The following photo from outside a store in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales was sent to me:
The business is Advision, a graphic design store at 46 Fitzmaurice St, Wagga Wagga. And it is not like the proprietor, a guy named Michael Agzarian, hides his views anywhere. Anyone visiting their business website will be accosted also with not just “pro-palestinian” but actual hateful, anti-Israel imagery:
Back in July, Agzarian made the news for some of the posters on display at his store and he denied he was antisemitic:
The Federal Member for Riverina, Michael McCormack has clapped back at local political provocateur Michael Agzarian following a sustained anti-Israel campaign in the window of his prominent Fitzmaurice Street shopfront.
“The provocative display of anti-Semitic commentary on the Middle East conflict in a #WaggaWagga shop front is a flagrant disregard of community standards. Freedom of speech comes with an inherent responsibility and duty of care for the community,” he wrote on social media late on Monday night (1 July).
While he did not name Mr Agzarian or his design business Advision, the post was accompanied by a photo of a poster in the shop window depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with the heading and the conclusion of the line “Netanyahu is a …” blacked out.
The uncensored version of the poster uses a four-letter expletive (c—) and labels the Israeli Prime Minister a “war criminal”.
“It is disgracefully un-Australian and un-Wagga-like and this kind of morally repugnant language does not belong in a publicly facing shop front where children can read it … or anyone else anywhere for that matter,” Mr McCormack declared in a media release.
“Everyone bears a responsibility to hold our society to a high level to maintain the lifestyle that, evidently, some in our community take for granted.
“Protest and vouch for what you think is right – it is a fundamental right – but please do so in a respectful way that does not cause further rifts in what is a predominantly peaceful community.”
In response to the Member for the Riverina’s complaint, Mr Agzarian sighed and said that he had “missed the point”.
“To be honest, if he’s offended by four letters, then he’s obviously not seen the bloodshed in Israel, in Gaza,” he said.
“It seems he’s quite happy to see thousands of children being massacred and killed, but he gets worked up about four letters in a poster.”
He also rejected Mr McCormack’s claim that the protest is “anti-Semitic”, clarifying that his statements are not anti-Jewish but are instead directed at the state of Israel and its controversial Prime Minister.
Mr Agzarian has a long history of leading provocative political campaigns through art, and posters dating back to the last federal election can still be seen on bins around Wagga featuring Mr McCormack.
Since the war broke out in Gaza following the 7 October Hamas terror attacks on Israel, his shop front has displayed a rotating lineup of posters.
They range from calls for an end to the conflict, a ceasefire and freedom for Palestine to condemnation of Israel and Netanyahu.
The posters have attracted a string of complaints to police and council, but Mr Agzarian maintains that they are intended to provoke a response and to confront the public with the greater offence of the ongoing bloodshed.
Agzarian can deny his posters are antisemitic all he likes, but there is little doubt this latest one is, as evidenced not just by the blood libels and the comparison between PM Netanyahu and Hitler, but also the derisive reference to the “Chosen people”, a concept in Judaism.
Clearly, Agzarian cares very little what people think about him, and he probably feels like his business will not be hurt by it. He boasts on the website:
Advision’s clients include Commonwealth Bank, Australian Red Cross, and NSW Police, as well as renowned universities like Sydney University, University of Western Sydney, Macquarie University, and Charles Sturt University: all can attest to the timeliness and quality of our work.
Maybe they are not (yet) aware that Agzarian dabbles in rank antisemitism – but should be made aware.
In addition, a Wagga Councilor has been contacted and he promised to speak with other Councilors about it.
