Jewish students threatened with a knife and vilified on Melbourne bus

Police are investigating an incident in which a group of Jewish students were threatened with a knife and subjected to antisemitic comments on a bus in Elsternwick on Thursday afternoon.

About 10 students from Leibler Yavneh College boarded a public bus on Clarence Street at about 4.20pm, before a passenger began to discuss “Jews, money, and drugs”, according to a student on the bus.

“He was getting louder and louder to the point of shouting ‘Nazi’ and my friends heard him call himself a Nazi,” said the student, who asked not to be identified.

“Then out of his bag he pulled out a massive, serrated knife approximately six inches in length. One of the boys on the bus told everyone to run and get off, and we were yelling at the bus driver, ‘Open the door, he has a knife’.”

The man pursued the students for a short distance near the corner of Orrong and Glen Huntly roads before fleeing the scene.

A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed police are investigating the attack.

Leibler Yavneh College issued a statement to all parents on Thursday evening and provided students with a briefing at school assembly on Friday morning.

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Jewish students threatened with a knife and vilified on Melbourne bus (The Age)

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Photo: Students at Leibler Yavneh College (Facebook)