‘What on earth is wrong with Australia?’ Israel furious at pro-Hamas graffiti in Melbourne

Israel has launched a scathing take-down of Australia’s leaders after pro-Hamas graffiti appeared in Melbourne on the second anniversary of the October 7 massacre while police in Sydney arrested two men following reports of a gun being pointed in the direction of a synagogue.

Federal police are now investigating a message declaring “Glory to Hamas”, which appeared on a blank billboard at a busy Fitzroy intersection on Tuesday morning, and slogans of “Free Palestine” and “Oct 7 do it again” found scrawled on a nearby Officeworks building.

Posting on social media, Israel’s Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Sharren Haskel criticised the Australian Prime Minister and Victorian Premier as she urged authorities to take immediate action.

“My message to Australian leaders Anthony Albanese and Jacinta Allan on the second anniversary of October 7, the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, is get your country in order, stop the Jew-hate,” Ms Haskel wrote on X.

“What the hell is this billboard doing in Melbourne? Don’t you have hate crimes? You have a police force, right? Take this down immediately. What on earth is wrong with Australia?”

Shortly before 10am New South Wales police were also called to the Cremorne Synagogue after a man was spotted pointing “what was believed to be a firearm from a moving truck towards a place of worship”.

A spokesperson for NSW Police said two men were arrested a few blocks away in the suburb of Mosman, just under two hours later.

“The passenger – a 23-year-old man – was taken to Chatswood Police Station where he is assisting with inquiries. The driver – a 21-year-old man – was released pending further inquiries,” Police said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the pro-Hamas vandalism in Melbourne that has now been removed, and vowed the perpetrators would be brought to justice.

“The terrorist propaganda defacing a Melbourne billboard on the anniversary of the October 7 murders is abhorrent.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry Chief Alex Ryvchin said the glorification of the October 7 terrorist attacks in Victoria was despicable but unsurprising.

“There is a very ugly streak of hatred that runs through this country,” he said.

“While I firmly believe that the vast majority of Australians are decent and peaceful people and abhor this sort of thing, there are also those among us who revel in violence, who support terrorism and who support anti-Semitism.”

“This is a shocking expression of that and a timely reminder of the work that we all have to do as a society to eradicate this hatred and rebuild.”

The sentiments were shared by former Liberal treasurer Josh Frydenberg who also urged federal and state governments to take stronger action against extremism following the appearance of pro-Hamas graffiti in Melbourne.

“Prime Minister and Premier, do something now! Whatever you think you have done, it’s not enough and it’s clearly not working,” the prominent Jewish political figure wrote online.

“On this day, the second anniversary of Hamas’ horrific October 7 attack, we have Australians openly supporting terrorism on Melbourne’s streets. These extremists do it because they are allowed to get away with it.”

“Stop the violence. Stop the hate. Save our state and save our country from this descent into darkness,” the former MP for the Victorian seat of Kooyong wrote.

In Canberra Mr Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley paid tribute to the victims of the October 7 massacre and acknowledged the presence of survivor Danny Majzner, and sister of Australian victim Galit Carbone.

Ahead of Question Time Mr Albanese said it is “our duty to do everything in our power” to seize a chance at peace in the Gaza Strip, while accusing Hamas “stands in opposition to all humanity and all that we value as human beings”.

“Two years on, we remember those who were lost on that day, the largest loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Jewish Holocaust,” he told Parliament.

Speaking immediately after the Prime Minister, Ms Ley slammed the Labor Government for failing to stand with the people of Israel.

Ms Ley said the October 7 attack was a “brutal reminder of the depths of human cruelty and of the evil that flourishes when hatred is armed”.

“I wish I could be able to say that Australia did all that it could to help release the hostages and the violence to dismantle the terrorist group Hamas, yet to do so would be a lie,” she said.

“To our great shame, under the leadership of the Albanese Labor Government, Australia has not stood with the people of Israel nor with the United States as they have sought to dismantle Hamas and establish the conditions for peace.

“To our great shame, the Albanese Labor Government dragged its feet listing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.

“Two years on, we stand apart from our friends in this time of their greatest need. Two years on, Australia has failed to stand firm in the face of terror.

“Australia has been lauded by Hamas and condemned by Israel and by the United States. Australia could have stood firm and to their great credit millions of Australians have, but those Australians and our Jewish community have been failed by their Government. We have allowed hate to take root onto our streets and into our communities.”

Meanwhile legal action in New South Wales to stop a pro-Palestine rally scheduled to be held at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday has been delayed, after a recent failed legal bid to stop a similar march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

On Tuesday, NSW Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison briefly heard the matter before it was moved to the court of appeal, after an application by police lawyers due to the protest being days away and other legal complexities.

Pro-Palestine demonstrations are also planned tonight in Paul Keating Park in Bankstown.