Australia’s Jewish community is outraged and calling for action after a number plate believed to celebrate Hamas’ attack on Israel was spotted in Western Sydney. The plate, which reads ‘OCT7TH,’ is thought to refer to the date when Hamas soldiers killed over 1,000 civilians in Israel, triggering the conflict in Gaza. The photo of the number plate attached to a white Ford Ranger was shared on social media by former Liberal candidate Freya Leach, who questioned why such a plate was allowed. The image has gone viral and has been condemned as sick by the Australian Jewish Association (AJA).
The AJA claims to have taken steps to have the plates recalled and canceled, including filing a complaint with myPlates, the company responsible for custom number plates in New South Wales (NSW). However, the plates have not yet been recalled. The AJA also stated that they reached out to a Sydney MP to advocate for the removal of the number plate.
Ms. Leach later tweeted that she received a message stating that the plate had been registered a few years prior, according to the police. She called it a very unfortunate coincidence and expressed her disappointment that a fellow Australian could display such antisemitism. However, further investigation by the Daily Telegraph revealed that the plates were actually registered just six weeks after the October 7 attacks and are set to expire in November 2024.
MyPlates, the company that charges $499 per year for custom plates, reviews complaints about its plates once a month. They have admitted that their current procedures did not identify the offensive nature of the Hamas reference and are working on ways to improve the detection of offensive plates using artificial intelligence and human intervention.
The incident involving the offensive number plate comes after a similar case in September, where a NSW motorist was caught with a plate reading ’88SIEG,’ which referenced ‘heil Hitler’ slang. Public outrage prompted calls for tighter regulations around offensive plates.
Road Minister John Graham has described the ‘OCT7TH’ plates as objectively offensive and has called for immediate action to recall them. Transport for NSW is investigating the case to determine if it was a deliberate act. The Jewish community is hoping that swift action will be taken to address this issue and prevent further incidents of offensive number plates.
In summary, the discovery of a number plate allegedly celebrating Hamas’ attack on Israel in Western Sydney has sparked outrage within Australia’s Jewish community. Calls for action have been made to recall and cancel the offensive plates, and there are demands for improved regulations to prevent the display of hate speech on custom number plates in the future.
