Et tu, Australia?

An Australian Jew was viciously beaten in front of his young children this week by a group of drunken Australian football players, according to a report by Australian news agencies. The attackers grabbed 33 year old Menachem Vorchheimer’s yarmulka and hat when he approached their minibus to find out the name of the team after the men hurled anti-Semitic remarks at him and his children.

Vorchheimer said the group of 20 men yelled epithets and “Go to the Nazis” before motioning as if they were shooting a machine gun at him and his terrified, crying 3 and 6 year old children before punching him in the face. Witnesses surrounded the bus and prevented it from making a getaway until the police arrived and apprehended the attackers.

Although Ocean Grove Football Club president Michael Vines apologized to the victim, the team’s coach, Matthew Sproule called the incident an “accident”. Vorchheimer was treated at Cabrini Hospital. Executive Council of Australian Jewry President Grahame Leonard said the incident was the fifth unprovoked anti-Semitic attack in Victoria this year.