Collingwood, VIC – A Melbourne community radio station and wine bar has copped backlash for hosting a pro-Palestine event, after photos emerged of a sign on display calling Israelis “dumb white dogs”.
The banner at Hope St Radio, which called to “abolish Israel”, has amassed outrage online with some criticising the station for allowing people to “spread hate and antisemitism”.
“Free Palestine from the colonising dumb white dogs!!” the sign read. “Abolish Israel!!! Pussy Ass Baby Killing, bitch ass Bibi.”
Hope St Radio hosted the event on behalf of First Nations art collective This Mob on Monday afternoon at its Collingwood Yards wine bar in preparation for its upcoming “Blak & Palestinian Solidarity Rally” scheduled for 4pm on the steps of parliament today.
Members of the Jewish and Israel communities have since expressed their anger at the sign after it went viral online, with spokespeople like Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dr Dvir Abramovich and Zionism Victoria president Yossi Goldfarb condemning the move.
“This is sickening and beyond words. All the moral guardrails that we took for granted have fallen off and it is no surprise that the Jewish community feels besieged and under attack,” Dr Abramovich said in a statement to the Herald Sun.
“Such ugly and open displays of anti-Semitism, that cross all red lines, are tearing to shred the values we as Australians hold dear. I never thought I would see such hate-fuelled events taking place in the country that I love, and the ripple effects of such demonisation are being felt deeply by us.”
Dr Abramovich, whose family in Kibbutz Reim hid in a safe room while Hamas terrorists stalked and killed their neighbours, labelled the poster as “venomous” as it “fans the flames of hostility at a dangerous time”.
“Words matter and such incitement can lead to verbal and physical attacks and those who crafted the banner bear responsibility,” he said.
“It is hard to escape the conclusion that these individuals are excusing the beheading of Israeli babies, the raping of women and the execution of entire families by the Hamas terrorists. This is demonisation of the worst kind and deserves condemnation.”
Meanwhile, Mr Goldfarb said the “unambiguously anti-Semitic” banner has created “less hope for multiculturalism” in Victoria.
“Calling for the abolition of Israel – the only Jewish state in the world – is anti-Semitism of the worst kind. Creating allusions of Jews as “dogs” is straight out of the Nazi playbook,” he said.
“During these awful times, with the Jewish community reeling from murderous anti-Semitism in Israel and escalating hate at home, Hope St offers hope to the terrorists of Hamas by joining their call for Israel to be destroyed.”
In a statement posted to social media, Hope St Radio denied any wrongdoing, and instead called for “an end to the violence in occupied Palestine”.
“(On Monday) we hosted a banner painting event by First Nations collective This Mob for the upcoming Blak & Palestinian Solidarity Rally in Naarm. We have since received a number of reviews and messages accusing us of anti-Semitism,” it read.
“Hope St Radio should be a place that all people feel welcome and safe. Many members of our immediate and more broad communities are Jewish and we treasure our relationships with them.
“Hope St Radio wholeheartedly condemns anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and all racism, bigotry and systems of oppression.
“This is why we are proud to stand in solidarity with our First Nations neighbours, with our grieving Arab and Jewish friends, and with all of those calling for an end to the violence in occupied Palestine.”
Despite its apology, Dr Abramovich called on the radio station and wine bar to do better.
“You cannot reject anti-Semitism while not rejecting the poisonous sentiments of the banner. How do they expect their Jewish employees to feel safe in the workplace? This is not good enough,” he said.
Mr Goldfarb also said the apology “contains no apology”.
“There is no retraction, no contrition, no reflection on the damage and hurt they have inflicted on our community. The word ‘sorry’ doesn’t even appear. They “wholeheartedly condemn anti-Semitism” while at the same time propagating it in the most vile and pernicious way,” he said.
The Herald Sun approached Hope St Radio for further comment on the matter.
