No hate crime found in Nazi posters case
Police find no hate crime after Canberra bar displayed posters depicting Netanyahu and others as Nazis.
(THE TIMES OF ISRAEL) Australian police said on Wednesday they will return posters depicting politicians and public figures as Nazis that were seized from a Canberra bar last week under new hate crime laws.
The posters in the window depicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, US Vice President JD Vance, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Elon Musk, among others, as Nazi soldiers, complete with the Iron Cross and other Nazi-era symbols.
There were also signs reading “Sanction Israel” and “Stop genocide”, alongside Palestinian flags. Israel has denied accusations of genocide.
Officers declared a crime scene at the Dissent Cafe and Bar and removed the posters after a complaint about possible hate crime imagery. Australian Capital Territory Police said the items were seized in line with laws banning “prohibited symbols”.
Police said they had asked the bar’s management to remove the posters before confiscating them, but according to a statement “the owner declined this request”.
A week later, police said they had determined the items did not meet all “aspects” of the legislation.
“As such, criminal proceedings will not occur,” ACT Police said. “The posters will be returned to the owner in due course, and this matter finalised.”
Under hate crime legislation passed after 15 people were killed in a terror attack targeting a Chanukah celebration at Bondi Beach on December 14, it is an offence to display Nazi and other hate symbols or to perform the Nazi salute.
However, the law provides an exception for symbols used for a “legitimate purpose”, including artistic, literary, religious, academic and educational purposes.
“For now, satirical art is still allowed,” the Dissent Cafe and Bar posted on social media.
Australia’s Jewish community has been among the hardest hit by the global surge in antisemitism since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, sparking the Gaza war.
Australia has seen successive pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protests that have included antisemitic rhetoric, as well as attacks on synagogues, schools and homes. Incidents have included a firebomb attack on a synagogue, two nurses who allegedly threatened Jewish patients, and the discovery of a trailer filled with explosives, reportedly intended for a mass-casualty attack on a Sydney synagogue.