A pro-Palestinian protester, who claims to work at an Australian Air Force base, has used vile anti-Semitic language as rallies were held across the country condemning Israel’s strong response to Hamas terror attacks.
The man spoke on the fringes of a rally at Hyde Park in Sydney on Sunday where more than 6,000 gathered to demand an end to the ‘Israeli apartheid’ and called for a cease-fire in Gaza.
Though the Sydney protest was generally more controlled than those held in Melbourne, the man was captured shouting ‘Allahu Akbar… Get the f****** Jews wiped out’ repeatedly during a furious rant as police watched on.
When a concerned onlooker stepped in to say ‘that language is not acceptable’, the man replied: ‘I don’t care as a Muslim’.
The clip posted to social media showed him delivering a lengthy outburst against Israel and the Australian government before a police officer approached the man to tell him ‘it is an offence to swear in public’ but then let him walk away.
The man replied: ‘I’m going home now. I work for the airport too, at the Richmond Airport’ – referring to the Royal Australian Air Force base in Richmond, 50km north-west of Sydney.
He then complained about the police warning, saying he was not allowed to speak freely because Australia is a ‘nanny state’.
‘We can’t do anything, we can’t protest, no free speech protest. We can’t express our opinion,’ he said. ‘We have become a nanny state, we are a nanny state.’ Daily Mail Australia has contacted the Defence Force for comment.
The protester was among the pro-Palestine supporters who defied NSW Premier Chris Minns calls to not attend the rally in central Sydney, while protests in Melbourne got more heated with flares set off and a blood-soaked baby doll held above the crowd.
Last week Hamas terrorists killed about 1200 Israeli civilians in what was described as the darkest day for Jews since the holocaust during World War II. The Israel Defense Force in response launched a barrage of missile strikes on Gaza killing more than 2500 Palestinians.
A huge police presence in Sydney’s CBD on Sunday prevented a repeat of the ugly scenes seen last Monday at the Opera House by limiting it to a static event.
But in Melbourne 10,000 protesters marched on Sunday, initially following the lead of retiring Greens senator Janet Rice, who fired up the rally with chants of ‘Free, Free Palestine!’
The protesters heard fiery speeches at the State Library before setting off for the Victorian State Parliament carrying provocative signs and props.
The most confronting was a life-like doll of a child smeared in red and covered with band-aids, highlighting the deaths of children during the latest flare up of the eternal Jewish-Arab conflict.
In a show of force, more than 1,000 cops were on standby to deal with demonstrators after tense scenes erupted at a similar rally on Monday night as the Sydney Opera House was lit up in blue and white in a show of support for Israel.
Shocking footage from Monday’s event showed attendees chanting anti-Semitic slogans including ‘gas the Jews’ and ‘f*** Israel’, with some even throwing flares at police.
NSW Police revealed they did not use special powers given to them to crack down on demonstrators a week later.
NSW Police this week announced beefed-up security measures and ‘extraordinary powers’ after Premier Minns vowed to clamp down on protest activity.
The powers, which allow police to search protesters without a reason and to arrest people who refuse to identify themselves, were introduced after the 2005 Cronulla riots.
‘It wasn’t necessary … Very clearly, based on the evidence of last Monday, there were serious concerns,’ Assistant Commissioner Tony Cooke said.
