An anonymous phone call labelling synagogue attendees “maggot rat Jews” was not considered a prejudiced crime by police, an inquiry has been told.
A Melbourne place of worship was called by an unknown woman on October 3, who allegedly told the recipient Jews were “genocidal”, paedophiles and that their days were numbered.
Appearing before a royal commission into anti-Semitism, Victoria Police assistant commissioner Martin O’Brien confirmed no incident fact sheet had been logged for the call, which is required for any prejudice-motivated crime that relates to racial, political or ideological circumstances.
Mr O’Brien said the force had “automatic scanning” every day of incidents, along with human analysts to consider threats.
But another incident, in which a 5.5m swastika was graffitied onto a construction site, was also not recorded as being motivated by prejudice.
Across a fifth round of hearings in Melbourne this week, the anti-Semitism royal commission has been told the financial burden of Jewish safety in Australia is largely being worn by families, schools, places of worship and community groups.
Australian Federal Police assistant commissioner Stephen Nutt gave evidence in a closed hearing because of the sensitive nature of his testimony.
Liberal MP Julian Leeser, whose persistent lobbying was instrumental in establishing the landmark inquiry, will appear before the commission on Friday to detail the rising tide of hate speech and its impact on the community.
Government funding since 2023 covered about half of total security costs spent by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the commission was told on Thursday.
The peak body for the Jewish community was granted $25 million in federal funding for security in 2023 to allocate to community organisations, places of worship and events.
Mr Leeser’s testimony will help shape the royal commission’s understanding of the police data collection processes relevant to assessing risk to the Jewish community and the role of emergency preparedness and resilience training.
The commission earlier heard a firebombed synagogue was unable to secure government grants to boost security in the years prior to the blaze.
Two buildings belonging to the Adass Israel Synagogue, at Ripponlea in Melbourne’s southeast, were gutted in a blaze on December 6, 2024.
The royal commission was called after 15 people were killed and dozens more injured when two gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on December 14 last year.
Hearings in Melbourne this week are probing security risk assessments and the relationship between law enforcement agencies and Jewish security groups.
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