Neil Mitchell smashes three-word slogan at Sydney pro-Palestine protest, NSW Premier lashed for allowing rally to go ahead

Radio star Neil Mitchell has unleashed after playing audio of a disturbing three-word chant protesters were heard shouting at a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney.

Radio star Neil Mitchell has condemned a sickening three-word chant being shouted by protesters at a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney on Monday night.

The rally began as a peaceful march from Town Hall but escalated as protesters faced off with over 100 cops who formed a ring of steel at the steps to the Sydney Opera House.

Members of the crowd were heard chanting ‘f*** the Jews’ and “Israel, USA, how many kids have you killed today?” as they approached Circular Quay.

“This is unprecedented stuff,” Mitchell said on 3AW after playing a censored version of the foul chant.

“It is verbally violent anti-Semitisim. This has got nothing to do with Israel’s supposed colonialism.”

Mitchell said the Hamas-Israel war was “revealing an awful undercurrent in this country, which we just can’t tolerate”.

“This is why Jewish people are afraid, this is why we have guards outside Jewish schools,” he said.

“In Australia thankfully we have a small numbers of people preaching hate and anti Semitism.”

“It has to be made clear it is totally unacceptable.”

“It is an outrage on the steps of the Opera House.”

Mixed messages

Meanwhile2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham slammed NSW Premier Chris Minns and Attorney General Michael Daley for allowing the pro-Palestine protest to go ahead last night while at the same time expressing solidarity with the Israeli people.

Moments after the blue and white colours of the Israeli flag lit up the Opera House sails, pro-Palestine members of the crowd started screaming “f--k Israel” and “f--k the Jews”. Israeli flags were also burned 👉 https://t.co/UCafNaEjfzpic.twitter.com/xJZKee6APB

— The Daily Telegraph (@dailytelegraph) October 9, 2023

At the same time the NSW government illuminated the sails of the Opera House in blue and white – the colours of the Israeli flag - to show solidarity with the Israeli people.

But an incensed Fordham described the “mixed messages” as “crazy”.

“In one breath we light up the sails of the opera house to show solidarity and in another we grant permission to protesters to march to the Opera House to protest the sails being lit up blue and white.”

He also took issue with the directive from NSW Police to Jewish people to “stay at home”.

‘Doesn’t make sense’, 2GB’s Ben Fordham slams Chris Minns and Michael Daley.

Fordham asked incredulously: “Did Chris Minns work out what the plan was going to be considering he was inviting people to go to the Opera house in a sign of solidarity and then an hour or two later he was telling them to stay home because you could be in danger?”

“He shouldn’t be giving the green light to go from Town Hall to the Opera House when the Israeli flag was burned.”

Remarkably, NSW Attorney General Michael Daley admitted on the program he was “not really” across what happened at the Opera House saying he was “working late.”

He reiterated the message for people “stay at home for their own safety”

Pro-Palestine supporters are rallying at Sydney Town Hall as the conflict between Israel and Palestinians escalates. Picture: David Swift

Talkback listeners were scathing of Daley’s performance.

“Pathetic and p*** weak,” one said.

Another described Daley as “out of his depth” and asked “Was he asleep?”.

“Unbelievable” another wrote.

NSW Premier Chris Minns. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

NSW Attorney General Michael Daley. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nikki Short

But speaking on Sunrise this morning the Premier “deplored” the rally, which included the burning of the Israeli flag, as being “against the tenets of our multicultural community”.

“We lit up the Opera House in support of innocent people who have had their lives slaughtered or loved ones kidnapped,” he said.

“The community expectation from the vast majority of people I have spoken to in the past 48 hours has been horror at the actions of Hamas and also the demonstrations that have taken place in Sydney in the past 48 hours.”

Flares were thrown on the forecourt of The Sydney Opera House in Sydney following the recent outbreak of war between Israel and Palestine. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

He later told ABC News Breakfast that NSW Police had been responsible for allowing protesters to go to the Opera House but stopped short of criticising police.

He described the decision as an “operational matter”.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Tony Cooke told reporters this morning that it was “clearly an emotive issue”.

He defended allowing protesters onto the Sydney Opera House forecourt last night saying that managing the rally -not preventing it - was the best way of preventing “the risk of conflict”.

He also said a Jewish person removed last night was escorted “for his own safety”.

-with Jessica Wang and Jasmine Kazlauskas

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