Indonesia’s response to the Bondi shootings and the royal commission hearings exposed a deeper unease – one where fear, politics and prejudice still shape how Judaism and Israel are discussed in public life.

The Royal Commission on Anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion has been meeting this month in Sydney to hear some of the 7,400 submissions on the Bondi shootings on 14 December. How has the Indonesian media reported the targeted killings and the royal commission hearings?

With trepidation and a determination not to mention the victims’ and alleged shooters’ religions and arouse wrath among readers, listeners and viewers who might demand the J word never assault their senses.

Unsurprisingly, there are few details about Jews and Judaism in Indonesia because there are no diplomatic ties, and it’s not a state-registered religion. There are six: Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. The individual’s selection is recorded on their compulsory national ID card.

Metro TV, a usually serious news platform, reported the Bondi killings by “strongly condemning the shooting incident.”

The Foreign Ministry expressed its “deepest condolences and prayers … and solidarity with the government and people of Australia during this difficult time.”

No mention of the victims’ faiths or names, nothing about the “suspected attackers”.

It’s a shabby piece of journalism that would have left viewers and readers asking why the report was so incomplete. That they........

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