Feud over ‘entirely appropriate’ Opera House rally
Alex Mitchell |
Jewish leaders are taking the rare step of joining a police-led court case trying to curtail an anti-Israel rally at an Australian landmark.
The Palestine Action Group has defended as “entirely appropriate” a rally on Sunday that would start in Sydney’s city centre and finish at the Sydney Opera House forecourt.
The march would come five days after the second anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and mirror a controversial snap rally held at the iconic building days after the terrorist incident in 2023.
Organisers have said the march is being held to protest against Israel’s offensive in Gaza and will mark “two years of genocide”.
Palestine Action Group activist Damian Ridgewell rejected any assertion the protest would be unsafe, as argued by police.
“It’s entirely appropriate that people march to an iconic landmark to make the point that the Australian community is actually horrified by the complicity of our government (in the alleged genocide),” he told ABC Radio.
Police are challenging the Opera House end point on safety grounds in a Supreme Court hearing on Tuesday.
NSW Police and organisers sought to elevate the case to the higher Court of Appeal as two prominent Jewish groups submitted they also deserved a voice in the legal feud.
Representatives from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry argue weekly rallies held since 2023 have turned Sydney’s streets into a “no-go zone for Jewish people” and say freedom of assembly should be balanced against freedom from harassment.
“The right to protest does not equate to a right to cause maximum disruption to the general public,” council president Daniel Aghion said.
“On the contrary, it imposes a concomitant obligation on those holding a public assembly to take reasonable steps to minimise the disruption to the general public.”
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Michele Goldman said the 2023 Opera House protest was one of the darkest moments in NSW history because the iconic location had been appropriated by anti-Israel demonstrators.
Police challenged an August march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in court, arguing it would cause too much disruption to the city and on public safety grounds.
NSW Supreme Court Justice Belinda Rigg rejected the application, paving the way for more than 100,000 people to march across the bridge while demanding action to save dying and starving Palestinians.
Premier Chris Minns, who opposed the August march, has again backed the force in urging for campaign organisers to choose another part of Sydney for the march.
In a brief hearing on Friday, Justice Des Fagan questioned protesters’ desire to rally in the Opera House forecourt as it was effectively a cul-de-sac.
Organisers said 10,000 people would attend, but the judge warned against underestimating the strong community sentiment about the situation in Gaza, saying more than 100,000 could show up.
Legal representatives for NSW Police said the forecourt was only designed to hold 6000 people.
Some 1200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage during the Hamas cross-border attack two years ago. Some of the hostages are dead and others are still in captivity.
The attack triggered an Israeli military campaign that has killed more 66,000 Palestinians and caused widespread famine in the Gaza Strip.
AAP
