A Rabbi and his children were reportedly verbally attacked by a passenger on a Melbourne tram who told the family to "go to a gas chamber," the Australian Jewish Association claimed on Friday.
The woman, who carried a bag with a Palestinian flag on it, denied the claims in the video.
"I was riding the tram home in St Kilda East, with my 8-year-old and 14-year-old daughter and this woman, with her Free Palestine kaffiyeh bag, tells us 'You should all go to the gas chambers!'"
In the recording, she hid her face and claimed the rabbi and his children were "picking on her" and asked the man recording to "stop being a bully."
'Teach my kids to be proud Jews'
The rabbi reported that his 8-year-old was in tears and is afraid to go on the trams again.
“I am not aggressive by nature, but I wanted to teach my kids to be proud Jews. So I confronted her and then announced to the full tram what she had said,” he explained.
“This is how we need to respond. Like the Maccabees, who stood up and fought back with Jewish pride and strength. No more will we be afraid or cower. We will stand up to you and call you out. Let them be ashamed!”
“It's unbelievable that anyone could tell a child to go to a gas chamber," said AJA CEO Robert Gregory.
"This appears to be just the latest shocking incident of antisemitism in Melbourne,” he added.
A total of 1,654 antisemitic incidents were recorded in Australia between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025, according to research by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
One of the most shocking antisemitic incidents was the firebombing of the Adass Israel synagogue in Melbourne on December 6, 2024, which was declared to be a terrorist attack.
Mathilda Heller contributed to this report.