Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan was booed and jeered during a community vigil in Caulfield on Monday night, following scrutiny over her efforts to stamp out antisemitism.
Allan attended the vigil with her cabinet ministers, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and Liberal MPs including opposition leader Jess Wilson, as Melbourne’s Jewish congregation gathered at the Caulfield Shule for the second night of Hanukkah.
As the event speaker introduced Allan, the crowd booed her, with some shouting “shame”.
“As Jewish Australians we’ve been ringing the alarm bells for the past two years,” a Caulfield local told 9News on Monday.
“I was hoping when we had the firebombing of the synagogues that was going to be turning point,” Caulfield Hebrew Congregation Rabbi Daniel Rabin said.
At the end of the event, a man from the crowd taunted the Victorian premier, saying: “Jacinta Allan you have blood on your hands”.
Following the vigil, the Allan Government pledged $1.8 million to protect the Jewish community on Tuesday.
The Jewish Community Security Group (CSG) will also receive $900,000 to help improve security at upcoming Jewish school holiday programs, community events and cultural ceremonies.
Another $250,000 will fund extra security at Jewish youth summer camps, while almost $500,000 will be split between JewishCare, the Jewish Community Council of Victoria and the Rabbinical Council of Victoria for mental health and wellbeing support to the community.
A quarter of a million dollars will also go towards “a therapeutic intervention program” in hopes of disengaging vulnerable individuals from violent extremism.
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was forced to defend the government’s actions after he was heckled while laying a wreath at the vigil in Bondi Beach.
“We’ve been implementing a whole series of [recommendations],” Burke said on the Today show.
“The calls for things like doxxing to be made illegal, which we’ve done… wanting to strengthen the laws on hate crimes. We’ve now got the toughest laws against hate crimes on a federal level than we ever have.
“You’ll see the recommendations about the disgust at the willingness of people to perform a nazi salute or to use hate symbols. Those symbols, these gestures are now illegal at a federal level.”
The Melbourne Jewish community will continue to mark the religious festival over the coming days as an act of resilience against antisemitism.
Image: Nine
