September 25, 2015
The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC) has denounced in the strongest possible terms an incident in which a Chinese-Australian woman was racially abused on a public bus in Sydney. According to reports, none of the passengers or the bus driver intervened while the victim, Ms Lindsay Li, was being subjected to the disgraceful racist tirade. On the video, filmed by Ms. Li, the abuser says ‘I’m Jewish from Israel … and you are f***ing nothing.”
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, issued the following statement:
“There is no place in Australia for such intolerance. I am horrified and outraged by this hateful attack, which is a matter of deep concern, and the B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission deplores in the strongest possible terms this troubling incident. Australian of all faiths, nationalities, and ethnicities should feel secure on the buses of our cities without the fear or threat of being targeted for abuse because of their religion or background. As Jews, we know all too well what it is like to be targeted by racism, and we decry this disgraceful outburst of prejudice toward Ms Li. It is a sad and distressing reminder of the lengths people will go to express their bigotry and that we have much work to do to in weeding out the roots of xenophobia. Such ugly behaviour against any member of our community must never be accepted and the best way to combat vile racist speech is to speak out when such incidents occur. We urge anyone who knows the identity of this woman to immediately contact the authorities. We must always counter discrimination whenever and wherever it occurs, and continue to fight it with all the tools we have available to us. It is also our duty to stand as one when the values of diversity and multiculturalism are threatened by the conduct of such individuals”.
**media release was picked up by The Sydney Morning Herald
For more information, please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on (03) 9272-5677