Mum-of-four’s Manningham home in Melbourne defaced with vile anti-Muslim graffiti – here’s why she thinks she was targeted

A woman was shocked to discover her home had been targeted with sickening Islamophobic graffiti.

Rita Manessis, 53, discovered the graffiti on the driveway of her home in Manningham in north-east Melbourne on Thursday night.

As the mother-of-four was putting her bins out, she smelt paint and saw the disgusting messages, ‘get out Muslim c*** and ‘death to Palestine’ sprayed on her driveway.

Several hand-drawn swastikas were next to the slogans.

The mother-of-four believes she could have been targeted because she displays ‘Free Palestine’ stickers and posters on the front of her home and on her car.

Mrs Manessis, who is not Muslim, called the police straight away.

She told the ABC she was shocked, but ‘kind of numb to it at the moment’.

Local Manningham community group Menzies for Palestine believes Mrs Manessis’ property was targeted between 10.30pm and 11.30pm on Thursday night.

Mrs Manessis believes she could have been targeted because she displays ‘Free Palestine’ stickers and posters on the front of her home and on her car

Federal Member for Menzies, Keith Wolahan MP (pictured), called the graffiti attack ‘reprehensible’

The group stated in a social media post: ‘Menzies for Palestine condemns in the strongest terms the reprehensible act of hate speech and vandalism perpetrated against a resident in Manningham.’

‘It is crucial to note that the resident is not of Palestinian, Muslim, or Arab descent, yet they have been subjected to intimidation and harassment solely due to their support of the Palestinian cause.’

Federal Member for Menzies, Keith Wolahan MP called the graffiti attack ‘reprehensible’.

‘I have reached out to local police, who are investigating.

‘The line between the legitimate expression of highly charged emotions and ugly hate looks like this. That line applies to all faiths.’  

The Islamaphobia Register Australia, an organisation ‘dedicated to monitoring and combating Islamophobia in Australia’, said in a statement that it has ‘continued to see a concerning increase in Islamophobic incidents when compared to pre-October 7 levels in 2023’.

‘The Register previously reported on 23 October 2023 that reports of Islamophobia had increased ten-fold, followed by a thirteen-fold increase a month later.

 ‘Unfortunately, since then, the number of incidents reported to the Register has continued to spike at an alarming rate.

‘In the same time period post-October 7, we have observed an alarming 39-fold increase in reported incidents on university campuses across the country.’

Victoria Police are investigating the Manningham Islamophobic graffiti incident. 

‘There is absolutely no place at all in our society for hate-based symbols and behaviour,’ a police spokesman said. 

Anyone with information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or submit a confidential report at www.crimestoppersvic.com.au