Antisemitic and abusive Uber ride

A Jewish nursing student in Melbourne was racially profiled, vilified and abused when she tried to take an Uber ride from Melbourne’s Box Hill Institute.

Her mother said it sounded like antisemitic harassment and false imprisonment.

The victim was wearing her nursing name tag, which showed her Hebrew name Chana.

The driver interrogated the 28-year-old victim about her ethnicity, demanding to know, “Where are you from? Where are your parents from? Where are your grandparents from? What’s your ethnicity?” This all took place over a traumatic 25-minute Ube ride.

When the young student attempted to leave the car, the driver refused and prevented her exit by locking the doors. Her mother said, “She couldn’t get out.”

The driver evidently became even more aggressive, saying, “No, you’re not getting out…Who the hell do you think you are?”.

After the event, she could not sleep for several nights and suffered severe migraines afterwards, which required specialist medical treatment.

Her mother said, “She said she just kept replaying it over and over in her mind. Did I do the right thing? Did I do the wrong thing?” It is sad that the young woman finds herself questioning herself when she is the victim. She has also sought counselling since the incident.

When asked for comment, an Uber spokesperson told J-Wire, “Uber does not tolerate any discriminatory or abusive behaviour. We have reached out to the passenger and are thoroughly investigating this matter.”

“We are deeply committed to the safety of everyone who uses the Uber platform, including both riders and driver partners. Our Community Guidelines clearly explain what behaviour isn’t appropriate and what will cause someone to lose access to their Uber account. We work to inform driver partners and riders about those standards and take action to hold them accountable for their behaviour.” The victim’s mother confirmed that Uber has been in contact.

Their guidelines include, “aggressive, confrontational and harassing behaviour is not allowed. Don’t use language or make gestures that could be disrespectful or threatening. It may be a good idea to stay away from personal topics that can potentially be divisive, like religion and political beliefs.”

J-Wire is awaiting to see whether Uber will act on their guidelines.

The mother said that Victoria Police “were not interested at all. Didn’t care, didn’t want to know.” However, the family found that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) hotline was responsive and acted professionally.

When the victim called Malvern Police Station, she was told that there was “not really a whole lot we can do.”

The mother said this contrasted with the response from the AFP, who “were fantastic. They wanted to know all the details, word for word, exactly what happened.”

The mother has written to the Prime Minister so that he can understand what happened. She wants him to understand the environment that Australian Jews are facing. The mother’s father was a ‘good friend’ of Gough Whitlam, but she told J-Wire, “I’ve sent my letter to Mr Albanese but I suspect it will be filed in the shredder.”

The family is concerned that the driver’s motives may have been even more sinister than they first appeared. He asked, “What time do you get to college and what time do you get home? What time are you expected home?”

In discussing the environment for Jews in Australia since the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel, the mother told J-Wire that “It’s scary!”

The student is keen to keep her identity confidential, especially since she watched Mike Burgess’ ASIO presentation at The Lowy Institute. The warnings in the presentation, combined with the incident, have frightened her.

The family’s Holocaust history would accentuate the trauma for both the young woman and her family. The mother told J-Wire, “Chana knows my family story. It continued well after the end of WW2 with terrible events…as we are First Generation Survivors.”