Police working to ID and arrest additional suspects who chanted Nazi-era slogans outside Victoria’s Parliament House, in protest of proposed laws clamping down on antisemitism
By ToI Staff
22 December 2024
A group of neo-Nazis protest against a proposed law clamping down on demonstrations outside houses of worship, on the steps of Victoria's Parliament House in Melbourne, Australia, on December 20, 2024. (Social media/X; used in accordance with Clause 27a of the Copyright Law)
Australian police have been working to identify a group of men who took part in a neo-Nazi protest on the front steps of Victoria’s Parliament House in Melbourne over the weekend, local media outlets reported on Sunday.
On Friday evening, a group of around 20 men, all of them dressed in black, unfurled a large banner proclaiming that “Jews hate freedom” on the steps of the government building.
The group of far-right protesters, according to local outlet 7News Melbourne, were demonstrating against plans to place new restrictions on protesters, including a ban on protests outside places of worship, due to rising antisemitism across the state of Victoria.
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Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan proposed the new laws after arsonists gutted a Melbourne synagogue this month and protesters kept fearful worshipers trapped inside a Sydney synagogue for three hours a week earlier.
The law would also prevent protesters from flying flags and displaying symbols of groups listed as terror organizations by Australia. Face masks used by protesters to conceal their identities and protect against capsicum spray would also be banned.
Footage posted online of Friday’s protest showed the group of men chanting “Freedom for the white man” and “The Jews must go.”
Standing in front of the large black and white banner, one of the protesters declared that “the Jews have demanded that the Victoria government change laws to take away our freedom to protest politically, and to expand so-called ‘hate speech anti-vilification laws’ to take away our rights to speak freely and criticize them.”
“Why should 0.4 percent of the Australian population — the Jews — get to dictate to the Victorian government what our freedoms should and should not be?” he shouted, declaring that the supposed reason for this was the “money and power that the Jews have.”
“This country should not belong to the Jews, it should belong to the white Australian people who built it.” he declared.
“Hail Victory!” the neo-Nazi proclaimed, invoking a direct translation of the German Nazi Party’s “Sieg Heil.”
“Blood and honor!” he shouted, again borrowing a Nazi-era motto, this time from the Hitler Youth.
In additional footage from the demonstration, the masked men could be seen leaving the area following a request from police officers
‘Never bow to the jackboots of hate’
Speaking to the Herald Sun on Saturday, Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Kelly Walker confirmed that one of the participants in the protest had been identified and that police were “making all inquiries to apprehend him and look at the range of offenses.”
“Looking to ID these men is our priority,” she said, branding their behavior as “disgusting.”
A Victoria Police spokesman confirmed to the local outlet that the investigation was still 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.”
There was no official comment from the Australian government on the matter.
Australian Jewish groups were quick to condemn the protest and express outrage over the incidents, the Australian Jewish News reported, citing Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich, who said that Melbourne “stands firm against this wave of neo-Nazi barbarity.”
“Melbourne will never bow to the jackboots of hate, and we will never allow the echoes of Hitler’s hate to dictate the future of our multicultural, democratic community,” he added.
Victoria Premier Jacinta Allan proposed the new laws after arsonists gutted a Melbourne synagogue this month and protesters kept fearful worshipers trapped inside a Sydney synagogue for three hours a week earlier.
The law would also prevent protesters from flying flags and displaying symbols of groups listed as terror organizations by Australia. Face masks used by protesters to conceal their identities and protect against capsicum spray would also be banned.
Footage posted online of Friday’s protest showed the group of men chanting “Freedom for the white man” and “The Jews must go.”
Standing in front of the large black and white banner, one of the protesters declared that “the Jews have demanded that the Victoria government change laws to take away our freedom to protest politically, and to expand so-called ‘hate speech anti-vilification laws’ to take away our rights to speak freely and criticize them.”
“Why should 0.4 percent of the Australian population — the Jews — get to dictate to the Victorian government what our freedoms should and should not be?” he shouted, declaring that the supposed reason for this was the “money and power that the Jews have.”
“This country should not belong to the Jews, it should belong to the white Australian people who built it.” he declared.
“Hail Victory!” the neo-Nazi proclaimed, invoking a direct translation of the German Nazi Party’s “Sieg Heil.”
“Blood and honor!” he shouted, again borrowing a Nazi-era motto, this time from the Hitler Youth.
In additional footage from the demonstration, the masked men could be seen leaving the area following a request from police officers
‘Never bow to the jackboots of hate’
Speaking to the Herald Sun on Saturday, Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Kelly Walker confirmed that one of the participants in the protest had been identified and that police were “making all inquiries to apprehend him and look at the range of offenses.”
“Looking to ID these men is our priority,” she said, branding their behavior as “disgusting.”
A Victoria Police spokesman confirmed to the local outlet that the investigation was still 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.”
There was no official comment from the Australian government on the matter.
Australian Jewish groups were quick to condemn the protest and express outrage over the incidents, the Australian Jewish News reported, citing Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich, who said that Melbourne “stands firm against this wave of neo-Nazi barbarity.”
“Melbourne will never bow to the jackboots of hate, and we will never allow the echoes of Hitler’s hate to dictate the future of our multicultural, democratic community,” he added.
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