Edited by Deepali Verma
Australian lawmakers have put a ban on the performance of the Nazi salute in public and outlawed the display or sale of Nazi hate symbols, mainly the swastika in landmark legislation that came into effect in the country on January 8. The new laws ensure that any act of glorifying OR praising acts of terrorism is a criminal offence.
The crime of public performance of the Nazi salute or even the display of the Nazi swastika is punishable by up to 12 months in prison, as per the Reuters news agency.
Mark Dreyfus, Australia’s Attorney-General, voiced in a press release on January 8 that the laws — the beginning of their kind in the country — released “a clear message: there is zero space in Australia for acts and symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust along with the terrorist acts.”
“No one in Australia will be permitted to glorify or profit from acts and symbols that either celebrate the Nazis or their evil ideology,” the press release said.
U.S, witness to “unprecedented,” “staggering” rise in antisemitic, anti-Muslim incidents
The landmark new laws were introduced at a time where Australia tries to get to grips with a spike in antisemitism in the country as the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza rages.
Initial data released by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry reported a rise in antisemitic incidents in the wake of the bloody Oct. 7 terror attack on southern Israel by Hamas militants, which the Israeli government says left more than 1,400 people dead. Israel started an immediate war on Hamas in response, which as per the health officials in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip has killed nearly 23,000 people.
Data released in December shows a total of 662 antisemitic incidents being reported during October and November 2023 in Australia.
“By comparison, there were 495 anti-Jewish incidents reported in Australia for the entire 12 months to 30 September 2023,” the council said.
In October, an unverified video went viral online that showed a small group of people appearing to chant antisemitic slogans at a pro-Palestinian demonstration outside the Sydney Opera House. A video circulating on social media around Oct. 8 by the conservative Australian Jewish Association group purportedly showed protesters employing flares and chanting ‘Gas the Jews’ and other antisemitic refrains.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has denounced the reports of the chants as “horrific” and “appealing” at the time of the incident.
