Neo-Nazis’ grotesque celebration

A group of white supremacists celebrated Adolf Hitler’s birthday at a restaurant in Melbourne last week.

The 20-strong group of neo-Nazis – including National Socialist Network leader Thomas Sewell – congregated at the Knox City Shopping Centre location of Australia-wide German themed restaurant the Bavarian. Sewell was convicted last year of assaulting a Channel Nine security guard.

One of the men held a framed picture of Hitler while another displayed two balloons with the letters HH – code for Heil Hitler – as the other individuals performed the Nazi salute.

Police were called to the venue and asked the group to move on, though under current legislation, they did not break any laws.

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich, who appealed for the now passed ban on the Nazi swastika and last January launched a campaign along with Holocaust survivors to criminalise the Nazi salute, said this “display of Hitler worshipping” belongs in “Nazi Germany of the 1930s”, not in a local restaurant where families go to enjoy a meal.

“Something is very wrong in Victoria, and we should all be alarmed by this brazen and stomach-churning outrage that will forever be a stain on our state,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Bavarian’s parent company Pacific Concepts told The AJN management at the venue reported the neo-Nazi contingent “and their behaviour”, to police last Thursday.

“Police attended the restaurant and moved the group on,” the spokesperson said, adding they do not condone the group’s behaviour.

“We pride ourselves on being a family-friendly restaurant. We sympathise with guests who were present, and anyone who was offended by the incident. We were equally offended and took the matter immediately in hand.”

Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) president Daniel Aghion said, “When this bunch of deluded fools paraded on the steps of Parliament House recently, the outpouring of communal anger – both Jewish and non-Jewish – was clear evidence that they are not wanted in Victoria by anyone.”

He added, “Nobody spoke in favour of them, and nobody supported them.

“We should not waste our time on attention-seeking behaviour from a tiny group of people that no one cares about.

“The JCCV continues to work with the Victorian government and opposition, Victoria Police and local human rights bodies to find effective ways to combat all forms of antisemitism. We all agree that antisemitism has no place in Victoria,” Aghion concluded.