Posters depicting Netanyahu as Hitler appear in Australia

Although Australia in known to be friendly towards Israel, anti-Israel activists in Melbourne put up posters depicting Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as the infamous Nazi leader.

By World Israel News Staff

Posters that portray Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Hitler with the headline “war criminal” have been discovered at numerous locations in the Australian city of Melbourne, the Australian Jewish News reported Thursday.

A Hitler-style mustache was drawn on the portrait of Netanyahu, with a reddish star of David super-imposed and a red stain like blood on his white shirt.

A large title on the poster says “war criminal – Netanyahu is guilt of war crimes” and the bottom of the poster carries the slogan “stop the Gaza massacre” – referring to the recent conflict in Gaza that was sparked on May 10 by the Hamas terror group in Gaza firing a barrage of rockets at Jerusalem.

There are roughly 50,000 Jews living among the 5 million residents of Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city. Several posters appeared on walls facing the Southland Shopping Centre, a few kilometers south of Melbourne’s main Jewish neighborhoods.

Australia’s Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) received numerous complaints about the posters, with ADC chairman Dvir Abramovich telling the AJN that there has been a rise in anti-Semitism since the conflict broke out between Israel and Gaza.

The situation is “so bad that it’s actually tough for the ADC to keep track of all the reports,” Abramovich said. “Some are telling me that they are concerned about their children wearing a kippah or a Star of David necklace outside.”

“This despicable use of Nazi imagery to demonize and defame the Israeli PM is another outrage which trivializes history’s darkest chapter,” he added.

The Australia-Israel Labor Dialog (AILD) organization that promotes connections between the Australian and Israeli labor parties noted with concern that coverage of the Gaza conflict on Australian appeared to be biased in favor of anti-Israel voices.

The AILD said that only one of the five panelists on an Australian Broadcasting Corporation talk show discussing Gaza was taking the side of Israel.

“Not sure this met the @ABCaustralia requirement that no significant strand of thought or belief within the community be knowingly excluded or disproportionately represented,” AILD tweeted.

The executive director of the Jewish Community Council of the Australian state of Victoria in which Melbourne is located said the government had to do more to combat anti-Semitism.

“This campaign of hate, falsehoods and antisemitic reference is a disgrace and the increase of such images in print and online is a real concern for our community,” Judy Fetter told the AJN. “Focused educational programs and liaising with government officials to combat anti-Semitism and racism in all forms remains an ongoing priority as we face a surge in these types of propaganda.”

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