Federal government moves to ban Nazi salute after spike in anti-Semitism, racism

Performing the Nazi salute will become a criminal offence in Australia, as the federal government seeks to counter rising outbreaks of anti-Semitism and racism.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has announced a plan to make it a criminal offence for people to perform the act under federal law.

It comes after prominent Australians, former politicians and senior business officials have signed a letter denouncing anti-Semitism and racism.

Earlier this year, the federal government announced it would introduce legislation to ban Nazi symbols and the sale of goods-for-profit featuring Nazi symbols, it will now amend the bill to include the Nazi salute, making it a criminal offence under federal law.

“The amendments will ensure that no one will be allowed to glorify or profit from acts and symbols which celebrate the Nazis and their evil ideology,” the attorney-general said in a statement.

“There is absolutely no place in Australia for hatred, violence and anti-Semitism.”

Letter denouncing anti-Semitism and racism

The letter, which has been signed by more than 600 people including Lachlan Murdoch, Kerry Stokes, Gladys Berejiklian and Steve Brack appears on a website.

“We are leaders from diverse industries and professions across Australia. We cherish the Australian way of life; one which celebrates acceptance, cultural diversity and the values of a modern tolerant democracy,” the pledge reads.

The pledge states that over the last seven weeks, there has been a 482 per cent increase in anti-Semitic incidents occurring in Australia.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) said the number had now risen to 591 per cent, the Annual Report on Antisemitism in Australia is due to come out “soon”, ECAJ said.

“A comprehensive report by the ECAJ detailing incidents of antisemitism and analysing discourse is currently being finalised and will be presented shortly,” a spokesperson said.

The ABC hasn’t seen the study the ECAJ referred to however the organisation provided a number of examples of anti-Semitism that have occurred over the last month.

In August this year, before the October 7 attacks, a survey of more than 500 Jewish students commissioned by the Zionist Federation of Australia and the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, found that more than two-thirds of respondents had experienced anti-Semitism at university.

The Islamophobia Register has said there has been a thirteen-fold rise in incidents occurring in Australia since October 7.

“At no time in the Register’s 9-year history of operations, has the Register received such a large number of incident reports within such a short space of time,” the register said in a statement.

The pledge denouncing anti-Semitism, acknowledged other groups who experience discrimination.

“We are unequivocal in our resolve that racism in all its forms is deplorable and abhorrent,” the pledge

“Whether directed towards Jewish Australians, Muslim Australians, Asian Australians, Indigenous Australians or any other minority, we will not tolerate such conduct in our workplaces and firmly reject it in our communities.”

On Tuesday morning, a delegation of Israeli family members of hostages taken by Hamas on October 7 took to the lawns of Parliament House to call for the return of their loved ones.

Sources have told the ABC that the prime minister will meet with the families on Tuesday afternoon.

Hamas and Israel have released prisoners and hostages during the ceasefire — 50 of those are Israelis, 150 of whom are Palestinians.