Pro-Palestine activists spray Jewish man with liquid in Melbourne

A pro-Palestinian protester has been accused of committing a ‘hate crime’ after squirting liquid in the face of a Jewish AFL fan at the weekend, with police later brushing away the incident.

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A pro-Palestinian protester has been accused of committing a “hate crime” after squirting liquid in the face of a Jewish AFL fan at the weekend.

Video footage has emerged of the moment Josh Esakoff, 26, was sprayed with a substance he described as “off milk” while waving an Israeli flag in front of pro-Palestinian protesters chanting, “all Zionists are terrorists”.

Mr Esakoff said he was on his way to the Marvel Stadium on Sunday to watch the Melbourne v North Melbourne AFL match when he stumbled upon the protests.

He claimed he did not provoke any activists, rather he was only waving the Israeli flag in support of North Melbourne’s Jewish player Harry Sheezel.

A pro-Palestinian protester squirting liquid in the face of Josh Esakoff at the weekend. Picture: Supplied

The video shows three masked activists approach Mr Esakoff and film him before an unidentified woman splashed him with the liquid, which appeared to be cream coloured.

“I was just minding my own business,” Mr Esakoff said.

“I took the flag out because I needed to get something out of my bag and that’s when they (protesters) saw the flag and started chanting ‘all Zionists are terrorists’. I was then sprayed with whatever that was in my face … It smelled like off milk.”

Mr Esakoff said he had complained to Victoria Police officers at the scene but was told to lodge an online complaint.

During Sunday’s protest, videos also emerged of police clashing with a small group of people from the ‘Lions of Zion’ holding Israeli and Australian flags in Melbourne’s CBD.

The footage shows several officers moving a group, including a man wearing an Israeli flag around his neck, away from the larger protest.

Victoria Police had confirmed no arrests were made during Sunday’s protest.

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich described the incident as a hate crime that needed to be investigated.

“Let me say this clearly: This is a hate crime. A young Jewish man stood in the heart of our city. He wasn’t shouting. He wasn’t provoking. And yet someone walked up and sprayed liquid into his eyes. Deliberately. Calmly. Because of who he is,” Dr Abramovich said.

He said Jews in Melbourne were being deliberately targeted and dehumanised.

“This is what Melbourne has become. Everywhere I go, I hear the same words whispered by parents, rabbis, students, and survivors: “It feels like the 1930s” because how else do you describe a reality where being visibly Jewish invites violence?”

“Victoria Police must investigate this assault as a hate crime. What we need is accountability. Protection. Because if this is allowed to slide, if this Jewish man’s pain is ignored, then we are all complicit.”