After Hamas horror, more hate at the hotel

Israeli parents who lost their children to Hamas’ terror were attacked by ‘shameful’ and ‘unAustralian’ protests outside their hotel in Melbourne.

Parents of Israelis killed or kidnapped by Hamas - Ofir Tamir, Tali Kizhner and Amit Parpara, at Bondi Beach.

They were vulnerable Israeli mums and dads whose hearts had already been broken by Hamas. And yet they found hate was waiting for them once again, this time inside the front door of their hotel in Melbourne in supposedly safe Australia.

The sight that confronted the small group of visiting Israelis as they tried to enter Melbourne’s Crowne Plaza hotel at 10.30pm on Wednesday was sickening, has made international headlines, and has been described by Israel as “shameful”, “unAustralian” and “unacceptable”.

Two child dolls splattered with blood lay of the floor on the hotel foyer surrounded by some two dozen pro-Palestinian protesters chanting “Shame” and holding signs “Stop Arming Israel” and “Zionism is Fascism”.

The Israelis, each of whom had lost a son, or a relative or had loved ones taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, were bundled into cars and taken to a police station where they waited for hours until the protesters were cleared from the hotel and they could safely go to their rooms.

The group of five Israeli delegates had travelled to Australia earlier this week to meet with political leaders and share the plight of their family and friends who were killed or taken hostage by Hamas.

Pro-Palestinian activists have sparked outrage after they ambushed visiting friends and families of Israeli hostages at the Melbourne hotel they were staying at.

Tali Kizhner, whose son Segev was murdered by Hamas, said the protest triggered terrible memories. “It was incredibly offensive for people in our delegation who experienced on October 7 very harsh and very difficult events, and it just flashed and floated back all this fear and all these very painful memories,” she said.

Ofir Tamir, whose two best friends were taken hostage by Hamas, said he was the first to try to walk into the hotel when he saw 20 to 30 people on the stairs blocking his way to his room.

“At this moment, I felt a bit scared,” he said. “When I come to Australia, I want to feel safe. You know, I expected to be safe in my own hotel and I didn’t feel like that.”

Amit Parapara, whose friends were taken hostage, said he had nothing against protests “but to do it in our hotel blocking the way to the rooms, not letting us in - that was a protest to us as individuals, not for Palestine, it’s for us,” he said.

“There’s no way (it should) be like this. We’re human beings.”

The fallout from the protest was swift, with both sides of politics condemning it and Victoria Police under pressure to explain why it didn’t take steps to prevent yet another racially divisive incident in Melbourne involving pro-Palestinian protesters.

Anthony Albanese said the actions went beyond people’s right to protest and warned it was “beyond comprehension and beyond contempt”.

Pro-Palestine protesters at the Melbourne hotel overnight.

“I am appalled by the actions of these protesters and I condemn them. This does nothing to advance the cause of the Palestinian people,” the Prime Minister said.

“Regardless of what views people might have about international politics, we should be respectful, we should have compassion, we should understand that people are hurting.”

Peter Dutton also condemned the protesters, saying it was a “depraved act” that had no place in Australia.

“The fact is that people were slaughtered, people have been held captive, people have been tortured, raped, murdered, and somehow people have seen fit to occupy a hotel lobby or to maintain a presence where they think they can intimidate the families of those victims,” the Opposition Leader said.

Christian Cantor, deputy head of the Israeli embassy, said it was a “shameful” moment.

He said it was a sensitive delegation because it had “family members of people who were abducted, (or) slaughtered. For them, it was a very shocking and surprising and unacceptable event. They had to meet in Melbourne city a mob of people shouting and protesting against them.

“It’s totally unAustralian. This is a country that is supposed to embrace diversity and lobby for human rights and humanitarian causes … this is exactly the opposite of what we (saw at the hotel.)”

Israeli families at Bondi.

Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council said police should not have allowed the protest.

“There should be unanimous agreement that the repugnant actions of the pro-Palestinian protesters last night, targeting the innocent families of Israelis taken hostage or murdered by Hamas, went far beyond the standards of decent human behaviour and should not have been permitted by the authorities,” he said.

A Victoria Police spokesman told The Australian that there would be no further investigation into the incident because there was “no criminal element” to it.

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich said police needed to step up across the country to prevent acts like this.

“Unless Victoria Police sends the unmistakeable message to these agents of evil, that their ugly actions of sowing fear and intimidation will carry serious consequences, this campaign of anti-Semitism will continue to spread,” he said.

“This guerilla-type tactic of turning our streets into a battlefield and preventing people from entering their rooms in a hotel can’t get a free pass. They should have been arrested; if the laws need to change to deal with this tsunami of hatred, then the time for action is now.”

A group calling itself the Whistleblowers, Activists and Communities Alliance said the pro-Palestine activists staged the protest to confront state officials from the Israeli embassy.

“An autonomous group of pro-Palestine activists went to Crowne Plaza on Wednesday night to confront a delegation of state officials from the Israeli embassy who were scheduled to be meeting there at that time. Crowne Plaza is well aware of this,” the organisation said.

“The protest was directed at the genocide-enacting officials, and at Crowne Plaza for hosting them,” it said in a statement that was reported by Free Palestine Melbourne, the group responsible for organising the weekly protests in the CBD.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said the protest was not a reflection of “fellow Australians”.

“It is difficult to imagine a more hateful and disgusting act than targeting families of Israeli hos­tages who are visiting our country to talk about their fear and trauma,” Mr Ryvchin said.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler was among several Jewish leaders who expressed their disgust at the ­protest.

“There is support for the Palestinian cause, and then there is the vile, cruel intimidation of people whose loved ones have been kidnapped by rapists, murderers and torturers,” he said.