“The Jewish Community Council of Victoria is alarmed by the ongoing rhetoric of Islamic leadership in Victoria and calls on the Victorian Government to step in to calm tensions.

“This morning, Islamic Council of Victoria president Adel Salman told ABC radio that Hamas’ massacre of 1200 Israelis, including children and babies, was justified, saying “if there were crimes committed by the October 7 attackers”, they should be investigated. He added: “I am not going to condemn the Palestinians for resisting”.”

“This also follows a direction from the Minister for Multicultural Affairs Ingrid Stitt to ICV Vice-President Mohamed Mohideen, a Government-appointed commissioner of the Victorian Multicultural Commission, to remove divisive and harassing content from his social media page.

“Standing up against terrorism, such as that which took place on October 7 in Israel, is an Australian value. Australians do not condone terrorism.

“Victorians expect a lot more from its community leaders, they cannot support terrorism. Victorians also expect that government-appointed leaders will not harass young Victorians online.”

“The Government needs to step in, reconsider funding to the ICV if the organisation does not distance itself from Mr Salman’s views. The Victorian Government must urge the ICV to refocus its attention on mending relationships in Victoria rather than tearing at the multicultural fabric of our society.”