Emails were sent to the Jewish community warning them to avoid areas such as the city center and Sydney's harbor front as Hamas supporters marched through the downtown area to meet at the city’s famous Opera House in an unauthorized gathering.
The rally was organized by a group known as the Palestine Action Group Sydney, who is pushing Australia to sever ties with Israel and trying to launch protests. Hundreds of people showed up with Palestinian flags and chanted things like “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which is commonly interpreted as a desire to eradicate the Jewish state rather than create a Palestinian state alongside it, and “Resistance is justified when Palestine is occupied.” Some members of the crowd chanted things like “f--k the Jews” and “f--k Israel” while burning Israeli flags.
A spokesperson for the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, said the rally was a “sickening display from people with no souls and no humanity.”
He added: “Worshippers of death, rape and misery have no place in civilized society.”
According to the president of the Australian Jewish Association, David Adler, some Jewish people who showed up were taken away by police for carrying an Israeli flag. The group posted on X: “Police warn - No Jews near Opera house for their own safety as Muslim mobs gather to celebrate death. Why make a tribute to Jewish victims if they can't even go near.”
The march was at least partly a response to the government’s decision to illuminate the landmark in the colors of the Israeli flag to support Jewish community groups there. Other landmarks, such as the Parliament House in Canberra, made similar gestures of solidarity.
Protestors threw lit flares and celebrated Hamas murderers and rapists
At the protests, some people threw lit flares at police officers, and authorities are now investigating a vehicle that lit fireworks in the streets in celebration of the savage murder of hundreds of Jewish people in Israel. One of the speakers at the protest, Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun, said: "I'm smiling and I'm happy...it's a day of courage, it's a day of pride, it's a day of victory."
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the media that he believed the rally should have been called off as a show of respect to those who lost their lives.
“I support people’s right to demonstrate their views -- we’re a democratic nation ... But what is to be served apart from creating a climate that is not conducive to peace?” he said, adding that Hamas’s actions were “completely indefensible” and that Israel has a right to defend itself.
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles addressed an event in Melbourne for United with Israel saying that the people attacked by Hamas were innocent, which makes the terrorist group's actions murder.
He commented: “Tonight, Australia’s heart breaks for Israel. In the face of this evil, tonight Australia embraces Israel and all her people.”
Authorities have been trying to confirm the safety of upwards of 10,000 Australians who are currently in Israel. It is not known how many Australians are among the many hostages taken by Hamas.
Sources for this article include:
Please contact us for more information.
