Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne, AustraliaiStock

A Melbourne, Australia rabbi has reportedly been left traumatized and afraid for his safety after being inundated with threatening phone calls, the Herald Sun reported.

The Jewish community in the state of Victoria has long called on political leaders to speak out against the “escalating” discrimination the community has been facing, with the phone calls only the latest incident.

According to the Australian Jewish News, the rabbi was in shock after the anonymous caller left two disturbing antisemitic voicemails on his cellphone on Tuesday evening.

The first voicemail called the rabbi a “Jewish ****bag” and said, “I’d just like to congratulate you on your new label, Captain Apartheid, because that’s how Jewish people are going to get named.”

The caller went on to compare Israel to apartheid-era South Africa. He said: “Well, that’s how you treat your neighbours. That’s how Israel’s going to get remembered from now until the end of time, for apartheid, because you are true ******** ***** to those people for no reason.”

The caller continued on an anti-Israel rant and then finished by saying, “Go **** yourself, shalom … congratulations on the apartheid label.”

Ten minutes later, the caller left a second voicemail. He continued to harass the rabbi and referred to him as “Rabbi Apartheid.”

He also told him to “dump that stupid religion that got made up a million years ago by pedophiles.”

The rabbi, who wants to keep his identity private, told the Jewish News that he was afraid for the safety of his family after receiving the calls.

“It was a bit of a sense of awakening when you hear the antisemitism involved. It wasn’t just apartheid and Israel but it was targeted antisemitism,” he said.

The rabbi contacted the Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) whose chair Dvir Abramovich said that police have opened an investigation.

“I am outraged and understand why many believe it is open season on the Jewish community and feel under siege,” Abramovich told the news outlet.

He described the calls as “the latest in a spate of horrifying episodes” that were further proof that “racists are less inhibited about expressing their insidious bigotry openly.”

“These sickening messages, fusing age-old antisemitism with anti-Israel rhetoric, have not only traumatized the victim but will shake our community to the core and leave members scared and vulnerable,” he said. “It may be an uncomfortable truth for some, but antisemitism has taken root in Australia and keeps rearing its ugly head from all directions.”