Muslim Vote believes community support growing in challenge to Jason Clare

Muslim Vote leaders believe they are gaining ground on Education Minister Jason Clare in Blaxland as tensions rise in the aftermath of police charges against a nurse over an anti-Semitic video.

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Leaders of The Muslim Vote movement believe they are gaining ground on Education Minister Jason Clare in the key western Sydney seat of Blaxland as tensions rise in the aftermath of police charging nurse Sarah Abu Lebdeh over an anti-Semitic video.

Pro-Palestinian teachers and students protested outside Granville Boys High on Wednesday after school support officer and The Muslim Vote founder Wesam Charkawi was ordered to work from home after defending the nurse and her colleague in an Instagram post.

On Thursday senior NSW Education Department officials addressed students at Granville Boys High School, warning they would be reviewing video footage from the protest, where many joined in chants of “Allahu Akbar” (God is the greatest).

Anyone found to have flouted directions from school staff would be subject to disciplinary action, the students were told.

“Students are here to learn and the expectation is that they behave in an appropriate manner,” Acting Principal Maina Ram said.

“This school has worked tirelessly over the past decade to be a leading educational facility in the region and the boys here understand that yesterday went too far.”

Police, students and staff outside Granville Boys High School on Thursday. Picture: John Feder

The NSW Education Department told The Australian Sheik Charkawi’s Instagram post supporting the nurses had been taken down, but on Thursday it reappeared on the Instagram page Unseat Jason Clare, an account run by Sheik Charkawi and targeting the minister in the traditionally safe Labor seat.

Sheik Charkawi did not respond to questions from The Australian about the provocative move, or whether it was appropriate to encourage children at a secular public school to take part in religious chants.

Blaxland independent candidate Ahmed Ouf, backed by The Muslim Vote, is looking to topple Mr Clare by harnessing community discontent with Labor’s Israel-Palestine approach.

Mr Ouf has been vocal in supporting Sheik Charkawi and backed the controversial protest on Wednesday. The Cumberland councillor and pharmacist told The Australian support for independents like himself was growing in the aftermath of the Bankstown nurses video.

“Recent events have reinforced the double standards that our community has faced for years,” Mr Ouf said. “They have shown that we are treated differently, we are held to impossible standards, expected to behave in ways no one else is, and denied the luxury of making a mistake without being condemned by media and politicians alike.

Blaxland independent candidate Ahmed Ouf. Picture: NewsWire / Jeremy Piper

Blaxland MP Jason Clare. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

“Labor, and Jason Clare in particular, have taken this community for granted. Sentiment on the streets is in our favour, in favour of independents, but whether this translates to action on election day will be up to the voters. What is clear, however, is that the people of Blaxland are no longer accepting neglect as the norm.”

Mr Clare is anxious not to be drawn into the controversy over the Bankstown nurses and its implications for his campaign in Blaxland, saying only: “I expect school students to be at school during school hours. The day-to-day running of government schools is a matter for state and territory governments.”

It is understood he and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke in Watson – where local doctor Ziad Basyouny is backed by The Muslim Vote – remain confident of retaining their seats amid the anti-ALP onslaught, due to their longstanding work with the Muslim community, but are concerned about preference flows.

Neither the NSW Liberal Party nor The Muslim Vote would be drawn on reports there had already been discussions between them about a preference deal. The Liberals have yet to announce a candidate for Blaxland.

Mr Ouf said of a preference deal: “We are considering all options, and nothing is off the table. For too long, Labor, like any other party, will be judged on its actions, not its rhetoric. The days of unconditional support are over, any party that wants our vote must prove they deserve it.”