Australia’s political leaders have expressed outrage following a pro-Palestine protest in Sydney on Monday. While the rally was initially intended to express solidarity with Palestine, it took a disturbing turn when some protesters began shouting anti-Semitic chants.
Approximately 2,000 demonstrators gathered in Sydney’s central business district, starting their protest at Town Hall and proceeding toward the Sydney Opera House. The event was marred by instances of extreme anti-Semitic rhetoric from some protestors, leading to widespread outrage and concern.
Some protesters voiced extreme anti-Semitic views, including the shocking chants of “gas the Jews” and “f–k the Jews.” There were even instances where the Star of David was burned in front of the iconic opera house.
Daily Mail reported:
There were scenes of chaos at the Opera House as the demonstration was hijacked by radical Muslims – some wearing black masks – who threw lit flares at police and chanted ‘f*** Israel’ and ‘f*** the Jews’ beneath the steps of the iconic harbouside venue.
At one point, there were even chants of ‘gas the Jews’.
Daily Mail Australia witnessed a large crowd of men attempting to set light to an Israeli flag with firecrackers before stamping on it and tearing it to shreds.
Cries of ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is great in Arabic) and ‘death to the Jews’ rang out as some members of the crowd swarmed towards the police barrier, brandishing torn pieces of the Israeli flag – despite the rally organisers calling for protesters to respect the police.
Over 100 cops formed a ring of steel along the steps of the Opera House and didn’t intervene when flares or other projectiles were thrown at them.
Instead, they placed the lit flares in buckets of water as acrid smoke filled the air.
Watch:
Video: A crowd at the steps of the Sydney Opera House chants “gas the Jews” and “f*ck the Jews” on October 9. pic.twitter.com/uPNLuaIgcv
— Gabriel Noronha (@GLNoronha) October 9, 2023
The police are now facing backlash for allowing the protest to proceed without intervening, while advising Jewish Australians to “stay home” for their safety.
Law enforcement officials have defended their decision, stating that they opted to oversee the movement of the pro-Palestine demonstrators rather than attempting to obstruct it.
New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, expressed his puzzlement, saying, “I don’t know why this protest went ahead in any event after so much bloodshed in Israel,” noting that police had “obviously made an operational decision about the safety of Sydney” to allow the march to proceed, adding that “those circumstances were what they are.”
Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, voiced her concerns about the situation, emphasizing that “There is no place in Australia for antisemitism or prejudice or hatred of any kind and we should all stand firm against the sort of antisemitic language that unfortunately some engaged [in] – just as we should stand firm against all prejudice.”
“It goes to who we are as a country and it goes to one of our greatest strengths, which is our diversity but our unity around values.”
Assistant Commissioner Tony Cooke justified the approach of the NSW Police, emphasizing that it was about managing the situation as it unfolded rather than endorsing or permitting the protest.
“Very clearly, my best option was to control and manage the situation … in the end the risks of conflict were avoided,” he said. “This is not about us condoning, supporting [or] facilitating any protest… This is about us providing for the public safety.”
According to the Guardian, an inquiry has been initiated by the NSW police, with Premier Chris Minns cautioning that those found engaging in “racial vilification, incitement of hatred, or promoting violence” will face charges.
“To have some people celebrate atrocious indiscriminate killing and kidnapping in Israel is appalling,” Minns said.
“This is the opposite of the dynamic multicultural community we want in NSW and Australia. Racial epithets were thrown at the Jewish community by the mere fact that they were members of the Jewish community which is shocking and abusive and potentially a crime.”
