Benji van der Plaat says he is afraid to be a Jew at the moment. He’s one of many Jewish Australians this masthead spoke to in the community’s Melbourne heartland suburbs of Caulfield, Elsternwick and Balaclava who opened up about their fear that the violence rocking Israel and Gaza could spread.
A few kilometres away, van der Plaat said he was left so shaken by reports of a car full of young men driving around South Yarra on Tuesday night and yelling out the window: “Where are the Jews? We want to kill the Jews” that he locked the door of the falafel store he works at in Elsternwick early that night.“I’m Jewish, but currently I am scared to show it just because I don’t know who is on the street,” van der Plaat said.
Moran Susan from Israel has been on a working holiday in Melbourne for about a month, but now he has to cut short his plans and go back home to join the military.The Israel Defence Forces soldier arrived in Melbourne just a month ago with dreams of a year-long adventure travelling around Australia and in South-East Asia.
The rabbi turned his phone back on at the end of the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah on Sunday night, and it has not stopped lighting up since.“There’s a sense of shock, disbelief, heartbreak, but most of all, just a huge amount of fear and anxiety ...,” Kaltmann said. On Tuesday, police confirmed they were investigating reports a man was subject to antisemitic threats in Toorak Road, near Williams Road in South Yarra about 4pm.“There is absolutely no place at all in our society for antisemitic or hate-based behaviour and Victoria Police is committed to responding to any such acts,” police said.
“We are looking very closely at what needs to be done in terms of additional security, particularly around Jewish schools,” Marles told radio station 3AW on Wednesday.