Palestinian-Israeli clashes turn violent in Melbourne’s Caulfield

Violent clashes between Palestinian and Israel supporters erupted on the streets of suburban Melbourne on Friday night, as local tensions from the Israel-Hamas war reached a flashpoint | WATCH

Violent clashes between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian supporters in Melbourne's Caulfield on Friday night. Picture: Cameron Stewart

Violent clashes between Palestinian and Israel supporters erupted on the streets of suburban Melbourne on Friday night, as local tensions from the Israel-Hamas war reached a flashpoint.

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian supporters, chanting the controversial anti-Israeli slogan “From the river to the sea” ventured into Caulfield, the heart of Jewish Melbourne, to demonstrate.

They were protesting the destruction by fire on Thursday night of a local burger shop in Caulfield called Burgertory. The store was owned by Palestinian Australian Hash Tahey who has been prominent in pro-Palestinian protests in Melbourne. Police quickly said they were “very confident” that the blaze was not racially or politically motivated but pro-Palestinian supporters labelled it an anti-Palestinian hate crime and called on supporters to gather on Hawthorn Road, just south of the burnt-out shop.

The presence of several hundred protesters waving the Palestinian flag and chanting “Israel, USA, how many kids did you kill today” and “From the river to the sea”, which calls for Israel to be wiped off the map, was never going to end well in a heavily Jewish suburb such as Caulfield.

I reaffirm my call for Victorians to show each other love, care and support in these difficult times.

It is our diversity that makes us great, and our compassion that unites us - there is never any place for antisemitism or Islamophobia in Victoria.

— Jacinta Allan (@JacintaAllanMP) November 10, 2023

As the Palestinian protests and chants became louder, groups of Jewish locals began to gather on the street, many holding Israel flags and chanting “Bring them home”, a reference to the 240 Israeli hostages held by Hamas.

Pro-Palestinian protesters were pepper sprayed in a chaotic clash with police outside a Caulfield synagogue in Melbourne.

The numbers of Jewish counter-protesters continued to grow over several hours until a large crowd on both sides were hurling abuse at each other across Hawthorn Road calling each other “dogs” and “scum”.

Some of the pro-Palestinian protesters in Caulfield.

Police stopped traffic and tried to keep the warring sides apart but at around 9pm several pro-Palestinian protesters stormed across the road and exchanged blows with Israeli supporters, forcing police to pepper-spray them.

There was chaos in the middle of Hawthorn Road as police struggled to restrain protesters on both sides.

One pro-Palestinian protester arrested by police was taken away yelling “Free Palestine, motherfu..ers” to the pro-Israel crowd.

A local synagogue adjacent to the protest was forced to cancel its Friday night Shabbat service for safety reasons.

The sound of police helicopters could be heard late into the night as police tried to separate the two sides in one of the tensest clashes yet in Australia flowing from the Israel-Hamas war.