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(JNS) Masked neo-Nazi protesters on Friday night displayed a giant banner reading “Jews hate freedom” on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament in Melbourne, Australia.
According to the 7News Melbourne broadcast network, the incident came in response to plans to place new restrictions on protesters, including a ban on protests outside places of worship, due to rising antisemitism in Victoria.
A video of the protest was posted on social media by Australian neo-Nazi Joel Davis.
Davis, unmasked apart from a large pair of sunglasses, said the Victorian government was “complicit in an agenda to take away your rights, my rights, all of our rights.”
“Jews hate freedom, and this government is complicit in the destruction of our freedoms,” shouted Davis. He chanted, “Freedom for the white man,” while his followers responded,
“The Jews must go.”
Davis was loudly heckled as he continued to rant.
The group’s chants included “Hail Victory,” the English translation of the German Nazi rallying cry “Sieg Heil.”
Victoria Premier Jacinta Allen expressed her disgust on social media, writing: “This is why I am acting. Masked Nazis on the front steps of our democracy with a mission to make Jews in our state feel unsafe.
“Antisemitism is rising around the world. I refuse to let Victoria succumb to it. And we want to make it impossible for Nazis to function in this state—not just by banning their symbols and salutes of hate, but by putting their vilifying threats and incitements in the Crimes Act, where they belong.
“Tonight, Victoria sends its love and solidarity to our Jewish community. You are part of us. And to the Nazis on the front steps: It is you who are the freedom haters, and we will drive you out.”
A spokesperson for the Victoria Police confirmed that an investigation into the incident was ongoing, and reiterated that the police department “vehemently condemns antisemitic or racially motivated behavior in our society and will not tolerate this kind of activity.”
Australian Jewish groups were quick to condemn the protest and express outrage. The Australian Jewish News quoted Anti-Defamation Commission chairperson Dvir Abramovich as saying that Melbourne “stands firm against this wave of neo-Nazi barbarity.”
There was no official comment from the Australian government.
Relations between Israel and Australia, long considered one of Israel’s staunchest allies, have soured in recent months. Many in the Jewish community attribute rising antisemitism in the country to the government’s increasingly hostile stance toward Israel and its failure to take action against those targeting Jews.
Last week, a call between Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and his Australian counterpart Penny Wong was reported to have been “heated.”
“Australia chose to distance itself from Israel during the most challenging year in its modern history,” Sa’ar said following the call, condemning what he said was Canberra’s weakened support for the Jewish state.
He further criticized Wong’s recent lumping together of Israel with Russia and China.
“Israel is a Western democracy with robust rule of law, an independent judiciary and adherence to international standards,” he said.
In recent weeks, two young Israelis were denied visas to enter Australia to celebrate the 100th birthday of their grandmother, a Holocaust survivor. Omer and Ella Berger’s planned family reunion in Sydney became a diplomatic incident when Australian authorities delayed their visa applications, citing their military service as grounds for additional scrutiny. This ultimately prevented them from entering the country.
The incident followed the denial of a visa to former Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked.
Jewish women’s organizations across Australia recently held vigils to protest the silence of feminist organizations and the United Nations about the crimes of sexual violence committed against women and girls during the Hamas onslaught on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and thereafter. Attendees held photographs of the hostages and signs saying, “Jewish women’s rights are human rights.”
