The Adelaide Holocaust Museum calls for more protection before Sunday’s pro-Palestine rally
Adelaide’s Jewish Holocaust Museum says SA Police has been unresponsive to requests for extra protection ahead of Sunday’s pro-Palestinian rally.
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The Adelaide Holocaust Museum has called for extra security in the lead up to the planned pro-Palestinian rally on the weekend, but claims the SA Police have yet to respond to their requests.
The rally which is being organised by Students for Palestine and Adelaide Campaign Against Racism and Fascism, will see pro-Palestinian protesters gather outside state parliament to “demand Australia cut ties with Israel.”
“This comes in the context of the deadliest year ever for Palestinians with Israel electing its most right-wing government,” organisers wrote on Facebook.
“End Israeli apartheid, the occupation, the siege of Gaza. Free Palestine.”
The Sunday rally has sparked concerns after a similar rally held in Sydney on Monday night, saw pro-Palestinian protesters storm the Opera House steps, chanting anti-Semitic messages.
The nation’s peak Jewish community group has also urged for Adelaide’s protest to be banned to avoid a repeat of Sydney’s protest.
The Adelaide Holocaust Museum’s director Kathy Baykitch said Pro-Palestine rallies held in Sydney and Melbourne have evoked grave concerns.
“People have the right to protest but when these protests become violent, when they shout anti-sematic slogans, when they call for the death of Jews, it’s scary,” Kathy Baykitch told ABC Radio Thursday morning.
“We’re gravely concerned (for) the museum,” she said.
“We’ve been reassured by SAPOL that they’ve upped patrols but in the past sort of 36 hours, a number of states here in Australia have confirmed that they’re using security around Jewish communal organisations, (sic) and places like holocaust museums.
“We’ve had no confirmation of any additional support.”
Ms Baykitch said the museum requested “temporary protective services” around their premises before the rally, following a spate of “recent incidents” during opening hours.
In one of the incidents, she said a rostered security guard was “pushed in the chest and grabbed by the throat by someone hurling anti-sematic abuse”.
“Security guards don’t have the same response and it’s okay to call 000 but by the time you get through to 000 something could actually happen in that interim,” she said.
“We need people that could actually protect the people that want to visit the museum, who want to learn about what happened when hatred is left to fester.
“Our museum is about educating about what happens when hatred takes over.”
She claims SA Police have not responded to the requests despite the museum sending a letter to the Minister for Police on Tuesday.
Speaking to ABC Radio this morning, Premier Peter Malinauskas said people have the right to “express their political views freely in the form of protests,” as long as they comply with the law.
“We’ve been naturally in touch with South Australian police who, we are satisfied, are completely abreast with the situation,” Mr Malinauskas said.
The Premier confirmed that there will be a police presence at the protest.
“Police, I’m advised, are in touch with the organisers of the protest – which is a good thing but that’s pretty orthodox – just to make sure that no one is planning any misbehaviour.
“We’ve got a very firm view as a government that we will not be tolerating any acts at the protest that are contrary to the law and that message couldn’t be any clearer to those people that are intent on attending the protest.
Mr Malinauskas said all of our state’s laws including anti-vilification laws will be enforced at the rally but the state government will not intervene to halt the protest.
Opposition Leader David Speirs agreed with the Premier, saying he will continue to “fight for people’s rights to protest as part of living in a liberal democracy”.
“I think that our Palestinian community and those of Palestinian heritage in South Australia have a history of behaving quite differently than their counterparts interstate,” Mr Spiers said.
“What we saw in Sydney was awful and the chants against Jewish people are anti-semetic,” he said.
“(If) anything like that happens in South Australia, I would expect the police to step in right away.”
In a statement to The Advertiser, a police spokesperson said protest organisers are engaging with police.
“Yesterday, the organisers of the Solidarity with Palestine rally booked the steps of Parliament House to identify their intention to protest on Sunday,” the spokesperson said.
“Police will have active engagement with the organisers of the rally in order to ensure a safe, and orderly event, to ensure it does not encroach on other people’s right to move through the city.”
Assistant Commissioner Scott Duval said extra officers from various units would be at Sunday’s rally to monitor crowd behaviour.
“Police have high expectations of people’s behaviour, but it’s very much about them behaving in a safe, orderly and lawful manner,” he said.
“We’ll certainly facilitate their right to do that, but should that behaviour escalate, we will be there to intervene very quickly.
“Ultimately, people have a right to get their message across but at the same time police are there to enforce the law and make sure that the event is safe and orderly.”
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