Australia bans Nazi salute and public display of terror group symbols

Jerusalem Post ^ | JANUARY 8, 2024 | Reuters

[fluorescence]

Laws banning the Nazi salute and the display or sale of symbols associated with terror groups came into effect in Australia on Monday as the government responds to a rise in antisemitic incidents following the Israel-Gaza war.

The law makes it an offense punishable by up to 12 months in prison to publicly perform the Nazi salute or display the Nazi swastika or the double-sig rune associated with the Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary group.

The sale and trade of these symbols is similarly prohibited.

Attorney General Mark Dreyfus said in a statement the legislation sent a clear message there was no place in Australia for those who glorify the Holocaust or terrorist acts.

Introduced in June and passed in December, the law has taken on new significance amid a surge in antisemitism and Islamophobia following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, where some 1,200 were killed and 240 taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. [snip] There were more anti-Jewish incidents in October and November last year than the twelve months prior, according to the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

[Mark17]

Does that include the Hamas flag?

[Dan Zachary]

First they came for the Nazi’s, and I did not speak out because I am not a Nazi...

https://shenandoahliterary.org/blog/2017/08/first-they-came-by-martin-niemoller/

[alexander_busek]

If I were a Jew, I'd want people to self-identify as Nazis.

If the Nazi salute and swastika are prohibited, then so should Che Guevara t-shirts and Mao's Little Red Book.

Regards,

[jmacusa]

It was just this sort of thing that gave rise to the real Nazis. The Wiemar government tried banning Hitler from speaking and the Nazis from holding rallies. All that did was make their appeal greater.

[Deplorable American1776]

Did they ban red baseball caps with MAGA on them?

Asking for a friend...

[TomGuy]

The swastika or the double-sig rune was used in some of the early Aussie aboriginal culture. As in many other cultures, its use predated the Nazi use.

[dfwgator]