JEWISH COMMUNITY COUNCIL OF VICTORIA MEDIA STATEMENT
“The actions of Nazi thugs over the weekend has shocked the entire Victorian community, not just Jews. We are pleased to see the Victorian Government move to ban the Nazi salute, most likely with bipartisan support. It is an odious symbol of hate.
It should not be lost in the debate that, on this occasion, the proximate target of this hateful conduct was transgender people.
“The JCCV thinks that there needs to be a broader discussion about vilification of all minorities, and criminalisation of such behaviour. We look forward to participating in that discussion with Government in the near future.”
To download this statement in PDF format, please click here.
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry (the ECAJ), the peak representative body of the Australian Jewish community, has condemned yesterday’s demonstration in Melbourne’s CBD by a group of neo-Nazis as “disgraceful”, and called for tougher action by State, Territory and Federal governments against public displays of Nazi symbols and gestures.
“Neo-Nazis remain denizens of the far fringes of society, but a weak response by government has emboldened them”, said ECAJ co-CEO Peter Wertheim. “They are becoming increasingly brazen in staging displays of the kind we witnessed yesterday outside the Victorian parliament”.
“Thugs in black uniform, hiding behind masks, performing Nazi salutes and spewing violent and dehumanising rhetoric against entire groups of people on the basis of their race, sexuality or gender identity, should have no place anywhere in Australia, let alone outside a parliament, the symbol of democracy”, he said.
Peter Wertheim also noted media reports of attempts by neo-Nazis to join the Australian defence force and state police forces in order to gain access to weapons and training.
“We welcome the Victorian government’s announcement that it will ban the Nazi salute in public, after it previously outlawed the display of the Hakenkreuz. But we need something more than a piecemeal approach, and a patchwork of State laws. It’s well past time for Federal, State and Territory governments to co-ordinate their efforts through intelligence sharing, tough uniform legislation, and rigorous police training and enforcement to crack down on this growing menace.”
Aleph Melbourne co-convenor Michael Barnett said: “White supremacy of this nature led to the persecution and murder of millions of Jews, LGBTIQ+ people and other minorities in World War II. There is no room for this ugly behaviour in Melbourne, or anywhere else. Transgender, gender diverse and all LGBTIQ+ people have a right to live in peace and safety, without fear of bigotry, transphobia or intolerance.”
Daniel Aghion KC, President of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) said: “Vilification, in any form, has no place in Victoria.”, while Michael Barnett, Aleph Melbournesaid: “White supremacy of this nature lead to the persecution and murder of millions of Jews, LGBTIQ+ people and other minorities in World War 2. There is no room for this ugly behaviour in Melbourne, or anywhere else. Transgender, gender diverse and all LGBTIQ+ people have a right to live in peace and safety, without fear of bigotry, transphobia or intolerance.
Aleph Melbourne stated: “White supremacy of this nature lead to the persecution and murder of millions of Jews, LGBTIQ+ people and other minorities in World War 2.
There is no room for this ugly behaviour in Melbourne or anywhere else.
Transgender, gender diverse and all LGBTIQ+ people have a right to live in peace and safety, without fear of bigotry, transphobia or intolerance.
We call on the Victorian Government to condemn this behaviour and make it illegal to perform Nazi salutes in public places.”
Taking aim at what he called Deeming’s “extremist views and values on the issues of human sexuality and gender identity”, Aleph Melbourne co-convenor Michael Barnett said, “When politicians like Moira Deeming align themselves with people like Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull who affiliate with neo-Nazi extremists they cross a line of no return.
“I cannot see how there is room for people like that in a political party that values human decency. Her expulsion from the party cannot come soon enough,” he said.
19 March 2023 – A diverse group of trans, LGBTIQ+, multicultural, women’s and other civil society organisations have joined together to condemn the hate speech and transphobic displays that took place outside Victorian parliament.
The coalition said it highlighted the urgent need for Victoria and other jurisdictions to expand their anti-vilification laws to prohibit all forms of hate speech, including vilification based on gender identity or sexual orientation.
There are currently no federal laws and no laws in Victoria, South Australia or Western Australia protecting LGBTIQ+ people from vilification. Only vilification based on race (and in Victoria, also based on religion) is prohibited in these places.
Son Vivienne and Jeremy Wiggins, CEO’s of Transgender Victoria and Transcend said: “Surely, we can agree that whatever our personal or political beliefs, we share a human desire for mutual respect?
“Anti-vilification laws are one way to protect humanity against violence, hate and bigoted ideologies that hurt all people, but especially those at the intersections of stigmatised gender, sexuality, race, ethnicity, faith, class and disability.
“Transgender Victoria and Transcend believe in standing for common decency and compassion and we call upon state and federal governments to strengthen legal protections against hate.”
Jackie Turner, Founderof the Trans Justice Project said: ”Trans people deserve to thrive. Yet right now we are facing unprecedented attacks on our rights, lives and health care from anti-trans hate groups. I encourage everyone to stand in solidarity with the trans and gender diverse community in calling out these attacks.”
Anna Brown, CEO of Equality Australia said: “The actions of the anti-trans protesters in Victoria yesterday speak for themselves and we condemn them in the strongest possible terms. Clearly there is no place for Nazi salutes and signs calling for the destruction of trans people in Australian public debate.
“The neo-Nazi ideology and that of the anti-trans protesters have much in common – they target vulnerable minorities to incite hatred and fear. These ugly displays of transphobia are typical of the sort of vilification trans people have to deal with every day and now the broader Australian public can see for themselves the sort of people doing it.”
Mohammad Al-Khafaji, CEO of the Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA) said: “With International Day on the Elimination of Racism on Tuesday, we can’t stand by and let the symbols of racist ideology be used to demean the dignity of any person in our wonderfully multicultural society, whatever their race, religion, gender identity or sexuality.”
Daniel Aghion KC,President of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) said: “Vilification, in any form, has no place in Victoria.”
Jana Favero, Director of Systemic Change, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre said: “It was shocking to see footage of yesterday’s anti trans neo nazi displays. We condemn this display of racism, hatred, and fear mongering. Such discrimination and division does not reflect us as a community and must be rejected and condemned.”
Michael Barnett, Aleph Melbourne said: “White supremacy of this nature lead to the persecution and murder of millions of Jews, LGBTIQ+ people and other minorities in World War 2. There is no room for this ugly behaviour in Melbourne, or anywhere else. Transgender, gender diverse and all LGBTIQ+ people have a right to live in peace and safety, without fear of bigotry, transphobia or intolerance.
Renee Carr, Executive Director of Fair Agenda said: “The fight for women’s rights is one for respect and dignity. We condemn the actions of all who target and marginalise people in our community to incite hatred and fear. All women must join together to ensure our movement is not co-opted to demonise the trans women among us. A better future for women is one where we all have safety, security and agency over our lives and bodies.”
In 2021, a cross-party Victorian Parliamentary committee recommended expanding Victoria’s racial and religious vilification laws to protect everyone from hate, including transgender people. These recommendations are yet to be implemented.
In the lead up to the federal election in 2022, the Commonwealth government committed to enacting religious anti-vilification laws but has not committed to prohibiting vilification based on other attributes.
Ms Brown said reforms to protect LGBTIQ+ people from the harms of hate speech were long overdue.
“In 2023, it cannot be that Nazi salutes vilifying trans people are legal in Victoria, or anywhere in Australia. Everyone deserves to live without people condemning their simple right to exist, or live with dignity,” concluded Ms Brown.
Media contact: Anna Brown 0422 235 522, Tara Ravens 0408 898 154
The “Jews of Pride” contingent came to life again at the 28th Midsumma Pride March on February 5, 2023.
Enjoy this compilation of clips taken from the day showcasing the diversity of Melbourne’s Jewish community, celebrating LGBTIQ+ people and our families.
Check out the The Australian Jewish News’ online photo store for pictures from the Jews of Pride contingent at the 2023 Midsumma Pride March, taken by Peter Haskin.
Krycer has been volunteering with Melbourne’s LGBTIQ+ community for over 35 years, much of this with the Victorian AIDS Council at Thorne Harbour Health.
From left: Daniel Bryen (Thorne Harbour Health), Colin Krycer (Aleph Melbourne), Michael Barnett (Aleph Melbourne) Photo: Aleph Melbourne.
Aleph Melbourne has congratulated co-convenor Colin Krycer for being awarded “Volunteer of the Year” at GLOBE Victoria’s Victorian Pride Awards 2022, held last month.
Krycer has been volunteering with Melbourne’s LGBTIQ+ community for over 35 years, much of this with the Victorian AIDS Council at Thorne Harbour Health.
A longstanding volunteer of Thorne Harbour Health since 1987, Krycer has given willingly of his time to assist many LGBTIQA+ organisations including the Pride Foundation, Aleph Melbourne, Melbourne Rainbow Band, Melbourne Gay and Lesbian Chorus, JOY, ALSO Foundation, Positive Attitude, the Melbourne AIDS Memorial Candlelight Vigil and Quilt Project Inc,
Since 2018 Krycer has helped make the Jews of Pride contingent at Pride March a massive success with his sound system and event management talents, making the Jewish community contingent one of the event’s highlights.
Among his involvement with Aleph Melbourne is hosting community Shabbat dinners, Jewish movie events, and heimishe afternoon teas at his house.
