Jewish community leaders have condemned neo-Nazis for distributing vile antisemitic leaflets in Melbourne just days before the federal election.
Residents in Caulfield – a suburb with one of ‘s largest Jewish populations -received pamphlets mimicking Liberal Party campaign material.
The fake brochures featured a doctored party logo, replacing the n flag with an Israel one.
‘Israel First: doesn’t need to defend itself,’ the material read.
‘Abolish Free Speech: Criticising Jews is another holocaust.
‘Jail Anti-Semites: Making Jews feel safe is all that matters.
‘Give Jews Free Money: Jews are doing it tough and need our charity.’
The material claimed to be ‘authorised by Joel Davis, National Socialist Network, Melbourne’, one of ‘s most notorious neo-Nazi groups.
He was seen in Melbourne distributing the flyers in Kew, alongside two people dressed up as Orthodox Jews.
‘Great policy delivered by the Liberal Party … great policies,’ he said.
‘Israel first, doesn’t need to defend itself; why would need to defend itself.’
Bystanders appeared visibly uncomfortable as they hurried past.
Robert Gregory, Chief Executive Officer of the n Jewish Association, condemned the letters.
‘Members of the Jewish community contacted us in shock after receiving these hateful flyers,’ he told Daily Mail .
‘The flyer appears to be an attempt to impersonate and harm the Liberal Party.
‘There is absolutely no place for Nazis and antisemitism in .
‘The attempt to mock the Liberal party because of its strong stand against antisemitism and in support of Israel’s war against terrorism will backfire.
‘These Nazis recognise that ns would never vote for them if they ran in the election, so they creep around at night printing and spreading hateful flyers.’
Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission Dr Dvir Abramovich said antisemitism has become increasingly aimed at anyone ‘who dares to stand alongside the Jewish community’.
‘This is not about religion, it’s about exclusion,’ he said.
‘It’s about marking people as ‘other.’ It’s about enforcing a perverse ideology through fear. This is not just an attack on Jews. It’s an attack on democracy itself.’
A spokesperson for the AEC said the commission is reviewing the pamphlets.
‘We are aware of the flyers and are reviewing them to ensure that they comply with the authorisation rules,’ the spokesman said.
‘While the AEC understands that the content of these flyers will evoke a strong emotional reaction, it is imperative that we stick to our legal role – and the Electoral Act is clear that the AEC is not able to make determinations about the content of electoral communications.
‘In saying this, there may be other bodies that could have an interest under separate legislation given the nature of the content.
‘While the Electoral Act doesn’t prohibit the use of a political party’s logo, there may be other potential legal remedies that would fall outside of electoral laws.’