Media Releases

Regarding the events that took place around Prince Park in Caulfield South, opposite the Central Shule Chabad Synagogue on Maple St,  on the evening of November 10, the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council’s Executive Director Dr Colin Rubenstein said:

“While we welcome the bipartisan statements in support of the Jewish community and condemnation of the incidents in Caulfield South, the attempt by some to bizarrely link these violent scenes to Islamophobia is misleading and whitewashes what actually happened. It was an attack on the Jewish community in the heart of their community.

“Make no mistake, this was a vile attempt by pro-Palestinian protestors to intimidate Jews in their homes and in their places of worship on the Jewish Sabbath. Organising a protest in a park across from a synagogue was despicable.

“It is heart-breaking and profoundly disturbing that, due to the threat of violence, Friday night religious services had to be disrupted and worshippers evacuated for their own safety.

“The decision by pro-Palestinian protestors to go to the heart of Jewish Melbourne was provocative, disrespectful and completely at odds with the principles of democratic, multicultural Australia.”