A group of Chassidish bochurim came under attack in Melbourne, Australia, on Monday evening by the driver of a car yelling antisemitic curses—only 100 meters from the Adas Yisrael shul, which was firebombed a little over a year ago.

According to a report in the Herald Sun, the bochurim were walking together at around 9:50 p.m. on Monday evening when the frightening incident occurred. Security camera footage of the incident shows the bochurim as a white vehicle stops nearby, and the two people inside the car begin to curse them. The bochurim began to flee, quickly crossing the road, but the car made a quick U-turn towards them, almost running one of them over, with its occupants continuing to harass them.

Chaim Klein, the father of one of the bochurim, told the Herald Sun that his son told him that two people inside the car shouted “Heil Hitler” at them, performed a Nazi salute, and threatened to stab them.

He said that the car circled the bochurim for about five minutes while they tried to escape. “They had to run and hide while the occupants chased them in the car, searched for them, and tried to drive towards them,” Klein said. “It was a deliberate and targeted act of intimidation and hatred that put young lives in immediate danger and left the community shocked.”

According to reports, the perpetrators also said that they would “come back in the morning.” A statement from Victoria Police said that it is investigating a report of antisemitic behavior in St Kilda East on January 19.

The yeshiva ketana the bochurim attended issued a notice to the parents about the incident, reassuring them that “Baruch Hashem, no one was injured during the incident” and stating that “the yeshiva is assisting the police in the investigation, and we are examining additional security measures and further options.”

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)