‘Jews hate freedom’: No arrests reported after neo-Nazi rally outside Melbourne’s Parliament House

Australian police are looking to identify individuals from a group of neo-Nazis that unfurled a banner that said “Jews hate freedom” on the front steps of Victoria’s Parliament House over the weekend, according to local media reports.

No arrests have been reported in the incident, which Channel 9 news said took place on Melbourne’s Spring Street on Friday evening.

Footage of the group posted to social media shows a group of around a dozen men dressed in black chanting “Freedom for the white man” and “White man, white man, white man.”

In other footage from the demonstration, the masked men can be seen leaving the area upon request from police officers.

The neo-Nazi scenes in Melbourne are truly horrifying and terrifying. This should be a wake up call to both state and federal governments to act URGENTLY. pic.twitter.com/EDVngri0aC

— Sharri Markson (@SharriMarkson) December 21, 2024

Channel 9 quotes Victoria Police Acting Superintendent Kelly Walker as saying the group appeared to be having “some type of photoshoot.”

The police official is also quoted by the Australian Jewish News as saying one protester has been identified and will face charges.

There is no official comment from the Australian government.

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich is quoted by the Australian Jewish News as saying that Melbourne “stands firm against this wave of neo-Nazi barbarity.”

“Melbourne will never bow to the jackboots of hate, and we will never allow the echoes of Hitler’s hate to dictate the future of our multicultural, democratic community,” he adds.

Earlier this month, Australian federal police launched a special operation to investigate an increase in antisemitic threats and violence since the war between Israel and Hamas began last year.