Outsiders targeting Melbourne Jewish areas

People who do not live in Melbourne’s Jewish heartland are travelling into the area, possibly to commit antisemitic acts, according to data presented at a joint Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) and Community Security Group (CSG) briefing.

CSG Victoria senior analyst Noah Bajayo told community leaders at the meeting on March 23 that tracking of incident perpetrators supported the conclusion that outsiders may be deliberately targeting areas with high Jewish populations.

On Saturday evening, four females in a stolen vehicle allegedly swerved towards a group of visibly Jewish males and hurled antisemitic abuse at them.

The stolen Hyundai sedan was travelling along Glen Eira Road, Ripponlea, when its occupants allegedly directed the car towards the group at the corner of Glen Eira Road and Hotham Street, yelling “f**k Jews.”

Police have taken three people into custody following the incident.

CSG said police patrols “were active in the area and responded to the scene rapidly”. No one was injured.

Member for Caulfield David Southwick said, “The Adass community has endured unimaginable challenges since October 7.

“Yesterday’s shocking incident, where a stolen car was driven through members of the community, is a stark reminder of those ongoing threats.”

Bajayo said, “We know that people who don’t live in the area have committed antisemitic incidents.

“They may have only been seen three times in the last six months, so they’re not frequent visitors, which gives a bit more weight to the hypothesis that they are coming specifically into the areas where Jewish community members are known to reside.”

The City of Glen Eira recorded the highest number of antisemitic incidents of any local government area in Victoria during 2025.

Bajayo was careful to note this did not reflect the council’s own posture toward the community.

“That’s not because the City of Glen Eira fosters a sense of antisemitism. It’s just because this is an area where there is known to be a large Jewish population.”

The City of Port Phillip was also identified as a destination for perpetrators travelling from outside the immediate area.

The briefing also highlighted a sharp rise in drive-by verbal abuse, with Bajayo describing an alarming trend of people “driving past and shouting things out the window at surprising rates”, with vehicles identified as originating from outside the Jewish community’s residential areas.

The presentation identified a pattern in which visibly Jewish people venturing outside Glen Eira and Caulfield have been told to “go back to Caulfield,” creating what CSG described as a sense that Jewish Victorians were unwelcome both close to home and further afield.