Cops’ audio expert: no ‘gas Jews’ chant at Sydney Opera House

NSW police have backed the evidence of an audio expert who claims there is no evidence anti-Israel protesters chanted ‘gas the Jews’ at a riot at the Sydney Opera House despite multiple eyewitnesses signing statutory declarations.

The rally included burning of the Israel flags and anti-Semitic slurs, but not calls of ‘gas the Jews’, police say. Picture: Jeremy Piper

NSW police have backed the evidence of an audio expert who claims there is no evidence anti-Israel protesters chanted “gas the Jews” at a now infamous riot at the Sydney Opera House despite multiple eyewitnesses signing statutory declarations saying they heard the anti-Semitic slurs.

Premier Chris Minns, in a statement that did not mention the police findings, vowed to tackle the hate speech that powered the “violent and racist” anti-Israel protest at the Sydney Opera House.

Mr Minns has also lashed his own MPs who have been campaigning for Palestinian causes, saying anyone in state parliament whose focus is foreign policy should run for federal politics instead.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon on Friday said the audio expert concluded the chanting was not “gas the Jews” but instead “where’s the Jews?”.

Jewish leaders on Friday questioned why “clear evidence” from eyewitnesses was ignored – saying the community “knew what we heard” – and that chants of “where’s the Jews?” was incitement and synonymous with Holocaust-era “Jew hunts”.

The rally at the steps of the Opera House on October 9. Picture: AAP

One of the witnesses, whose statutory declaration was obtained by The Weekend Australian, told police they heard “(a) group chanting ‘gas the Jews’”.

“One group was chanting ‘from the river to the sea’ and ‘Allah akbar’, while the second group were chanting ‘gas the Jews’ and ‘f..k the Jews’, before they merged into one,” the statutory declaration said.

In a statement on Friday, Mr Minns didn’t mention the police investigation but reaffirmed his views on the “violent and racist” rally scenes, saying the chants that night were “hate speech” and his government would not stand for it.

“My views on what happened outside the Opera House are well known and have not changed,” the Premier said. “The protest was violent and racist.”

Speaking on Friday, Mr Lanyon said the force “obtained several statements from persons … (who) believe they heard the words ‘gas the Jews’ ”, but that the witnesses were not able to ascribe the words to a specific individual.

NSW Premier Chris Minns says his views on the ‘violent and racist’ scenes had not changed. Picture: Nikki Short

“We haven’t gone back to any witnesses … that was obviously their recollection of what they heard in the evening,” he said.

“We won’t be going back to them to speak about what has subsequently been concluded by the expert, because the expert is relying on what they’ve heard on the audio and visual analysis.”

NSW police said they were confident chants of “f..k the Jews” were shouted by some protesters, while The Australian reported on the night that “f..k the Zionist pigs” and “f..k Israel” were heard as protesters burnt Israeli flags.

“Hate speech and racist language have no place in NSW – if those comments were made about any other group my reaction would be the same,” Mr Minns said.

Mr Minns later said Labor state MPs should not be focused on the Israel-Hamas war.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon.

“We don’t have a foreign policy in the state. We don’t have a minister for foreign affairs. The people of NSW elect us to solve the problems in NSW,” Mr Minns said.

The alleged “gas the Jews” chant was the only phrase likely to breach section 93Z of the state Crimes Act, which outlaws incitements of violence on the basis of religion and race.

In January, the government enlisted former NSW Supreme Court chief justice Tom Bathurst to conduct a review of hate speech legislation. The review, in part, was instigated after a rise in anti-Semitic incidents, but also The Australian’s coverage of hate-fuelled sermons by clerics.

It followed amendments to the legislation – after the October 9 scenes, but not solely because of them – which “streamlined” the act to allow police to lay charges without seeking approval.

“This review will be considered, thorough and provide confidence that our laws are operating effectively,” Mr Minns said.

NSW Liberal leader Mark Speakman agreed, saying “everyone deserves to feel safe”.

“The scenes at the Opera House were unacceptable; the government failed to provide a safe environment for Sydney’s Jewish community who were meeting to mourn the atrocious terror attacks,” he said.

Mr Lanyon said police were keen to ensure “accurate information” was presented. “The expert has concluded those words (‘where’s the Jews?’) were said … we have relied on the evidence of … an eminent and very experienced expert,” he said.

Mr Lanyon said the expert did not believe the original video was doctored and there was evidence the phrase “f..k the Jews” was said, which he called “offensive and completely unacceptable”.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin. Picture: John Feder

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said the community knew “what we heard”, noting multiple witnesses provided statements and there was “clear evidence”.

“There are multiple statements from Jewish and non-Jewish members of the community, attesting to the fact that they heard that phrase,” he said.

“Each phase is as menacing as the next …  ‘Where’s the Jews?’ is synonymous with literal Jew hunts, Nazis hunting Jews who were hiding to evade tormentors.

“The semantics of what was said are a distraction. There was a mob that day, celebrating mass atrocities, burning flags and threatening their fellow Australians.”

Jewish leaders on October 9, on police advice, warned Jews to stay away from the Opera House, which was to be lit in the colours of the Israeli flag. NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said the police findings proved the night was one of “national shame”.

One of the organisers of the rally Fahad Ali said he was “glad police found no evidence of that particular chant, which was in itself, evocative of some of the horrors of the Holocaust”.

Fahad Ali. Picture: Hollie Adams

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni. Picture: ABC

Mr Ali, a co-organiser at Palestinian Action Group, heard the words “f--- the Jews” spoken at the rally and said he was “fully aware that anti-Semitic conduct occurred”, which the protest group publicly condemned at the time.

“At no point was ‘gas the Jews’ used ... It was somewhat obvious that something seemed off about (the claim) but it was a claim that was widely circulated by the press and the NSW government.”

Palestinian Action Group organiser Josh Lees, a co-organiser of the Sydney-based rallies, the circulation of the footage and alleged chant was used to “silence critics” and “divert” attention from Israel’s violations of international law in Gaza.

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni said it was used to “smear” protesters, create “division and hate” in the community, and restrict the right to protest.

“The public expects our media and politicians to present us with accurate, credible information and this has been an appalling betrayal of that trust, which the public will not be forgotten,” he said.