicians and academicsppAlex Ryvchin the cochief executive of the Executive Council of Australian JewryppThe leak included a spreadsheet with links to social media accounts and a separate file with a photo gallery of more than 100 Jewish peopleppThe mass doxxing on Thursday came as Victoria Police confirmed it was already investigating potential criminal breaches of privacy from earlier incidents relating to the same WhatsApp groupppPolice are investigating following reports the personal details of a number of people who belong to a private social media chat group appear to have been released online a police spokesperson saidppIt appears the latest material which was compiled from a leaked transcript of chat group discussions over several months was published without activists confirming the accuracy of its contentsppClementine Ford speaking at a proPalestine rally at the State Library of Victoria last monthCredit Chris HopkinsppThe Age and The Sydney Morning Herald were contacted by a Jewish journalist who was not a member of the WhatsApp group but whose name was included in the published spreadsheetppI have been vocally critical of Israel was not added to the group and specially said I didnt want to be in that group and my name is on the spreadsheet said the Melbournebased journalist who asked not to be named for fear of further harassmentppI am not a Zionist I have never been a Zionist I am just a Jewish woman trying to go about my life This is a group of any Jew they know the name of I cant believe it is happeningppFeminist author Clementine Ford was among several proPalestinian activists who published a link to the leaked zionist group chat on ThursdayppThis is a group of creatives working to silence voices calling for Palestinian liberation Ford told her more than 250000 Instagram followersppWhen asked why she published the material Ford replied I would say that people whose livelihoods and professional reputations are mendaciously and successfully targeted in secret by others invested in silencing their criticism of a genocide are entitled to defend themselvesppThe doxxing incident comes amid months of proPalestinian protests over the ongoing war in Gaza which has killed more than 27000 people according to Palestinian health authoritiesppThis masthead previously revealed that some members of the JEWISH creatives and academics group and a separate WhatsApp group of Jewish lawyers wrote to ABC managing director David Anderson and chair Ita Buttrose demanding they sack broadcaster Antoinette LattoufppThe ABC has been gripped by conflict between union staff and management since it sacked Lattouf for reposting a Human Rights Watch report on social media that was critical of Israel Lattouf has taken legal action claiming unlawful termination on the grounds of her race and political opinion Anderson has insisted that the corporation was not influenced by external pressure in its sacking of LattoufppExecutive Council of Australian Jewry cochief executive Alex Ryvchin said the widely disseminated Jew list as he described it was designed to damage the reputation and professional careers of people who had spoken against the rise of antisemitism following the October 7 attacks by Hamas which killed about 1200 people in southern IsraelppThese people have painstakingly collected the names faces professions and other personal information of a group of Australians whose sole common trait is that they are Jews Ryvchin saidppThey are telling those who chant Wheres the Jews exactly who and where the Jews areppShortly after the October 7 attacks proPalestinian protesters were filmed chanting Wheres the Jews and other slogans outside the Sydney Opera HouseppIt is a Jew list drawn up and published in a menacing manner intended to inflict maximum emotional damage and professional loss Ryvchin saidppLee Kofman a Melbournebased Jewish author who administered the creatives and academics WhatsApp group said the group was formed in October last year to support and advocate for Jewish people who felt alienated or isolated from their professional peers because of the warppShe said the group was not a political lobby and rejected its characterisation as a secret Zionist cabal with influence in high placesppThis is absurd and offensive and feeds directly into the ancient and hateful antisemitic tropes about the Jews controlling or trying to control the world she saidppInstead we try to oppose professional discrimination we are experiencing like loss of work or workplace safety silencing of our voices overt racism weve experienced from some peers media coverage of issues affecting our community that we feel is unfair or untrueppKofman confirmed that some members of the group had exercised their democratic right to complain to government media and institutionsppThis included some members petitioning ABC management about Lattouf a broadcaster highly critical of Israel who was contracted as a fillin host on Sydney radio for five days in December She was removed from air with two days left to run on her contractppAlthough the WhatsApp group was private with members explicitly asked not to republish the contents of its online discussions a 900page transcript of the group chat was leaked and disseminated to proPalestinian activists in late JanuaryppSince then some members of the group renamed Zio600 by activists have been outed online with details of what they said in the chat group and their personal information published through a network of social media accountsppStart the day with a summary of the days most important and interesting stories analysis and insights Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletterppCopyright 2024p