Fallen digger’s father targeted by letter writer
FELIX Sher, the father of a Jewish soldier who was killed on duty in Afghanistan earlier this year, has received hate mail attacking his son.
PETER KOHN
FELIX Sher, the father of a Jewish soldier who was killed on duty in Afghanistan earlier this year, has received a hateful phone call and a number of letters calling his son a “pig” and a “murderer”.
Private Greg Sher, 30, was killed in a rocket attack in Afghanistan’s Oruzgan province in January, becoming the first Jewish digger to be die in combat since World War II.
Sydney-based Sheikh Haron was arrested last month and charged with seven counts of “using a postal service or similar service to menace, harass, or cause offence” for allegedly sending letters to families whose loved ones had been killed on the battleground.
Sheikh Haron has been granted bail and will appear in court on November 10.
Sher said he has not yet decided if he will be in court when Sheikh Haron appears.
In one of the letters, Sheikh Haron allegedly stated: “I feel bad that you have lost your son, but I don’t feel bad that a murderer of innocent civilians has lost his life.”
Other comments in the letters allegedly proclaimed: “A Jewish man who kills innocent Muslim civilians is not a pig, he is a thousand times worse” and “Some people don’t eat the meat of a pig, but they are dirtier than pig. Why should we call a pig a hero?”
Sher received the phone call before his son’s funeral and the letters after it.
He said that his reaction to the hateful comments was “surprise that anyone could send such a ¬≠letter … surprise more than anything”.
“Immigrants who come to Australia should do so with the intention of living in peace and harmony and not causing conflict and dissension,” Sher said.
The alleged comments by Sheikh Haron were condemned by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who said that when people saw the comments “I think their stomachs turned”.
A fresh look at revoking citizenship in extreme cases has been sparked by the hate mail, with Rudd indicating he would “reflect” on the citizenship status of an immigrant.