A Nazi flag was spotted flying from a building near a synagogue in Brisbane, Australia over Saturday in what the city's mayor slammed as a "sickening" display, The Guardian reported.
The flag was condemned by Queensland Jewish Boards of Deputies vice president Jason Steinberg, who slammed the flag's display and has called on the state's laws to make showing swastikas as unacceptable.
"We called on the banning of the swastika to be displayed and Nazi flags like this because at the moment ... it doesn't breach the serious hate or vilification law," Steinberg said over Saturday, according to the Canberra Times.
Support for this came from Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner.
"This is sickening," he tweeted Saturday. "For someone to fly this symbol of hatred and genocide right above the Brisbane Synagogue on Margaret St. is pure evil. It's time for this vile flag to be banned in Queensland."
Under the current inadequate laws, this is likely to be classified as nothing more than a low-level “public nuisance”. Not good enough!
— Adrian Schrinner (@bne_lordmayor) October 30, 2021
He added that "Under the current inadequate laws, this is likely to be classified as nothing more than a low-level 'public nuisance.' Not good enough!"
These calls follow the lead of Victoria, which had previously moved to completely outlaw displaying Nazi symbols in public.
Legislation to prohibit hateful symbols is expected to be passed in early 2022.
This is in response to the recent rise of Neo-Nazi activity in the area. One example includes an incident last year where a woman was flying a Nazi flag that featured a swastika symbol in the front yard of her home. However, at the time, there was no law that prohibited the flag from staying up.
"New codes and symbols are continually being developed by hate groups and the legislation will need to be flexible enough to capture this," said Peter Wertheim, the co-chief executive officer of peak Jewish body the Australian Jewry Executive Council.
Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission said that the decision made by the Victorian parliament is "a day for the history book, a joyful and profound moment."
Similar laws already exist in Germany, Russia, France, Austria and Ukraine.
Gadi Zaig contributed to this report.