A group of Jewish teenagers were targeted in an antisemitic attack in southeast Melbourne, not far from a synagogue that was firebombed last year, Australian media reported.
The assailants, driving a white car, allegedly shouted antisemitic slurs, performed Nazi salutes and yelled “Heil Hitler” before appearing to speed toward the teens as they attempted to flee.
Security camera footage
According to local media reports, the teenagers were walking together on Monday at around 9:50 p.m. local time, about 100 meters from the Adass Israel synagogue, which was set on fire with a Molotov cocktail just over a year ago, the Herald Sun reported.
Security camera footage shows the teenagers waiting to cross the street when a white Toyota is seen slowing nearby. After noticing the vehicle, the teenagers crossed quickly. As they ran, the car made a rapid U-turn toward them and nearly struck one of the teenagers as he crossed at a crosswalk. One of the teenagers recorded the car’s license plate number. Members of the Jewish community said the vehicle was stolen.
Chayim Klein, the father of one of the teenagers from the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel community, said his son told him that two people in the car shouted “Heil Hitler,” performed a Nazi salute and threatened to stab them. He said the car followed the teenagers in the area for about five minutes.
“They were forced to run and hide while the occupants of the car chased them, searched for them and tried to drive toward them,” Klein told the Herald Sun. “This was a deliberate and targeted act of intimidation and hatred that put the lives of young people in immediate danger and left the community shaken.”
The management of Yeshiva Ktana published a message to parents saying that around 9:45 to 9:50 p.m. a distressing incident occurred in which people in a car shouted at students. It said all students were safe and unharmed, the yeshiva was assisting police with the investigation and additional security measures were being examined.
Victoria police acting commander Adrian Healy confirmed that the occupants of the vehicle, believed to be under the age of 20, shouted antisemitic abuse and carried out threatening actions. The teenagers, aged 15 and 16, were left shocked and distressed.
The abuse was appalling and continued for some time, with the vehicle patrolling the area, entering an alley after harassing the teenagers and remaining in the vicinity for several minutes, Healy said. Police said the suspects have been identified and may be linked to a series of offenses in the area, including burglaries and car theft.
Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan said it was hateful behavior and had no place in the state. She noted that Nazi salutes are banned by law in Victoria and pointed to government plans to strengthen laws against antisemitism when parliament returns in early February, following the terrorist attack in Sydney.
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria said the teenagers were subjected to physical and verbal threats and stressed the need for increased police presence outside religious institutions and Jewish schools, citing a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across Australia.