Rabbi told ‘you should have died in Auschwitz’ in road rage abuse

A rabbi filmed as he was subjected to hateful and “vile” road rage abuse in Melbourne’s south-east including being told he “should’ve died in Auschwitz”.

In the 20-second video, a middle-aged male passenger in a grey vehicle can be heard calling the rabbi a “f—ing selfish c— of a Jew” as they sit stationary at a red light.

“Want me to get out and show you what Hitler did, no worries dickhead,” the man can be heard yelling.

“You should’ve died in Auschwitz.”

In the background the female driver can be seen waving and smiling, with the verbal abuse seemingly sparked by the rabbi making a call on his mobile phone.

The rabbi, who asked for his name to be withheld due to fears of further abuse, said he was driving to a synagogue in Caulfield when he noticed another motorist yelling in his direction, about 10pm on Monday.

He admits he’d picked up his mobile phone to make a call while stopped at a red light on the Nepean Highway, but never imagined it would spark death threats and anti-Semitic abuse.

The rabbi said he moved to Australia five years ago for a peaceful life. He said the incident had left him questioning how something like that could happen in a modern Australia.

He said he would report the incident to police.

Read the article by Erin Pearson in The Age.