Palestine and Israel supporters urged to calm down after angry mob gatecrash Opera House
The Premier has rebuked comments his Attorney-General Michael Daley made urging everyone to stay home, after admitting on radio he was not across the details of the Opera House protest.
NSW
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Premier Chris Minns has smacked down his first law officer, after Attorney-General Michael Daley suggested “all people should stay at home” and avoid politically charged protests for their own safety.
Mr Daley told 2GB’s Ben Fordham that he was “not really” across one of the most explosive protests in Sydney in recent memory, because he was working late on Monday night.
NSW Police had told Jewish Australians to stay away from the pro-Palestinian rally, where an Israeli flag was burnt, for their own safety.
Mr Daley said everyone should have stayed at home.
“Dividing into camps and barracking over what’s a horrific situation in the Middle East is just not acceptable,” he said.
“What everyone needs to do is show restraint and respect and calm down.
“Stop dividing into teams and competing with each other with various forums or on the streets, this is Australia, not Israel or Palestine.”
But Mr Daley’s boss criticised some of those comments hours later.
“I don’t support those comments. And I want to make it really clear that there’s a false equivalence there,” Mr Minns said.
“I understand the Attorney General made some subsequent comments in relation to that and he should have.”
“It’s very clear and important that the NSW government says to the Jewish community in NSW that we want to support them during this extremely trying period.”
Mr Minns said the Jewish community has “every right” to commemorate “the horrific nature of the violent acts in Israel over the last 48 hours”.
In Mr Daley’s appearance on the show on Tuesday morning, Michael Daley admitted he was not up to date on the protest chaos that has gripped Sydney.
“Well it’s not something that’s in my portfolio Ben, so I’ll just have to find out some details from within (the) government later and get back to you if you like,” he told radio host Ben Fordham.
“You’re across what happened last night at the Opera House though?” Fordham replied.
“Not really no, I worked late last night, I’m not really across that no,” Daley said.
Fordham responded: “We had a protest last night outside the Opera House. The Israeli flag was burned. And Jewish Sydneysiders were told to stay at home...”
As a back-and-forth bagan Mr Daley responded: “I think everybody needs to just calm down and as you say... do stay at home... what everyone needs to do is show restraint and respect. And calm down...”
Fordham asked what the point of lighting up the Opera House was if everyone had to stay home.
“I think all people should stay home for their own safety,” Mr Daley responded.
When asked if NSW and Sydney were unsafe, Mr Daley said: “I’m confident that the police have got this under control as they always do.”
Our Plastine Rally from Sydney Town hall to Sydney Opera House Today.#FreePalastine #طوÙان_القدس #Ùلسطين_المØتلة #Ùلسطين_قضيتي pic.twitter.com/UJAcBBFSTc
— Mazen Draz (@DraZOffical) October 9, 2023
Meanwhile, NSW Opposition leader Mark Speakman backed the government’s decision to light the sails of the Opera House white and blue in solidarity with Israel but said there wasn’t enough planning or security.
“I commend Chris Minns for making that gesture, it was appropriate to extend our solidarity with the local Jewish community,” Speakman told Ben Fordham on 2GB on Tuesday.
“But there appears to be a lack of planning, security and what has been allowed to happen is that the opportunity for the Jewish community to have a peaceful vigil has been hijacked.
“Protesters have been allowed to take over the streets and march down to the opera house.”
“f*ck the Jews” chants at tense rally
Fireworks and flares lit up the stairs of Sydney’s iconic Opera House on Monday night.
Moments after the blue and white colours of the Israeli flag lit up the Opera House sails, members of the crowd – which had earlier marched from Town Hall – started screaming “f*ck Israel”, and “f*ck the Jews” from behind covered faces.
Multiple flares and fireworks were lit in the crowd and at least one glowing red flare was thrown onto the Opera House steps, where it was hastily dumped by police into a bucket of water as the air filled with acrid smoke.
Waving Palestinian flags, men, women and even small children alternated between chanting “Free Palestine” and “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great in Arabic), led in part by a small boy hoisted onto shoulders and wielding a megaphone.
Plea for peaceful rally
It comes after at least two bits of rubbish, including a water-filled bottle, were lobbed at a line of more than 100 police watching over the gathering as members of the crowd ignored organisers’ pleas for a peaceful rally.
One of the rally organisers, Fahad Ali screamed into a megaphone for the protesters to respect the police – with others ignoring the call.
After 9pm the march spilled from the steps of the Opera House onto the streets, with protesters marching back through Circular Quay, stunning onlookers.
Protesters shouted at police as they ran towards Circular Quay train station. Police ran to form a blockade in the train station preventing the protesters from going further into the street.
Some protesters appeared to throw objects at the police as they chanted.
It is believed more than 700 protesters converged on the Opera House forecourt in defiance of the Prime Minister who called for pro-Palestine supporters to abandon the rally.
Protesters gather outside the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Do you see or hear a single message of peace here?
— Aviva Klompas (@AvivaKlompas) October 9, 2023
No. You don't.
Because they are no so much for a Palestinian state as in favor of the Hamas terrorists who rampaged through Israeli communities pic.twitter.com/mEma19qAIC
The crowd were waving Palestinian flags while an Israeli flag was ripped up and stomped on.
Close to 100 police officers stood in a line between the group of protesters and the landmark.
Just after 5.30pm officers spotted a man supporter with an Israeli flag.
He was arrested and removed by police to prevent a breach of the peace.
He was issued a move-on direction and released.
Members of the Jewish community were warned to stay away from the area for their own safety.
Jewish leaders were quick to blast the flag burning, calling it an act of “violence and hatred” as tensions between Israeli and Palestinian Australians reached a boiling point on Monday night.
“The Palestinian movement has been revealed for all to see. This isn’t about a territorial dispute. It is about supremacism, violence and hatred. It doesn’t seek to build peace, it seeks only to destroy. Our political leaders must now take note,” Executive Council of Australian Jewry co- chief executive Alex Ryvchin said.
Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC) said the throwing of flares, chanting of abuse and burning of the Israeli flag was “deeply disgusting”.
“This is deeply disgusting and offensive behaviour. Morally it’s bankrupt and of course we would expect the authorities to be closely scrutinising this behaviour. One has to understand that inciting violence is an offence in Australia,” he said.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton called the Opera House scenes “despicable” and criticised Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for failing to stop the protest from taking place.
“These were despicable scenes in Sydney tonight and they are unimaginable in modern Australia. I condemn the actions of the activists and protesters,” Mr Dutton said.
“They have no place in our country. It’s a reminder of the fact that we need to continue our strong support for the people of Israel and the Jewish community here in Australia at what is a very dark hour.
“The Prime Minister should have been in contact with community leaders to stop this protest from taking place.”
Premier Chris Minns condemned the “horrible scenes” at the Opera House.
He said the protesters “do not represent the people of NSW”.
“This sort of behaviour incites violence and creates division,” he said.
Earlier on Monday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned plans for the pro-Palestine march in Sydney, calling the Hamas attack on Israel “indefensible” and an “atrocity that deserves condemnation of all”.
Mr Albanese told 2GB’s Chris O’Keefe the rally should be cancelled and “absolutely” should not go ahead.
“(It will) create a climate that is not conducive to peace and the objective of wanting to see Palestinians and Israelis living a peaceful and secure life. This does not support it at all.”
The pro-Palestine supporters marched to the Opera House after earlier gathering at Town Hall.
Opera House sails to be lit blue and white in support of Israel
The iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House will be lit up in blue and white on Monday evening in a show of support for the people of Israel, following a mass surprise attack by militant group Hamas.
Premier Chris Minns on Sunday said the NSW Government was “concerned” by the attack and added monitoring was underway to check if any NSW citizens were in the conflict zone.
“We’re really concerned about the horrific attack by Hamas on Israel in the last 24 hours,” he said.
“We hold great concerns for those that have been kidnapped and we are thinking of the Jewish communities in Sydney that may have family members in Israel.
“We want to ensure that any work that we can do with the community in Sydney and New South Wales, that's exactly what we’ll do.
“And we're monitoring the situation very closely to see if there’s any New South Wales citizens that are living in or are on holidays or on pilgrimage in the Middle East.”
The Opera House sails will be lit up from 7.30pm Monday.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner confirmed on Sunday that Brisbane’s Story Bridge will be “lit blue and white in solidarity with our friends in Israel and Brisbane’s Jewish community”.
Other international landmarks, like Germany’s Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, have also been lit in blue and white following the explosion in conflict in Israel’s territory.
Federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton posted on social media the “Coalition would strongly support the Government in following Germany’s lead and illuminating Parliament House and the iconic Sydney Opera House in strong support for our friends and family in Israel”.
The sails of the Opera House were lit up blue and yellow in support of Ukraine following Russia’s invasion last year.
Former Australian ambassador to Israel and ex-member for Wentworth Dave Sharma said that lighting up the Opera House would “demonstrate that we stand with Israel at this time of immense tragedy and loss.”
However, he added that governments should do more to support Israel.
“We need to go beyond mere symbolism and offer Israel substantive diplomatic and material support,” he said.
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