Back row (from left): Jayne Josem, Dvir Abramovich and Jack Leder; and front Sarah Saaroni (left) and Abram Goldberg on the steps of Victorian parliament.

Holocaust survivors call for Nazi salute to be outlawed in Victoria

The state government will consider a ban on the Nazi salute amid a push to outlaw the gesture in Victoria.

Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes will meet representatives of the Jewish community to discuss stepping up prohibitions already in place on Nazi symbols and flags.

The development follows a series of recent incidents where white supremacists performed the gesture in public spaces, including at a ceremony on Thursday for Indigenous Australians.

Holocaust survivors Abram Goldberg, Sarah Saaroni and Jack Leder are the driving force behind the campaign, urging the Andrews government to take action.

The group is being supported by Melbourne Holocaust Museum chief executive Jayne Josem and Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dr Dvir Abramovich.

In a statement, the group said the Nazi salute celebrates “Hitler’s monstrous legacy and the indescribable crimes committed by his regime” and had no place in Victorian society.

The group is urging the Victorian government to “close the lid on this sickening phenomenon” by criminalising the gesture.

“My blood starts to boil when I see the Nazi salute, and it brings back the memory of 6 million Jews who were murdered by the Nazis,” Goldberg, an Order of Australia Medal recipient, said. “It should be banned. No question.”

Read the article by Marta Pascual Juanola and Rachael Dexter in WA Today and the Brisbane Times.