A Jewish leader has reacted with anger after an “offensive” anti-Semitic marking was painted on a Geelong building amid concerns right-wing extremists are recruiting in regional cities.
A Jewish leader has reacted with outrage after an “offensive” anti-Semitic marking was painted on a Geelong building amid concerns right-wing extremists are recruiting in regional cities.
The City of Greater Geelong and Victoria Police have been made aware of a warehouse on Thompson Road in North Geelong that was defaced with a large Nazi swastika in April, with the disturbing graffiti highly visible from Melbourne Rd.
Jewish Community Council of Victoria president Daniel Aghion said the appearance of the emblem was “criminal” and should be investigated by police.
“It’s more than disappointing, from my community’s perspective, we are angry,” he said.
“You don’t have to be Jewish to know how offensive a swastika is.
“When you think about the values it represents and the values that we Australians hold deeply here, it is against everything that we as Australians believe in.
“So when we see this, we get angry and I think that also represents the general community as well.”
The swastika is largely identified as a symbol of hate used by Adolf Hitler as the centrepiece of the Nazi flag and white supremacism.
Read the article by Mark Murray in the Geelong Advertiser.