Key Points
- Members of the Jewish community have raised concerns after a local hub was once again vandalised on Saturday night.
- The incident occured the night before the community commemorated 100 days in captivity for more than 130 hostages still being held by Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.
- Victoria Police says its investigation is ongoing.
Jewish community leaders have denounced the vandalism of a community centre in Melbourne's south-east overnight, saying members of the community have been left rattled and feel unsafe.
The word 'genocide' and a picture of the Palestinian flag were found spray-painted across the Beth Weizmann Community Centre on Sunday morning.
The graffiti was found on the morning that the centre was commemorating 100 days since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.
CEO of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) Naomi Levin, whose headquarters are located inside the building, said many felt "incredibly confronted" by the message.
"It's not the first time since the current conflict began that there's been similar graffiti, but it's incredibly disappointing for us because this is a community centre," she told SBS News.
"We're not the Israeli embassy or government representatives or anything ... so it's incredibly confronting when you're accused of genocide as a Melburnian."
Levin said the community hub — which provides a space for education, a library, an auditorium for music rehearsals as well as a base for peak welfare bodies — now felt "unsafe" for locals already worried about attending events due to safety concerns.
The incident happened hundreds of cyclists in Melbourne took part in a road ride to protest the return of more than 130 hostages still being held captive by Hamas.
Zeddy Lawrence, Executive Director of Zionism Victoria and Beth Weizmann Jewish Community Centre, said the "hateful crime" stood in stark contrast to the community's peaceful rally.
Cyclists took part in a road ride in Melbourne, Victoria, to call for the release of hostages taken by militant group Hamas on 7 October, 2023. Credit: Supplied
CCTV footage of the incident has been provided to Victoria Police.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said in a statement: "Police are investigating after reports of antisemitic graffiti at a community centre on Hawthorn Road, Caulfield.
"Police are making further enquires after becoming aware of the graffiti on 14 January," the spokesperson added.
"There is absolutely no place at all in our society for antisemitic or hate-based symbols and behaviour."
New police unit looking at incidents
The rise in hate crimes - both antisemitic and Islamophobic - over the past three months has prompted Victoria Police to launch Operation Park, according to the Herald Sun.
Operation Park allows the police to centralise data and coordinate daily patrols of suburbs where incidents are more frequent.
The police have responded to at least 145 reports of alleged prejudice-motivated crimes, including physical assaults, threats, graffiti and posting of antisemitic or Islamophobic materials.
The federal government has also repeatedly stressed the need to maintain social cohesion, amid fears charged rhetoric over the Middle East conflict could spill into violence at home.
"There is no place in Australia for antisemitism, Islamophobia or any form of hate speech," acting Home Affairs Minister Andrew Giles said on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday, after an explosive device was found on the car of a Sydney man who flew a Palestinian flag at his property.
"We must recognise that in our multicultural society, social cohesion is a vital national asset which can’t be neglected, much less undermined."
Hamas in its entirety is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and seven other countries, including Australia. But the UN Assembly rejected classifying Hamas as a terrorist group in a 2018 vote. The group has seized about 250 hostages, 132 of whom Israel says remain in Gaza, including at least 25 believed to have been killed.
Israel vowed to destroy Gaza's Islamist rulers and launched a bombardment that has killed at least 23,843 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest toll from the territory's health ministry.
