Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne, AustraliaiStock

A Jewish Australian politician’s federal election campaign signs were again defaced with Nazi imagery, this time with a swastika.

Josh Frydenberg, Australia’s Federal Treasurer and the Deputy leader of the Liberal Party, responded on Monday after discovering that on one of his signs a swastika had been drawn on his forehead.

The damage to the sign was not the first instance of antisemitic graffiti the Jewish candidate has experienced during the election period.

“Vandalism is a crime. This kind of vandalism is obscene,” he said on Twitter. “It doesn’t matter which political group is on the receiving end, it’s just not on. Our community deserves better.”

“Swastikas are a reminder of a dark past and it’s our collective duty to say ‘Never Again,’” he added.

According to The Age Melbourne news site, Frydenberg has been dealing with sign vandalism throughout the whole campaign, with hundreds of signs cleaned off by campaign volunteers since February. Besides antisemitic imagery – including the phrase “My mum’s a refugee, she’s ashamed of me” and another with a Hitler mustache drawn on Frydenberg’s face – signs were also vandalized with markers, covered in dog feces, torn and ripped down.

Frydenberg, who represents Melbourne suburb Kooyong, told Melbourne radio station 3AW that the vandalism was part of an orchestrated campaign.

“There have been many posters of mine that have been defaced and no doubt some of my political opponents as well,” he said. “But it does seem quite organized, and it is repeated, and it’s very unfortunate.”

In 2019, the politician’s election posters were also vandalized with Hitler mustaches, devil horns and the phrase “right-wing fascist.” Frydenberg called those acts “cowardly” in a tweet and blamed a “broader and disturbing trend in society of antisemitism and intolerance.”

Frydenberg told the Sydney Morning Herald that the vandalism of his signs was a threat to the community.

“The rise of these sorts of views is dangerous and we need to remember what transpired in the Second World War and in particular the Holocaust,” he said. “People who actually deface the boards with these swastikas should be ashamed of themselves and they are probably completely ignorant about that painful chapter in world history.”

Dvir Abramovich, the chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, told Nine News Melbourne that the vandalism was a “direct attack on our democracy and our values.”

Josh Burns, the Labor member for Macnamara, also had his campaign signs vandalized with Nazi imagery earlier in the campaign.

“There’s no place for the Swastika in Australia,” Burns tweeted. “I’m not putting this up for sympathy – to be honest, I’ve got thicker skin than that. But I’m putting this graffiti up as a reminder that there are some lines that shouldn’t be crossed. Democracy is precious and needs defending.”

“Being able to freely express one’s political views, peacefully and respectfully, is an essential part of Australia,” he added.