Jewish café targeted in anti-Semitic attack, vandalised with Swastika

A café in Chadstone has been targeted by an anti-Semitic attack, with the Jewish owner arriving this morning to find a Swastika graffitied on the venue’s fence.

Owner of Aliza’s place café, Aliza Shuvali, is the granddaughter of a Holocaust survivor and says she lost many members of her family during the time of Nazi control.  

Aliza said she arrived as normal about 9 am and discovered the graffiti, which she said brought back stories of her family perishing in the Holocaust.

The white spray-paint stood out against the green fence, with the clear letters reading; “The Holocaust is a lie.” A swastika was printed beside it.

“I was shocked and I didn’t know what to do,” Aliza told 9News.

“I don’t just feel like a target, but it also brings back a lot of memories.”

The attack shocked Shuvali, who said she has always worked to ensure her Batesford Rd business was a welcoming place for all.

Aliza said seeing the Swastika made her feel “very unsafe,” in what she called the “world’s most live-able city”.

“I want to feel safe in Australia and I don’t feel safe today,” she said.

Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the anti-defamation commission, strongly condemned the racist attack saying it was another “painful reminder that anti-Semitism is far too common in Victoria”.

Abramovich said Victorians need to realise anti-Jewish bigotry is “escalating” and “out of control,” added that in the last 12 months the commission has seen a 60 per cent increase of anti-Semitic incidents, the largest recorded.

“Attacks against the Jewish community are becoming a feature of daily life,” he said.

“[The Swastika is] the ultimate symbol of evil and represents the extermination of six million Jews and millions of others at the hands of the Nazis.”

Abdramovich said these types of acts had a “chilling emotional impact” on the entire Jewish community and added this particular act was intended to “intimidate, frighten and harass” the café’s owners.

He pointed to a rise in white nationalism and neo-Nazi groups organising online, saying that attacks on the Jewish community is a growing blight on Melbourne’s reputation as a safe and inclusive place for Jewish people to live.