A few weeks ago, I bumped into Roman — yes, that Roman — during the election. He’s the same guy who’s become a mainstay at Melbourne’s anti-Israel protests and once threatened me. But this time, something felt different. For almost 20 minutes, he came across as calm and surprisingly reasonable.

🚨FULL VIDEO: Antifa thugs KICKED OUT of antisemitism rally

Far-leftwing and Islamic extremists joined forces, attempting to intimidate Jews and Christians, rallying against their blind, bigoted hate.

Want to help with my security costs? Go to https://t.co/uMCZGsH7qq now! pic.twitter.com/2DU0uirQ21

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) May 21, 2024

Roman said he still supports a two-state solution and condemns the killing of innocents on both sides. “I believe that innocents on both sides should not be killed,” he told me. Even when I pressed him on Hamas’s treatment of Palestinians, he admitted, “100% I’ll condemn that.”

It was sounding promising — like maybe, just maybe, this guy was coming around.

But then came the familiar spin. When I asked if he’d condemn Hamas’ atrocities on October 7, Roman wouldn’t be straight. He said, “I condemn the killing of innocents,” but couldn’t bring himself to name Hamas specifically. That’s when I knew: the old Roman was still there, just hiding beneath the surface.

We spoke about the double standards I always see at these protests — how they ignore Palestinians risking their lives to protest Hamas in Gaza, but they’ll come out every weekend to demonise Israel. Roman said, “They’re not in Gaza. They don’t understand the situation,” which is rich, considering he’s not in Israel either but feels comfortable shouting down Israelis every week.

And I wasn't the only one he targeted. When a well-known TikToker from Perth was in Melbourne to film content that had nothing to do with politics, but there was Roman with his hate mob, playing the tough guy once again..

To his credit, Roman did admit he no longer believes in intimidation tactics. “As much as I believe in what I believe in... Intimidating you guys or creating a scene, that’s not the way to do it,” he said. But he still refused to express regret for his past threats and menacing behaviour.

This conversation showed me what I’ve seen time and time again: these protesters often start off sounding moderate, but scratch the surface and their true colours come out. Roman wanted to sound balanced, but by the end, he couldn’t hide the fact that his hatred of Israel still runs deep.

PETITION: Protect The Jews in Australia

16,372 signatures

Goal: 20,000 signatures

Sign this petition to call on authorities to take immediate and decisive action to protect Jewish places of worship, bring those responsible for these attacks to justice, and send a clear message that antisemitism will not be tolerated in any form.

Sign Now

Optional email code

Will you sign?

First Name

Last Name

Email

Mobile phone

Send me email updates

Send me text message updates

Comments (optional)