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Australia moves toward banning Nazi symbols in wake of neo-Nazi incidents
(JTA) — In the wake of a series of neo-Nazi incidents, Australia’s government is moving toward passing legislation to ban the use of Nazi symbols on clothing, flags and websites and in other domains.
Trading in Nazi memorabilia will also be banned, but religious, academic and other exemptions will be allowed. Before the Third Reich, the swastika was known first and foremost as a religious symbol in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.
“There is no place in Australia for symbols that glorify the horrors of the Holocaust,” Australia’s Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said on Thursday. “And we will no longer allow people to profit from the display and sale of items which celebrate the Nazis and their evil ideology.”
The Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee recommended a ban last month in a move that was applauded by Jewish leaders. Dreyfus, who is Jewish, said that the law will penalize offenders with up to a year in prison.
Peter Wertheim, co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that “there has been a proliferation of the public display of Nazi symbols in different parts of Australia” since the end of 2016.
The Victoria state’s strict COVID-19 restrictions led to a far-right anti-lockdown movement which, according to Andre Oboler, CEO of the Online Hate Prevention Institute, “allowed a normalization with some people being ambivalent about open Nazism.” Community outrage brewed after a couple flew a swastika flag above their Melbourne home in 2020. Victoria eventually banned the public display of Nazi symbols in 2021.
In March, The Age published an investigation of active soldiers’ neo-Nazi links, following a 2021 SBS report on men’s fitness centers used by white supremacist networks that employ Nazi symbols.
Then on March 18, a group of 30 people from a neo-Nazi group called the National Socialist Network showed up to a rally headed by British anti-transgender activist Kellie-Jay Keen-Minshull in Melbourne. The neo-Nazi rally-goers, all dressed in black with their faces covered, marched onto the steps of the city’s parliament house, where police allowed them to stand in a line facing the crowd and repeatedly perform a Nazi salute.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews tweeted: “Nazis aren’t welcome. Not on Parliament’s steps. Not anywhere.”
“Transgender people, the targets of the neo-Nazis at the recent anti-trans rally in Melbourne, Jews, or other oft-demonized communities should not have to face situations where this evil is allowed to happen with police having no legal avenue to stop it,” said Michael Barnett, the co-convenor of Aleph, a Melbourne-based advocacy group for LGBTQ+ Jews, after the March rally.
In May, a Victorian council canceled a family-friendly drag queen-led story reading hosted at a library and other LGBTQ+ events following a series of threats from far-right groups. Later in the month, neo-Nazis performed a Heil Hitler salute while attending an anti-immigration rally at Melbourne’s parliament building to oppose “ethnic replacement.”
“This was not an isolated incident,” Oboler said in reference to the March rally. “There is a rise of the use of Nazi salutes, other Nazi symbols, and open neo-Nazism not just in Australia but internationally.”
Barnett said bans will send a message of consequences for “expressions of Nazi ideology designed to instill fear.”
Australia is home to the largest per-capita Holocaust survivor population outside Israel.
Wertheim said that bans “would only scratch the surface” in Australia, and new legislation “would not obviate the need for a more systematic, whole-of-government approach to address the problem of extremism.”
“We have argued the need to move beyond banning specific symbolism and to instead directly tackle Nazism and neo-Nazism,” Barnett said. “We have been warning about this, monitoring the threat, and taking action, but there is far more to be done.”
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US Rejects Israel’s Request to Maintain Sanctions Against Syria
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a Ministerial formation of the government of the Syrian Arab Republic, in Damascus, Syria, March 29, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
i24 News – US President Donald Trump has rejected an effort by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent the full lifting of US sanctions on Syria, Israel’s public broadcaster Kan reported Saturday evening.
According to the report, Netanyahu associates contacted members of Trump’s inner circle in an attempt to keep some sanctions in place as leverage for future diplomatic negotiations. The effort was unsuccessful, with Trump’s advisers reportedly opposing any partial approach and favoring a complete removal of the restrictions.
Despite the refusal, two Israeli officials told Kan that the Trump administration promised Israel some form of political or strategic compensation in response to Jerusalem’s concerns.
The report comes as the US Congress recently voted to permanently repeal sanctions imposed on Syria under former president Bashar al-Assad, clearing the way for foreign investment to return to the war-torn country after more than a decade of conflict. Trump had previously suspended the sanctions twice, following pressure from Saudi Arabia and Turkey, key backers of Syria’s new leadership.
Syria is now led by Ahmed al-Sharaa, a former jihadist leader who had strongly advocated for the complete repeal of sanctions. He argued that maintaining sanctions under US law continued to deter international companies from engaging economically with Syria, even after political changes.
The repeal of the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act, enacted in 2019, was included in the annual US defense bill and passed by a wide margin in the Senate, 77–20, after approval by the House of Representatives. The legislation, named after a Syrian military photographer who documented abuses in Assad’s prisons, had effectively isolated Syria from the global financial system and now awaits Trump’s signature.
On Friday, al-Sharaa addressed the Syrian public to welcome the lifting of sanctions, publicly thanking Trump as well as Saudi, Qatari and Turkish leaders. His group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, was removed from the US terrorism list in July, as the new Syrian leadership seeks to present a more moderate image and normalize ties with the international community.
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Report: Iran Advances Missile Program, Continued Arms Transfers to Regional Proxies
An Iranian missile is launched during a military exercise in an undisclosed location in Iran, Aug. 20, 2025. Photo: Iranian Army/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
i24 News – Reports indicate that Iran has resumed development of its ballistic missile program while continuing to supply weapons to allied militias across the Middle East.
According to an unnamed US official speaking to Saudi Al-Arabiya, Tehran is using “every possible means” to transfer arms via both land and sea, viewing support for its regional proxies as a top strategic priority.
The official emphasized that the United States is actively working to prevent these shipments, coordinating with regional partners including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq to secure borders and limit arms transfers.
However, challenges persist, particularly in Lebanon, where the army is heavily engaged in efforts to dismantle Hezbollah’s military infrastructure in the south, leaving border control vulnerable. Iranian shipments reportedly also rely on Lebanese ports, which authorities are struggling to monitor effectively.
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi addressed the state of the country’s nuclear facilities, confirming that they suffered “serious damage” during June’s 12-day conflict with Israel. Speaking to Russia Today, Araghchi insisted that while the attacks caused physical destruction, Iran’s technical capabilities remain intact.
“Technology cannot be bombed,” he said, adding that Tehran has rebuilt what was damaged and reaffirmed the country’s commitment to its nuclear program and right to uranium enrichment.
Araghchi warned that any attempt to repeat the previous strikes would fail. “If they [Israel] want to repeat the same failed experiment, they will not achieve a better outcome,” he said, signaling Tehran’s determination to restore and continue its nuclear and military programs despite international scrutiny.
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Sa’ar Urges Diaspora Jews to Move to Israel Amid Rising Anti-Semitism
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar speaks next to High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Kaja Kallas, and EU commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Suica as they hold a press conference on the day of an EU-Israel Association Council with European Union foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 24, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Yves Herman
i24 News – Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar delivered a sharply worded address on Sunday evening at a Hanukkah candle-lighting conference in Rishon Lezion, using the gathering to criticize Israel’s opposition leadership and call on Jews abroad to immigrate to Israel amid rising global antisemitism.
The event, attended by around 1,000 activists and supporters along with Knesset members and local mayors, marked Sa’ar’s first major public conference since announcing his return to the Likud party.
As he lit the eighth candle of Hanukkah, Sa’ar framed his remarks around national resilience, security, and leadership during wartime.
Addressing Jews in the Diaspora, Sa’ar warned that antisemitism has intensified worldwide and accused many foreign governments of failing to respond decisively. He said Israel had invested significant diplomatic effort over the past year to push back against what he described as a new wave of open antisemitism, including convening an international conference in Jerusalem earlier this year.
“Jews have the right to live safely anywhere,” Saar said, “but history teaches us to recognize danger when we see it.” He appealed directly to Jewish communities in countries including the United Kingdom, France, Australia, Canada, and Belgium, urging them to immigrate to Israel.
Sa’ar described Israel as the only place where Jews can fully ensure their security and identity, calling on families to “come home” to the Jewish state.
Sa’ar also launched a fierce attack on opposition leaders over their conduct during the ongoing war, singling out opposition head Yair Lapid without naming him directly. He accused opposition figures of advocating an end to the conflict on terms favorable to Israel’s enemies, even as the government pursued military operations against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran-backed threats.
According to Sa’ar, while the government was making what he called difficult and historic decisions to weaken Israel’s adversaries, the opposition was promoting what he characterized as surrender-driven policies in exchange for hostage releases. “Either way,” Sa’ar said, “they are unworthy of leadership.”