Shocking footage of a heated confrontation between a shopkeeper and two Israeli backpackers has been branded by Jewish groups as a “venomous and disgraceful outburst”.
Footage of the heated exchange between the unidentified woman and the young tourists outside the store in Townsville, northern Queensland, on Saturday night has been widely shared online.
The backpackers, aged in their 20s, were reportedly browsing the store when they saw a donation sign for aid in Palestine near the counter.
They approached the merchant and suggested he consider checking where the donations were going, prompting the woman’s anti-Semitic rant.
He allegedly told the backpackers: ‘Get the hell out of my tent.’
The short clip shared online showed the woman, dressed in black, shouting at tourists in the street while holding a shovel.
“I don’t give a damn about Israel, but I do care about the fact that you’re a dirty, disgusting Jew,” the woman shouted as one of the backpackers filmed.
The other confronted the merchant about his comments.
Jewish advocates have condemned a Townsville shopkeeper’s anti-Semitic speech against two Israeli backpackers as a “venomous and disgraceful outburst”.
‘Do you want to hear what I have to say?’ asked the other tourist, dressed in a brown shirt and pants.
‘No. ‘Fuck you,’ the shopkeeper responded.
“I said check what you say,” the tourist continued.
The woman then told the backpackers to “fuck off” two more times.
Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to identify the store involved.
The Australian Jewish Association condemned the incident and brutally attacked the Albanian government.
‘The wave of anti-Jewish hatred continues to rise across Australia. “Free Palestine” has brought an ugly division to this country,” the association captioned the images.
‘Many of the government’s actions have contributed to the rise of anti-Jewish hatred.
“Incidents like this happen every day across Australia.”
Footage of the heated confrontation showed the shopkeeper brandishing a shovel while shouting obscenities at tourists.
The Anti-Defamation Commission also condemned “pure, unfiltered anti-Semitism.”
President Dr. Dvir Abramovich went so far as to call the incident a “national crisis.”
‘This horrific episode sends a brutal message to both Australian Jews and international visitors: that they are not safe in our country. What does it say about us that backpackers, far from home, must fear for their lives because of their identity? he said news.com.au.
Dr Abramovich added that the confrontation would not only have left backpackers feeling “fear and humiliation” but would have suggested a broader attitude across Australia.
He also asked authorities to take the incident seriously.
‘This incident is not an isolated flash of hate. It is part of a much broader and deeply disturbing trend. “Anti-Semitism is seeping into the everyday fabric of our society, eroding the very principles we claim to hold dear,” Dr. Abramovich added.
‘Australia is at a crossroads. Will we let this cancer of hate define who we are, or will we stand up and reclaim our values of decency, safety, and inclusion?
One of the Israeli backpackers (left) questioned the shopkeeper about his language.
The latest incident comes after a car was set on fire and buildings were vandalized with shocking anti-Israel insults in Woollahra, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, early Thursday morning.
Cars were vandalized with the words “f**k Israel,” and at least three locations, including a restaurant, were also attacked.
Hours later, Federal Court Judge Michael Lee described the wave of anti-Semitic incidents in eastern Sydney as such as attacks on his family in a powerful speech at a gala dinner in a Jewish home.
In an impassioned speech, he said any attack on the Jewish community is an “attack on my wife and my children.”