A Jewish man visiting Melbourne was greeted with a Nazi salute and was threatened that all Jews would be killed last Wednesday, according to the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC).
“We should have killed all the Jews, we will kill the f*****g Jews,” said the assailant, described as a caucasian man.
The victim, 70-year-old Norman Schueler, called the police, following as the harasser attempted to walk away from the scene. The man was arrested but later released without charge.The ADC told The Jerusalem Post that Schueler was not given a reason for the man's release, but had recently been called back into a precinct to give a statement.
Traumatic antisemitic experience
Schueler, who had lost relatives in the Holocaust, told ADC that the incident has kept him awake at night reflecting on what had happened.
“We should have killed all the Jews, we will kill the f*****g Jews.”
Melbourne assailant
The victim had come to Melbourne from South Australia to celebrate the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, with family.
“Antisemitic sentiment is taking a firm hold and is unmistakably creeping into our daily life as hardcore bigots are less inhibited about expressing their savage, neo-Nazi sentiments in public," said ADC chairman Dr. Dvir Abramovich in a statement. "This ugly episode, part of a broader pattern, could have ended in physical violence and not just verbal assault. It may be an uncomfortable truth for some, but the reality is that the rising wave of hatred against Jews here is becoming commonplace."