Car allegedly swerves at Jews in Melbourne, suspects sought

Police in Australia are searching for a female and three possible accomplices, who on March 25 allegedly swerved a stolen vehicle threateningly at a group of Jews in Melbourne on Wednesday, Jewish community representatives said.

J-Wire, a Jewish-Australian news site, reported that the Community Security Group Victoria, the Jewish community security group of the Australian state whose capital is Melbourne, reported the incident to police. Security forces are searching for the driver and passengers of a black Hyundai sedan stolen from the suburb of Caulfield on March 25, the report said. The Australian newspaper reported that someone in the car hurled antisemitic abuse at the would-be victims.

No arrests have been made, and police have appealed for witnesses and dashcam footage from the Glen Eira Road area, J-Wire reported.

Robert Gregory, CEO of the Australian Jewish Association, told JNS the group was aware of a video taken “following yesterday evening’s incident in Melbourne where a vehicle was reported to have swerved toward members of the Jewish community while occupants shouted antisemitic remarks.”

The person filming can be heard saying, “They’re coming back,” Gregory noted. The comment, which was heard in a video of the incident that circulated on social media, underlined the fear that many Australians Jews feel after the Dec. 14 massacre at Bondi Beach in Sydney, where a jihadist killed 14 people at a Chanukah party.

“Australian Jews should be able to walk down the street without being abused, yet for many, that’s no longer the reality,” Gregory said. “These incidents are happening far too often, and an increasing number of Jews are feeling unsafe and questioning whether they have a future in Australia.”

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry documented 1,654 antisemitic incidents in Australia between Oct. 1, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2025. This was 20% fewer from previous year but still roughly five times the annual average in the decade before the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.