Published: 18 October 2022
Last updated: 5 March 2024
Members of the National Socialist Network targeted a drag artist performing at the youth event, claiming his name was "Hebrew for demon flesh". WATCH VIDEO
Last month, a group of families gathered in a quiet park in the Melbourne suburb of Moonee Ponds for a day of outdoor activities including gardening, eco-glitter crafts, a ukulele workshop and a performance by Melbourne drag artist Belial B’Zarr.
Organised as part of the Victorian Government’s Youth Fest, the small-scale community event was intended to provide a fun day for local families and celebrate the contributions of young people.
But the family activities were loudly interrupted by a group of Far-Right protestors attacking both LGBTQI+ people and Jews.
Upon arriving at the event on September 30, Belial B’Zarr immediately noticed an unusually large police presence.
“I overheard an officer chatting to security about a potential protest. I went to chat to security directly after, asking if he knew the content of this protest, where protesters were and if I could be led away or accompanied in the event of having to cross paths with them, he told The Jewish Independent.
“My impression was that these were anti-vax protesters … but that quickly changed after my first act,”
A group of 12 neo-Nazis from the National Socialist Network arrived at 1pm after Belial’s first act. They came prepared with banners painted specifically for the occasion, defaming Belial as a demon and drag queens as child abusers. One banner included a Star of David with an equal sign next to “demon flesh”.
“The individual leading the ‘protest’ screamed out my drag name, social media handles and started yelling. The group proceeded to hang around … asking ‘are there any Jews here?'” Belial said. “They were incredibly aggressive and tried to intimidate me and attendees by filming and yelling at us.”
