Community concern over Neo-Nazi meeting
JCCV president John Searle has expressed concern at news of a Neo-Nazi gathering held in Melbourne recently.
AJN STAFF
REPRESENTATIVES of Victoria’s German Club Tivoli have expressed regret at news of a Neo-Nazi gathering held at their headquarters in Dandenong Road in September.
Blood & Honour, a white supremacist group with ties to Neo-Nazi organisations, is said to have met in a private room at the club, where they reportedly discussed their issues with non-white immigration, multiculturalism and the Australian schooling system, while showing off newly tattooed swastikas.
A spokesperson for the German Club Tivoli said a dinner booking was made over the phone for a group of 30 people, who were placed in a private dining room as per the club’s usual approach to large bookings.
The group caused no ruckus, ate dinner quietly and paid the bill, even being served by staff members of Indian descent with no issue.
While they appeared “like bikies”, heavily tattooed and many wearing leather jackets, the club had no knowledge of possible Neo-Nazi ties.
“We are so apologetic,” the committee member told The AJN. “We have lots of Jewish [customers] and it is a friendship. It hurts because we have a long history and we are totally against any Neo-Nazism.”
Jewish Community Council of Victoria president John Searle expressed concern at news of the meeting just minutes from the heart of the Jewish community.
“I’m sure members of our own community and members of other minority groups would be distressed to read of recent meetings held in Melbourne by members of Neo-Nazi hate groups,” Searle said.
“There is no place in our multicultural community for such groups or the incitement to racial hatred they spread.”
The executive director of the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, Deborah Stone, agreed, stressing the group is not representative of the wider Australian community.
“Most Australians are not racist; they enjoy and celebrate our diversity. But, as often happens at times of economic stress, we are seeing a few ignorant thugs looking for scapegoats. It is absolutely essential that Australians stand up against racism and consciously support a cohesive but diverse society that embraces everyone,” she said.
“We should never forget that the Nazis started out as a marginal group of crackpots and were able to ride a tide of disaffection at a time when people were looking for scapegoats.”
A spokesperson for Victoria Police moved to quell concerns that such activity is condoned.
“Right-wing activism is monitored. Victoria Police does not tolerate unlawful racial and religious vilification and will use available legislation to pursue anyone who commits or incites such behaviour.”
Searle said he was relieved by the response issued by the police, adding that it is up to venues to refuse such bookings, something with which Stone agreed.
The German Club Tivoli said while they cannot be discriminatory in the bookings they turn away, they will be sure to ask more questions when taking bookings in the future.
Taking its name from the motto of the Hitler Youth “Blut und Ehre”, Blood & Honour was originally founded in the United Kingdom in 1987. The group states that it promotes “white resistance” through music.
“We believe there is a need to ¬≠provide white youth with an alternative to the ‘hip-hop’ culture so eagerly promoted by the Zionist-controlled media,” the website declares.
The group has been outlawed in Germany and Spain and there have been recordings of violent incidents and arrests in Britain and Argentina, where earlier this years 36 members of the group were charged with hate crimes after an event celebrating Adolf Hitler’s birthday.
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