‘Idiotic’: Holocaust museum photo op boils over in Goldstein campaign

The Age is reporting from Goldstein in bayside Melbourne, exploring the national election story where it matters most – on the ground, seat by seat. Royce Millar and Najma Sambul will be filing stories and observations daily. If you live there and have insights, tips or thoughts about the key local issues, please contact them on rmillar@theage.com.au and najma.sambul@theage.com.au

The fight for Melbourne’s bayside electorate of Goldstein has boiled over as a key Jewish volunteer for independent candidate Zoe Daniel called a photo opportunity for incumbent Tim Wilson at the Holocaust Museum “all bullshit”.

Rabbi Yaron Gottlieb, who runs the Twitter account Voices of Goldstein – the grassroots political group backing former ABC journalist Zoe Daniel – lashed out in a tweet that pictured Wilson, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Victorian Liberal MP David Southwick at the museum in Elsternwick last week.

During the visit, Wilson, Frydenberg and Southwick all wore yarmulkes, the customary Jewish caps worn by men.

“What sort of idiotic virtue-signalling garbage is this? Why do they all have yarmulkes on?” Gottlieb wrote in the late-night tweet. “It is a museum, not a synagogue,” he continued. “This sums up modern Liberal Party perfectly … All bullshit photo op. No substance.”

Wilson tweeted back: “At some point, [Zoe Daniel’s] campaign team should show a little respect to the Jewish community as [David Southwick] and [Josh Frydenberg] & I have done.”

Read the article by Rachael Dexter in The Age.