A Jewish man was confronted with Hitler salutes while walking in the Australian city of Melbourne.
A Jewish man in the Australian city of Melbourne was reported to be in shock on Friday night after he was showered with anti-Semitic abuse by a couple he encountered in the street.
The incident occurred in the Murrumbeena neighborhood. According to the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) — an Australian Jewish advocacy group that monitors antisemitic incidents — the man was wearing headphones when he noticed the couple trying to get his attention. When he removed his headphones, the couple began yelling “Heil Hitler” and made Nazi salutes.
As he walked away, the victim — who was not wearing a kippah — was subjected to repeated chants of “Heil Hitler.”
The ADC expressed concern that a specific pattern of attacks was becoming apparent, noting that earlier this week, an Orthodox Jewish woman shopping at a supermarket was told by a white man to “f–k off, Jew.”
“We are going down a path whereby anyone who may be perceived as being Jewish will not feel safe walking our streets for fear of being targeted and singled out for abuse,” ADC chair Dvir Abramovich said in a statement. “We cannot allow an open season on Jews to become the new normal, and this terrifying and despicable attack, which could have turned violent, occurred amid a dangerous tide of escalating anti-Semitism in Melbourne and a disturbing rash of similar incidents. Enough is enough.”