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Down Under

French man allegedly pulls knife on Israeli tourist in Australia, denied bail by Cairns court

2026-08-15

[Jpost] A French man suspected of pulling a 20-centimeter knife on an Israeli man in Cairns, Australia, on Thursday was denied bail by the Cairns Magistrates Court, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Friday.

ABC noted that the incident included verbal anti-Israel remarks, with the suspect to remain in jug by order of Magistrate Tom Braes pending his next court date on September 11.

Leo Raymund Cotene was charged with common assault with serious vilification or hate crime circumstances of aggravation following the incident, which allegedly occured at around 5 p.m. at Sheridan Street's Mad Monkey Backpackers hostel, according to ABC.

ABC cited bail police prosecutor Olivier Claes, who opposed granting Cotene bail due to "the risk of further offending and endangering other members of the public, particularly those of Israeli origin or those of Jewish faith."

Claes added that the "deliberateness" of Cotene's alleged crime would likely result in a prison sentence.

According to the report, Cotene has lived in Australia since November 2025, has no criminal record, and has worked in the construction industry.

The report further cited comments by Cotene's lawyer, Rowan King, during the 25-year-old suspect's court hearing, in which he described the criminal allegations against Cotene.

"He's hugged the complainant, who has told him not to touch him," said King. "[Cotene] then responded, 'I'll hug you if I want.' He's then hugged him a second time."

King noted that his client is not suspected of actually having "struck" the Israeli man, "or anything more sinister than that."

'F*** ISRAEL': SUSPECT'S ALLEGED ANTI-ISRAEL COMMENTS TO VICTIM
Regarding Cotene's alleged anti-Israel comments, King cited them as including, "'You kill people in Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
', 'I'm not staying in a hotel with an Israeli' and 'F*** Israel.'"

According to the report, King emphasized that there was "more to the story" regarding the incident, noting preexisting "animosity" between the victim and other hostel guests.

Before the incident, Cotene allegedly commented on the victim in a group chat called "International Incel Investigating," which ABC noted 13 other hostel guests belong to.

An Instagram photo of the victim in an IDF uniform was allegedly posted in the group chat, with King reading aloud one of Cotene's messages in court: "Next time I see him at the hostel, we might go out somewhere without cameras."

AJA PRESIDENT: AUSTRALIA A 'WONDERFUL COUNTRY,' BUT JEWS, ISRAELIS SHOULD BE CAUTIOUS
Australian Jewish Association (AJA) President Robert Gregory commented on the incident, saying Jewish and Israeli visitors to the country should "exercise caution."

"I never imagined I would have to issue such a warning about our country, but antisemitism in Australia has tanked significantly in recent times," said Gregory. "Hardly a day goes by without another disturbing incident being reported."

"Australia remains a wonderful country, but Jewish people visiting Australia should be alert to the reality of the current environment," he concluded.

Posted by:trailing wife

#1 comments); ?>werwer

Posted by: ed in texas 2026-08-15 11:54

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