A Jewish father was horrified to find antisemitic graffiti burned or mowed into the grass at a children's playground in Mill Park in Melbourne, Australia, news.com.au reported.
The father, who asked not to be identified, had taken his one-year-old daughter to the park to play when he saw the words “Zionism = Nazi” written in extremely large letters in the ground.
“To be honest, I am still traumatized by the massacre that took place in Israel," the father, who is originally from Israel, said.
He added, “I was thinking about how children my daughter’s age were slaughtered a year ago but trying to enjoy quality time with my daughter … when all of a sudden I see her running around on this hate speech.”
Dvir Abramovich, the chairman of the Australian antisemitism watchdog organization the Anti-Defamation Commission, called the graffiti “not normal.”
“The monster of anti-Semitism has once again reared its head and delivered a punch to [the] gut of every Jewish Australian,” Dr Abramovich said. “What should have been a joyful family outing turned into a nightmare. Taking his one-year-old daughter for a peaceful to kick a ball for the first time, that precious milestone was shattered.In one stroke, the venom of anti-Semitism had defiled a space meant for children and families and this stomach-churning act of evil is a disturbing reminder that even a simple day at the park can be poisoned by bigotry. To scrawl such venom in a children’s playground is a new low in cowardice and cruelty.”
Melbourne has seen anti-Israel protests turn violent. In September, anti-Israel activists protested against the Land Forces International Land Defence Exposition, Australia's largest defense industry event, with activists announcing ahead of time their plans to blockade the expo and prevent people from being able to reach the event.
The protests turned violent multiple times, with police accusing demonstrators of throwing rocks, manure, and bottles filled with acid at officers and police horses. Buildings in the area were damaged, including hotels.
In one incident, an anti-Israel activist attacked a busker and destroyed his equipment. Busker Cam Nicholson wrote on his GoFundMe page after the attack that he and his partner were prevented from leaving by the anti-Israel activists when they attempted to get out of their way.
In June, the Melbourne office of Labor MP Josh Burns, a Jewish Parliamentarian, was set on fire by antisemitic vandals. The vandals smashed windows and set a fire at the front of the office. The words ''Zionism is fascism" were written on the office wall in red paint.
Following the arson at Burns' office, the Australian Israel and Jewish Affairs Council's Jamie Hyams told Sky News that the attack should be considered an act of terror.
"The simple definition of terrorism is the use of illegal violence to achieve political means. No one can argue that the attack on Josh's office wasn't illegal, and no one can argue that it wasn't violent, and it was clearly to achieve political means," he claimed.
This is not the first such incident Australia has witnessed since the war broke out. "We saw horrific scenes at the Sydney Opera House on the night of October the 9th, where the crowd was screaming 'Gas the Jews'. We had riots outside a synagogue in Corfield in November, which forced the synagogue to be evacuated on Friday night. There was horrific graffiti outside the main Jewish school in Melbourne."
"Hyams demands action from local authorities. "More needs to be done about this from the police, from the authorities. The Jewish community can't keep on living in fear as we are. I've never in my lifetime had to feel like my community is living in fear as we are now."