Yesterday, a man killed five women and one man at the Bondi Junction shopping center in a mass stabbing. After initial fears it may have been a terror attack, it emerged that the perpetrator was a mentally-ill man named Joel Cauchi.
But before his identity was revealed, online antisemites claimed that the perpetrator was a young Jewish man called Ben Cohen.
“Syrian Girl” Maram Susli speculated early on – without any evidence whatsoever – that the murderer may have been Israeli:
Her fellow antisemite and Russian propagandist “Aussie Cossack” Simeon Boikov tweeted that “unconfirmed reports” identified the attacker as Benjamin Cohen:
and lent credence to these reports by suggesting Cohen really did look like the attacker:
The accusation spread on social media like wildfire, not surprising given Benjamin’s obviously Jewish name. Susli seemed happy that her “suspicions” were apparently not far off the mark:
At some point, Australia’s Channel Seven news also named Benjamin Cohen as the murderer, in what seems to be a report relying on the false social media reports. Susli sprung into action, now stating it was confirmed that Benjamin Cohen did it:
Other antisemites like Jake Shields, Thomas Sewell, and Lucas Gage followed suit:
With the murderer’s true identity now revealed, Boikov and Susli – possibly fearing a defamation law suit – have seemingly gone into damage control mode.
Boikov has denied responsibility for his part in the misidentification of Cohen, emphasizing he used the word “unconfirmed” to describe reports he was the murderer.
I am no lawyer but I would suggest the fact he still tweeted it, gave even more credence to it by adding “Cohen? Really? And to think so many commentators tried to initially blame Muslims,” as well as the tweet noting a resemblance between the murderer and Cohen, might land him in hot water
Susli has taken a similar line, blaming it all on Channel 7 (despite her tweeting his name before them) and threatening to sue those implicating her:
Despite their defiant stands, Boikov and Susli are grifting for money in the face of a possible lawsuit:
''We haven't even started and people are already throwing money at us.'' Simeon Boikov and Maram Susli already grifting thousands off the back of defaming a random Australian Jewish uni student and falsely accusing him of stabbing 6 people to death.
— Drew Pavlou 🇦🇺🇺🇦🇹🇼🇨🇾 (@DrewPavlou) April 14, 2024
Begging for funds to fight… pic.twitter.com/6EaE80A5Lo
As for poor Benjamin Cohen:
Speaking to news.com.au, Mr Cohen said it had been a “hectic night and morning”.
“It’s just gone crazy, it’s like look you’ve got the wrong guy,” he said.
“People don’t really think too hard about what they’re posting and how it might affect someone. It’s very dangerous how people could just make stuff up and destroy people’s lives.”
—
The father said the family has been inundated with calls from concerned loved ones.
“Everyone’s asking what’s going on, people asking if it’s true. Of course it’s not true, he’s not even a politically motivated person. He’s just a normal kid who now has got to deal with this,” he said
