Jewish teens chased through St Kilda East in shocking anti-Semitic incident

The Jewish community has been left rattled after yet another shocking incident of anti-Semitism on Australia’s streets.

In a terrifying series of events caught on CCTV on Monday night, a group of Jewish boys is followed by a white ute on the corner of Glen Eira Road and Hotham Street in St Kilda East.

The boys, all aged in their teens, were repeatedly harassed by the ute’s occupants who reportedly threatened them with violence and yelled “Heil Hitler”.

In a bid to escape the threat, the boys can be seen rushing across the road, with the car narrowly missing one of them as it performs a swift U-turn.

The vehicle reportedly circled the teens for about five minutes, harassing them as they tried to move on.

Victoria Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident. No arrests have been made.

“Police are investigating a report of anti-Semitic behaviour which occurred in St Kilda East on 19 January” a police spokesperson said.

“It is alleged the occupants of the vehicle yelled anti-Semitic abuse and stopped a short distance away … fortunately, no one was injured and the vehicle drove from the scene.”

The incident is the latest in a concerning rise in anti-Semitic incidents across the nation’s capital cities.

The incident occurred just 100m away from the Adass Israel Synagogue which was firebombed just over 12 months ago.

Police have said that such incidents will not be tolerated.

“There is absolutely no place in our society for anti-Semitic, racist or hate-based behaviour and such activity will not be tolerated,” a police spokesperson said.

‘Absolute shame’: MP addresses incident in parliament

The shocking scenes were addressed in parliament, as all sides of government gathered to debate proposed laws that would make such incidents criminal offences.

Josh Burns MP, the Labor Party member for the seat in which the incident occurred, said that anti-Semitism had no place in Australia.

“No one should suffer vilification, no one should suffer hate, no one should suffer incitement,” Mr Burns said.

Mr Burns launched a scathing attack against the Liberal Party for not supporting the laws before parliament, calling it an “absolute shame”.

“The fact of the matter is, that even late last night, a bunch of Jewish kids in my electorate, who were dressed in religious Jewish garb, were chased down the street and screamed at, just for being who they are,” Mr Burns said.

“Make no mistake that as a result of the Liberal Party’s refusal to support the serious vilification laws, hate will not have consequences.”

“It is just an absolute shame that we came here today and the full suite of laws aren’t what they should be because the Liberal Party refused to support the very things they said they did.”

‘Ticking time bomb’

Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission said he was horrified when he saw what had happened to the boys.

“When I watched that footage, my stomach dropped,” Dr Abramovich said.

“People need to understand how close this came. One stumble. One wrong step. One second slower, and we could be talking about dead children instead of shaken ones.”

Dr Abramovich said the incident was evidence that action was needed to root out anti-Semitism and hate.

“No parent should have to wonder whether their child will make it home because of who they are but that is the new normal for our community. If we don’t crush this ticking time bomb now, the next chase won’t end with boys escaping.”