A recently dedicated Australian memorial to the victims of the Nazi Holocaust has been vandalized.
The memorial occupies a prominent position in the cemetery in Southport, just north of the Queensland-New South Wales border. Jewish gravestones and the inside of the nearby Jewish chapel were damaged as well.
Unknown vandals used black spray paint to write “Destroy ZOG” and “6 Million Lies” on the memorial monument, which marks 50 years since the defeat of Nazism.
“ZOG,” a term that stands for “Zionist Occupation Government,” is used by various neo-Nazi and white supremacist organizations. The phrase “6 million lies” is a reference that denies the fact that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.
Laurie Rosenblum, president of the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies, said in an interview that “there is an apparent infestation of extreme right-wing activity in Queensland.”
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry described the vandalism as the “most disgusting incident reported to this council in recent times.”
Rosenblum said members of the Queensland Jewish community had reported getting pamphlets that attacked “Jewish bankers.” The pamphlets were signed by the Australian National Socialist Movement, a small neo-Nazi organization based in the Queensland capital of Brisbane.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
