By David Estcourt and Alex Crowe
Police are investigating after a driveway outside a woman’s home in Melbourne’s north-east was sprayed with Islamophobic messages, an incident she believes was in response to her public support for Palestine.
The pavement and driveway outside of Rita Manessis’ home was sprayed with the words “Get out Muslim c---” and “death to Palestine” alongside several Hakenkreuz symbols – or swastikas – according to the Islamophobic Register.
Anti-Palestine graffiti outside the home of Rita Manessis in Melbourne’s north-east.Credit: Islamophobia register
Manessis, 53, said she could smell the fresh paint while taking the bins out at her Templestowe home late on Thursday night.
The non-Muslim woman said she believes she was targeted because she has shown support for Palestinians amid heightened political tensions in Australia as Israeli forces press further into the city of Rafah, located on the southern tip of the Gaza Strip.
As part of activist group Menzies for Palestine, Manessis has taken part in marches through Melbourne and weekly rallies outside Liberal MP Keith Wolahan’s office, calling for an end to Israeli’s offensive in Gaza.
Born in Greece, Manessis said she had previously taken part in activism supporting asylum seekers and refugees and for Indigenous Australians.
“I’m not a professional activist. I am just a regular person who lives in the suburbs, who can see what’s happening overseas on my phone every night, as most people can,” she said.
“I’ve experienced racism growing up in the ’70s and ’80s, but not this type of hatred. I’ve never had anyone spray paint right outside my house.”
Police on Saturday confirmed detectives were investigating after the offensive graffiti was reported on Friday.
Manessis said the council worker who cleaned the graffiti off her driveway revealed he had cleaned similar messages off a nearby street weeks earlier.
The mother of four said she did not fear for her safety following the vandalism and intended to join protesters marching through Melbourne on Sunday.
“If anything it’ll make me louder,” she said. “It won’t silence us.”
Wolahan, the federal member for Menzies in Melbourne’s north-east, said the matter had been referred to police and called on expressions of hate, like this, to stop.
“I have seen reports of reprehensible anti-Islamic graffiti in my electorate. I have reached out to local police, who are investigating. The line between the legitimate expression of highly charged emotions and ugly hate looks like this,” he said.
Islamophobia Register, which records, reports and analyses incidents of Islamophobia Australia-wide, said the graffiti was part of a massive uptick in recorded incidents since Hamas’ attack on October 7.
“The victim, a non-Muslim woman named Rita Manessis, believes she was targeted as she’s shown open support for the Palestinian cause,” the organisation said in a statement.
It knew of other Islamophobic incidents throughout Australia, including multiple incidents where women had hijabs pulled off, and a physical attack on a family, who the register says were called “black Muslim refugees” by their assailants.
Islamophobia Register also said it had observed a 39-fold increase in incidents at university campuses.
“Nowhere in Australia is immune to the scourge of Islamophobia,” the group said.
Racist graffiti outside Rita Manessis’ home.
Senior federal minister Tony Burke labelled the graffiti “disgusting” and said all forms of hate speech were wrong.
“I won’t repost the images but I have seen disgusting examples of graffiti [that] is dehumanising of Palestinians and other examples that are clear Islamophobia circulating online. Bigotry is always wrong. All forms of hate speech are wrong. It’s not freedom of speech,” Burke wrote on social media platform X.
Anyone with information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au.
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