Pro-Israel and Palestinian rallies attracts thousands in Sydney
Thousands of Israel and Palestinian supporters have attended rallies at two separate locations across the city. Here’s what we know so far.
NSW
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Thousands have gathered in two separate rallies across Sydney with supporters of both Israel and Palestine taking to the streets for rallies.
About 1pm Palestine supporters shut down the CBD for a demonstration at Hyde Park, with an estimated 50,000 people in attendance.
Led once again by Assala Sayara and the United 4 Palestine organisation, passionate protesters flocked to the centre of the city on Sunday afternoon shouting “free free Palestine”, just hours after a pro - Israel vigil took place in Sydney’s east.
Wearing “stop the genocide” and “free Palestine” tee-shirts, green, black, white and red face paint and bearing hundreds of Palestine flags and posters, the loud group clapped and cheered as Palestinian leaders spoke on stage.
“In our thousands in our millions we are Palestinians,” the lively crowd chanted alongside Ms Sayara.
“Albanese you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide.
“Long live Palestine, long live Gaza.”
Hundreds of attendees gathered behind the stage to pray before the rally kicked off, shouting “Allahu Akbar.”
Others were encouraged to write their names on their arms in permanent marker and stand with their fists in the air while drums were banged.
Hand made cardboard signs which read “bring peace to Palestine, don’t bring Palestine to pieces” and “1 child murdered every 10 minutes. Ceasefire now” we’re thrust into the air as protest leaders took to the stage.
“We will never forgive the western leaders who are facilitating this war,” event co- MC Josh said.
“Eternal shame on those people,” he said in company of protesters who said “shame”.
“We are here to demand Israel gets out of Gaza immediately.
“We have come to demand for a ceasefire.”
SET THEM FREE RALLY
Earlier, the pro-Israel “Set Them Free Rally” including families who fled Gaza and relatives of hostages still unheard from.
A crowd of around five thousand travelled to The Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park on Sunday morning to “march” for the freedom of Jewish hostages and those “attacked” on October 7th.
Jewish leaders said the “solidarity vigil” aimed to honour the victims from Israel and over 40 countries whose nationals were “murdered, injured or taken hostage by Hamas.”
Co-CEO of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry Alex Ryvchin led the event for the flag-bearing and teary-eyed crowd who stood on the grass and watched on, dressed in white and blue.
“We are together, one people, with one mission and one destiny,” he said.
“And we stand here today, with our fellow Australians, with clarity in our minds and hope in our hearts.
“Hope for the swift and complete victory of the heroic forces of the IDF, may they be blessed.
Hope for the safe rescue of every hostage. Hope for the complete destruction of Hamas and hope for an era of peace for the land of Israel.”
Attendees also held flags from various countries around the world including Germany, Ireland, Thailand and Australia alongside their Jewish flags.
“We have also been stripped of blind hope, of delusion. Those days are over. We now know that evil exists, and we know what it looks like,” Mr Ryvchin said.
“As our people have learned through bitter experience, evil cannot be bargained with or placated. It can only destroy or be destroyed.
“We know that we are the eternal people, the custodians of the eternal truth of the Torah, and we know that with our fellow Australians and the civilised, peace-loving people of the world, we will complete our mission, to defeat evil and to bring light to the world.”
The group in sunglasses and holding umbrellas to protect from the heat, were addressed by Jewish leaders and key speakers as they held up red “kidnapped” signs and home made posters showing faces of “innocent victims” held hostage in Gaza.
A large police presence including officers on horses and a helicopter, patrolled the area as the rally continued.
Marc Rosenthar and his family where next to Gaza when the attacks occurred in the first week of a October and attended the rally on Sunday.
“The terrorists came to kill us,” he said.
“It’s great to see some support for Israel but the response of some of the Australian community is disappointing.
“Rape and murder is not resilience it’s terrorism.”
Zack and Atara Shachar also attended the rally holding a sign which showed the face of their 19 year - old niece, Naama Levy who was captured in Gaza.
“It’s terrible, we just want her back,” Mr Shachar said.
“We don’t know if she is alive or not,” Ms Shachar said.
“There’s a video of her in gaza and people yelling at her and men hitting her.
“I cannot sleep at night. She’s my son’s age.”
A video had emerged of members of Hamas kidnapping the teenager and putting her in the boot of a car.
“Treating her like rubbish,” Ms Shachar said.
“I can’t imagine what she’s going through. If she’s alive we don’t know what’s she’s doing to her.
“She’s a baby, a beautiful person and was volunteering for a peace program. She is a sporty girl, swimming running with her three siblings.”
This comes as a Jewish restaurant in the Sydney CBD was vandalised overnight.
The front doors of Shaffa Restaurant in Surry Hills were sprayed with the words “child murderer” and “steal our identity” in red paint alongside images of wounded children and a sign which read “you cannot build a Holy Land on the mass graves of children.”
“It is shocking and unbelievable that something like that can happen to an Australian business,” the owner, who wished not to be named, said.
“It happened overnight and we saw it in the morning. Someone passed by and they let us know they saw it.
“Last night everything was okay, the restaurant was full as usual with music and happiness.”
The restaurant owner of two years said she was feeling “very sad” her business had been targeted.
“I don’t understand how people can get to this direction,” she said.
“We are Jewish but we are Australian citizens, we are an Australian community and we should be feeling safe.
“All we want to bring in this restaurant is happiness and fun to Sydney people.”
The owner said she was now feeling “unsafe” and disappointed to now have to clean and repaint the doors.
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said “targeting the livelihood of Jewish Australians is a low act.”
“How does vandalising a Sydney business with old racist slogans about Jews being child-killers and frauds, advance the cause of peace or help Palestinian civilians caught in Hamas’s war,” Mr Ryvchin said.
“Their aim is clearly to terrorise Jewish Australians and make them afraid to live their lives. But they will fail. And we know decent Australians stand with us.”
NSW Police confirmed they had initiated an investigation into the “malicious damage” after Surry Hills police officers were called to the Albion Street venue at 12:15am on Sunday.
HUGE COST TO STATE REVEALED
Taxpayers are forking out millions of dollars for police presence at protests about the Israel-Gaza war.
Premier Chris Minns revealed the cost of managing the major protests ahead of a major operation in Sydney on Sunday to control two separate rallies: one pro-Israel event at Moore Park followed by a pro-Palestinian event in Hyde Park.
“It’s costing a lot,” Mr Minns said.
“It’s in excess of a million dollars for a major protest, and the reason for that is that there is a large police presence associated with these protests.”
“They’re not just (there) to maintain safety of the community and assets and people but also to monitor for those fundamental principles that we have in NSW around racial vilification and hate speech.”
On Saturday, a pro-Palestinian group rallied at Port Botany to protest an Israeli-owned shipping company ZIM, with a large police presence on hand.
Later, pro-Palestinian activists drove a convoy of motorcycles to the Eastern Suburbs, where it was met at Coogee by close to 100 people on the beachfront waving Israeli flags.
The motorcade was denounced by pro-Palestinian activist Fahad Ali as serving “no strategic purpose”.
“No one I know in the Palestinian community is on board with this,” he said.
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies President David Ossip labelled the convoy “psychological warfare”.
The Premier said the motorcade appeared “a largely fruitless and pointless exercise”
CALLS FOR UNITY
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she understood the Hamas-Israel war had been distressing for many people, particularly those who have lost family and friends, but that trauma should not turn into “hate and anger” at home.
“We cannot allow this conflict to divide us,” she said.
“We have to remember each other’s humanity. We have to remember that we are all Australian, and that this is a country that people want to come to because we are respectful and we are accepting, and we don’t believe in division and hate.”
Ms Wong said the Free Palestine protest near a synagogue in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield on Friday was “not the right thing to do”.
“I think the organisers know that, which is why they have apologised,” she said.
“I want to say this, all Australians, including our Jewish community have a right to be safe and feel safe.
“No-one in this country should be fearful because of who they are or their faith.”
Following the Friday protest in Melbourne, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said Jewish Australians had “never felt less safe,” which was a “real problem”.
“Clearly, anti-Semitism doesn’t have a place in our country and it’s very important that we are able, no matter what is happening elsewhere in the world, to maintain social cohesion here in Australia,” he said.
“People have a right to protest what’s happening in the Middle East.
“What’s happening in the Middle East is an unfolding tragedy and people have a right to put pressure on their country’s government, on us, but there shouldn’t be demonstrations which are aimed at other members of the community.”
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