In the Media

The Algemeiner – 2 October 2024

Over the past weekend, dozens of protestors in Melbourne and Sydney, waved Hezbollah flags and displayed photographs of assassinated Hezbollah terror chief, Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist organization in Australia, so this kind of public support is illegal, yet this did not stop the protestors from turning out and chanting anti-Israel slogans through the streets of Australia’s biggest cities.

Unfortunately, Australia has regularly experienced this kind of open hatred.  Just one day after that terrible attack, a frenzied group of demonstrators gathered on the steps of the iconic Sydney Opera House, burning Israeli flags and chanting  “f…k the Jews” and “Where’s the Jews?”

That open display of hatred should have been shut down immediately but wasn’t, marking the beginning of what would be a difficult year for Australia’s Jewish community, with weekly protests often descending into intimidation, violence and antisemitism.  Law enforcement has kept order but mostly seemed determined to avoid laying any actual charges against the perpetrators.

This hatred on the streets has not been helped by radical imams who have praised Hamas’ terror attacks and spouted hateful, antisemitic rhetoric.

After Nasrallah’s death, the Arrahman Shi’ite mosque in Sydney issued a notice publicizing a vigil to be held for him, and called him a “righteous martyr”. The mosque’s Sheikh Yosuf Nabha also gave a hateful sermon calling for Israel’s defeat and cited a notorious Islamic tradition accusing the Jews of rejecting Allah and having distorted the Torah.

Particularly disturbing in these demonstrations of hatred is the open support by members of The Greens political party, including its deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi, who frequently accuses Israel of committing genocide. Faruqi, a regular at anti-Israel demonstrations since October 7, attended the pro-Hezbollah rally in Sydney and spoke to the crowd.

Another Greens Senator attended a pro-Hezbollah rally in Adelaide, the capital city in South Australia.

In response to the actions of the Greens, Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned “any indication of support for a terrorist organisation such as Hizballah” adding that “All of us – including every political leader – must stand together to reject terrorism and extremism.”  Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke also warned of potential visa cancellations for any non-citizens waving the Hezbollah flag.

Meanwhile, Opposition Home Affairs Senator James Paterson accused the Government of displaying “equivocation and ambivalence in the face of an anti-Semitism crisis” and warned that unless there were consequences, “the extremism we have seen on our streets today will continue to flourish.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton reiterated this, saying it was “completely unacceptable” that there haven’t been arrests yet or the cancelling visas of people who “glorify” terrorist groups.

The Australian Federal Police have also confirmed that they have been asked to investigate at least six people from the pro-Hezbollah rallies in Melbourne and Sydney.

Despite its vast distance from Israel, Australia is experiencing, like many other countries, an explosive increase in antisemitism after the October 7 attacks. Jewish schools and other communal buildings have been forced to increase security measures that were already tight before October 7.

Indeed, there are many in the Jewish community – including Holocaust survivors – who are currently living in fear. An online WhatsApp group of 600 Jewish creatives was “doxed” by pro-Palestinian activists, causing many of them to be subjected to death threats and ongoing harassment, and others losing employment opportunities.

It is simply outrageous that in a multicultural tolerant country like Australia, which also has the largest per-capita number of Holocaust survivors outside Israel, the glorification of terrorist leaders can be so brazenly displayed and tolerated.

It is imperative that governments, state and federal, and law enforcement crack down on this behaviour, otherwise there is a risk to the cohesive fabric of Australian society.