Hitler moustaches, devil horns and the words “right wing facist (sic)” have appeared on posters of Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in his Melbourne electorate of Kooyong.
Textas were used to deface a number of posters of the Jewish MP in Hawthorn overnight.
Prime minister Scott Morrison told reporters on Saturday the vandalism was “appalling”, and called for anyone with information about the matter to cooperate with authorities.
Josh Frydenberg✔@JoshFrydenberg
This latest act of vandalism in Kooyong using Nazi symbols on a billboard of mine is an insult to every victim of the Holocaust & Australian servicemen & women who fought against Nazi tyranny.
“This is about crimes and hate … this should have no place in our elections, absolutely no place,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Frydenberg tweeted his abhorrence to the “cowardly and criminal act” and said the incident was “about a broader and disturbing trend in society of anti- semitism and intolerance”.
“The latest act of vandalism in Kooyong using Nazi symbols on a billboard of mine is an insult to every victim of the Holocaust and Australian servicemen and women who fought against Nazi tyranny”.
Josh Frydenberg✔@JoshFrydenberg
My statement following the latest act of vandalism in Kooyong: https://joshfrydenberg.com.au/latest-news/statement/ …
The treasurer said Holocaust Remembrance Day was this week, and the vandalism “shows how ignorant the perpetrators are of the horrors of history”.
Mr Frydenberg’s mother was a Hungarian Jew who arrived in Australia as a stateless child after escaping the Holocaust.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, said the “escalating virus of intolerance has to stop”.
“We deplore these ugly actions for what they are: a repulsive and hateful assault on our democratic system and on our core principles,” he said in a statement.
“We stand firmly with Josh Frydenberg during this difficult time, and trust that those who carried our this crime are identified and are brought to justice.
“We call on all religious and political leaders to strongly denounce these outrageous attacks against our elected representatives, and to declare in one voice that such conduct will never be tolerated in our nation.”