Pro-Palestine activist’s visa under review after ‘October 7 is a good day’ speech

The federal government is reviewing the visa status of an American law professor after he told a pro-Palestine rally in Sydney that October 7 is a “good day” and “not fully a day of mourning”, as hundreds of supporters gathered peacefully at events across the city on Monday night on the first anniversary of Hamas’ attack on Israel.

The rally on the steps of Lakemba Mosque, planned by group Stand 4 Palestine Australia, began with chants including “from the river to the sea, Israel kills refugees” and “October 7 is not the beginning”. Attendees waved flags including those of Palestine and Lebanon.

Arizona State University associate professor Khaled Beydoun, who was among the speakers at the two-hour event in front of a crowd of about 300 people, said he was “feeling in a good mood today”.

“Today is not fully a day of mourning, today is also a day that marks considerable celebration, considerable progress and considerable privilege,” he said.

The law professor and self-described activist said the conflict had led to more understanding about what had taken place.

“I want to talk about some good things because it’s a good day, and we’ve got to mark some of the good news that comes about that we often times neglect,” he said.

“One thing that has taken place over the course of this past year that’s been unprecedented, that’s been transformative in many respects, is that the level of global literacy around what is taking place in Palestine has exponentially risen.”

American law professor Khaled Beydoun at a rally outside Lakemba Mosque. Credit: Facebook

On Monday night, Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he had asked his department to conduct a visa check “as soon as I heard about these comments”.

“At 8.30pm they confirmed this man is travelling on a visa,” Burke said in a statement. “I immediately asked them to prepare a brief so I can consider his visa status.”

Sheikh Wesam Charkawi, behind the Muslim Vote political movement targeting Labor seats, told the crowd outside the mosque: “We’ve seen the Israeli defence force kill and maim Palestinians … we’ve seen them kill children ... and yet we hear nothing from our government.”

Hamas killed 1200 people and took about 250 hostages to Gaza on October 7 last year, according to Israeli figures. Reuters reports the attack provoked an Israeli offensive in Gaza that Palestinian health authorities say has killed almost 42,000 people.

On social media, Stand 4 Palestine Australia said it was marking “a year of genocide” and labelled Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s statement acknowledging the anniversary of the attacks and loss of Jewish life as “diabolical” and one-sided.

Speaking ahead of a candlelight vigil at Town Hall, Palestine Action Group spokesman Josh Lees disputed that holding the vigil on the anniversary, in which 1200 Jewish people were killed, was insensitive and called the police response “deeply racist” and “outrageous”.

“The incredibly heavy-handed, over-the-top policing we’re seeing now is totally disproportionate to anything that’s actually been planned for tonight,” he said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns had described holding a protest or rally on the day “when people were massacred on the other side of the world” as “grossly insensitive”.

Vigil attendee Zaid Alhajjeh, 22, whose family has marched at pro-Palestine rallies weekly since October 7 last year, said the anniversary should be a reminder of Israeli occupations in the Middle East.

Hundreds of pro-Palestine supporters lined the city streets, including attendees covered in fake blood and wounds, as a large police presence watched on.

Children as young as 10 addressed the crowd and condemned Israel, while cries of “Long live the resistance” rang out at the end of several speeches.

On Monday night, repatriation flights began landing in Australia, after more than 900 Australians and their immediate family members left Lebanon for Cyprus. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said more government-assisted flights were planned, including two on Monday, subject to demand and security conditions.

Meanwhile, an 82-year-old woman from Sydney’s inner west has been charged with making harassing phone calls to a controversial mosque.

The woman allegedly called the Kingsgrove Arrahman Masjid and told staff to “go back to your own country”. Police allege she made one call on October 1 and another on Friday, and told the person who answered at the mosque that Australia is “for Israelis” and called them “c---s”.

The mosque has garnered negative headlines since the outbreak of the conflict after calling slain Hezbollah fighters “martyrs”. The woman, from Five Dock, will face court next month accused of using a carriage service to threaten, harass or offend.

with Riley Walter, Jessica McSweeney and Perry Duffin

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