Human rights groups urge Victoria not to adopt NSW protest permit system in response to alleged antisemitic attacks

Jacinta Allan at the East Melbourne Hebrew congregation this morning after it was targeted in an arson attack last Friday. The Victorian premier has pledged to stamp out ‘extremist behaviour’ at protests Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP

Human rights groups have urged the Victorian government to resist political pressure to adopt the New South Wales government’s protest permit system in response to several antisemitic attacks on the weekend.

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, has announced an “anti-hate taskforce” after Friday’s arson attack on a Melbourne synagogue, the targeting of an Israeli restaurant, the alleged vandalism of a company linked to Israeli-weapons and isolated but violent chants at a demonstration on Sunday.