Nazi flag allegedly waved at pub after new laws pass
Two men face jail time over a swastika flag allegedly waved in a pub a stone’s throw from a Jewish museum.
The pair, aged 44 and 51, are due to face court on Friday after police were called to the hotel in Darlinghurst in inner Sydney on Thursday afternoon.
The men were arrested nearby with the flag and several electronic devices seized.
The incident came hours after federal parliament passed tough hate crime laws that carry a mandatory one-year jail term for the display of Nazi or terrorist symbols.
The suite of changes, passed with rare Labor support for controversial mandatory minimums, are an attempt to curb rising anti-Semitism in recent months.
NSW also announced tougher penalties and new crimes on Thursday after escalating anti-Semitic graffiti, firebombings and most recently a thwarted plot targeting key Jewish sites.
Jewish groups have aired concerns several offenders are getting away with little more than a conviction and a small fine for crimes striking fear into the community.
“We have been saying for weeks now that the Jewish community is the target of an ongoing campaign of domestic terrorism designed to tear at our social fabric,” NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the changes built on his government’s earlier work to outlaw Nazi symbolism.
“We want people who are engaged in anti-Semitic activities to be caught, to be charged and to be put in the clink – that’s my priority,” he said.
The two men arrested on Thursday have been charged with an existing NSW law banning the public display of Nazi symbol without reasonable excuse.
They were bail refused ahead of a court appearance this morning.
They face a maximum of one year in prison and an $11,000 fine if convicted.
David Ossip, President NSW Jewish Board of Deputies told J-Wire: “Brandishing Nazi symbols is never acceptable but doing it while our state is on a razor’s edge is deplorable.
Something has gone terribly wrong given that these incidents have become an almost daily occurrence.
We welcome the magistrate’s comments which recognise the extraordinary crisis this state is facing.
We also thank the police for acting swiftly to apprehend the individuals allegedly responsible.”
AAP with J-Wire
