Prime minister condemns alleged antisemitic incident targeting Jewish boys in Melbourne

The prime minister condemned an "antisemitic hate incident" after school-age Jewish boys were allegedly targeted on Glen Eira Road in St Kilda East, Melbourne, where "Nazi slogans" were said to have been yelled, police said. Victoria police said investigators were told up to five boys were on Glen Eira Road at about 9.50pm when a white ute drove past and the people inside "yelled antisemitic abuse".

The vehicle allegedly stopped a short distance away, the victims ran across the road, the ute performed a U-turn and drove towards them; "fortunately no one was injured and the vehicle drove from the scene," police said. Anthony Albanese called the alleged attack "a terrifying ordeal" for the young Australians and said it "has no place in our country", adding he wanted to see "the perpetrators face the full force of the law." Detectives from the Moorabbin Crime Investigation Unit said they had identified two persons of interest and were following up a "number of avenues of inquiry", and alleged the perpetrators were likely linked to other offending in the area including aggravated burglaries and vehicle theft.

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, said antisemitic behaviour "has absolutely no place here in Victoria" and noted that, if Nazi salutes occurred as reported in some media outlets, "that salute is banned here in Victoria, you can be prosecuted for that".

Key Topics

Politics, Anthony Albanese, St Kilda East, Moorabbin Crime Unit, Jacinta Allan, Adass Israel