When Oliver Freedman goes shopping, visits relatives or gives board presentations, he wears a yarmulke. This week, for the first time in his life, the businessman said he felt afraid on Sydney’s streets wearing his Jewish skull cap.

The trigger for Freedman, and many other Sydney Jews, was Monday night’s pro-Hamas protest march to the Opera House from Town Hall, which led to warnings from the police and Jewish community organisations to Jews to avoid the city for their safety.