A man wearing a\u00a0t-shirt displaying a swastika has been directed to leave the area outside the Royal Commission into antisemitism and the Bondi attack in Sydney.\u00a0<\/p>\n
NSW Police approached the individual at about 11am after he was seen near the venue.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was\u00a0issued with\u00a0a move-on order but was not arrested.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The incident unfolded on the third day of public hearings, as the commission heard evidence from Jewish Australians about their experiences of antisemitism.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man, who identified himself to police as 68-year-old Ian Minus from Killarney Heights, had been sitting at a nearby caf\u00e9 before walking past media crews in the area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police were alerted to the shirt, which featured a swastika painted in the colours of the Israeli flag and surrounding the Star of David – alongside a slogan referencing antisemitism.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Under the swastika, on the t-shirt read: \u201cAnti-Semitism. Proud to be accused. Speak up!\u201d.<\/p>\n
When questioned about his presence near the commission, he denied any link to the hearing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI have business in\u00a0town,\u00a0and I wear this all the time,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He was asked about the legality of displaying the symbol in public under New South Wales laws introduced in 2022.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs this clearly a swastika? When social media is censored in such a way, this is the only form of protest that I can do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The man also\u00a0attempted\u00a0to justify the message on his clothing by referring to overseas conflict.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re talking about the genocide in Gaza, the six wars that Israel has performed around the world. I\u00a0can’t\u00a0sit by and watch this happen,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He maintained he was not there to target the Commission or those giving evidence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIs there a Royal Commission here? I’m sorry, I’m just enjoying a cup of coffee in the streets of Sydney,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The exchange continued as he was questioned about the connection between his actions and the inquiry.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m sitting in the street, in a public street,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is disrespectful is\u00a0what’s\u00a0happening in Gaza and Lebanon and overseas – the killing of innocent people and children.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat is it about group punishment that Zionists\u00a0don’t\u00a0understand or object to?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police later confirmed they had issued a move-on direction and would investigate the display of the symbol.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Police also said the matter involving the man would be assessed as part of their investigation into the display of prohibited symbols.\u00a0<\/p>\n
No charges have been laid as yet, with a NSW Police spokesperson saying the man complied with a move-on direction after he was spotted wearing \u201cclothing which allegedly displayed an offensive slogan\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cInquiries are ongoing in respect of the alleged offensive conduct,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
In 2022, New South Wales parliament passed laws making it a criminal offence to knowingly display a Nazi symbol in public without a reasonable excuse.<\/p>\n
Following the incident, a spokesperson from the Royal Commission released a statement wanting to assure witnesses of their safety.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Royal\u00a0Commission is appalled\u00a0that such an item of clothing was worn in the vicinity of our hearing venue,\u201d the statement read.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSafety\u00a0of witnesses is paramount to the Royal Commission. We want to reassure witnesses and those wishing to engage with the Royal Commission that safety protocols are in place.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Royal Commission is determined to investigate antisemitism in Australia without fear or intimidation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A man wearing a\u00a0t-shirt displaying a swastika has been directed to leave the area outside the Royal Commission…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[42,22,21,2799,2814,7472,6914,247],"class_list":{"0":"post-6135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-antisemitism","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-austrlia","11":"tag-bondi-royal-commission","12":"tag-bondi-terror-attack","13":"tag-nswnbsppolice","14":"tag-swastika-shirt","15":"tag-sydney"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}