{"id":64657,"date":"2026-08-04T05:12:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T05:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/64657\/"},"modified":"2026-08-04T05:12:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T05:12:06","slug":"sydney-opera-house-protest-shattered-jews-safety-inquiry-told","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/64657\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney Opera House protest \u2018shattered Jews\u2019 safety\u2019, inquiry told"},"content":{"rendered":"

Police were aware members of the banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir would likely attend the Opera House anti-Israel protest in October 2023, held just two days after Hamas\u2019 attack on Israel. <\/p>\n

Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna told the Royal Commission into anti-Semitism and Social Cohesion \u201cthere was intelligence that that may occur\u201d ahead of the rally on October 9.<\/p>\n

The Australian Government officially listed Hizb ut-Tahrir as a prohibited hate group in 2026. <\/p>\n

Counsel assisting the commission Richard Lancaster SC questioned Mr McKenna on how the intelligence information had informed the safety assessment of the protest. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe threat assessment, which we had done by our counter-terrorism special tactics command, would have been informed by intelligence partners, and when we had nothing specific about terrorism, then you probably consider more likely street level issues to occur,\u201d Mr McKenna said.<\/p>\n

\u2018Outrageous\u2019 police act after October 7<\/p>\n

Police told Jewish Australians to \u201cavoid their own Sydney CBD\u201d during the \u201cdespicable\u201d October 9 Sydney Opera House protest, the royal commission was told.<\/p>\n

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip said the pro-Palestine march from Town Hall to the Opera House was \u201cincredibly insensitive\u201d with \u201ca lot of celebration\u201d in regards to the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it was quite an extraordinary and outrageous admission from police (and) I can\u2019t recall any group, particularly any religious or racial group, ever being provided advice that they should avoid their own city CBD for their own safety and wellbeing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was effectively the police saying, \u2018we can\u2019t keep your community safe\u2019 and as I\u2019ve said in my statement, in my view, it was effectively the police transferring control of the CBD to the protesters and I thought the matter was very serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Ossip said the police\u2019s view was there should be no counter protest, as it would be \u201cinflammatory\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Ossip said the anti-Israel protest brought \u201cinternational disgrace\u201d upon Australia, with one attendee reportedly yelling \u201cI am going to kill them all\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was amongst the clearest examples of anti-Semitism in recent years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The pro-Palestine protest held on the forecourt of the Sydney Opera House as the sails were lit up in solidarity with the Jewish people following Hamas\u2019 terror attack shattered Jews\u2019 \u201cphysical and psychological sense of safety in this country\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cF**k the Jews\u201d were among the chants heard by Jewish Australians during protests at the landmark on October 9, 2023.<\/p>\n

This was two days after Hamas militants launched a deadly attack on Israel, killing about 1200 people.<\/p>\n

Mr Ossip said the Hamas terror attack had a \u201cprofound psychological impact on the Jewish community\u201d and the decision to light the Opera House with Israeli flag colours \u201cwas a source of reassurance and comfort\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Ossip said while \u201cmembers of the Jewish community were understandably planning to go down to the Opera House for a vigil\u201d, their plans were disrupted by the protest that involved flares and anti-Semitic chants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a work day, children were attending school in the CBD,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re also aware of workplaces sending around communications, effectively providing permission, to members of the Jewish community to leave the CBD because of concerns about what would transpire that evening.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police conduct called into question<\/p>\n

Counsel assisting Richard Lancaster SC said the commission had heard evidence that \u201cthe conduct of the police on October 9 gave some members of the Jewish community the impression that the police were protecting anti-Semitic demonstrators\u201d. <\/p>\n

Mr Lancaster shared the experience of witnesses and said protests must be understood as a vessel for expressing \u201cfreedom of speech\u201d, not a path to encourage violence.<\/p>\n

\u201cInterpersonal violence does not become lawful or acceptable in the context of a protest, incitement to violence and racist vilification does not become lawful or acceptable in the context of a protest,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnti-Semitism does not become acceptable in the context of a protest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Lancaster acknowledged the Sydney Opera House protest and a neo-Nazi protest in front of parliament on November 8, 2025 had both been \u201ccritical event(s)\u201d for the rise of Jewish hate in Australia.<\/p>\n

He described witness accounts of \u201cthe Star of David going into a rubbish bin\u201d and images of a \u201cneat line of white men in black outfits\u201d, with Jewish Australians experiencing a \u201closs of a feeling of safety\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018Inflated\u2019 protest intensity <\/p>\n

Mr McKenna said the news coverage of the protests positioned the protest as \u201cmore significant\u201d than it was in reality, when speaking to \u201cpublic safety\u201d implications.<\/p>\n

\u201cA flare was thrown over the heads of police officers\u201d which stopped after officers spoke with protest organisers, the commission heard. <\/p>\n

Mr McKenna said \u201chours of a protest\u201d were \u201creduced to seconds or minutes on a newsgrab that\u2026 probably inflated it to make it more significant than what we would say it was\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no doubt that watching this on television, watching this on the news, it looked terrible,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut when I speak to the police officers who were on the ground, they did not have concerns about this protest getting out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n

The acting deputy commissioner said the successful management of thousands of NSW protests has \u201calmost been detrimental to community expectations\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo when something does happen, it is out of the norm of what people are used to seeing in NSW, and it actually heightens it or conflates it to be often something a lot bigger than what it actually was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr McKenna maintained police have to take a \u201cneutral approach\u201d when dealing with the organised protests in Sydney.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what some people may consider offensive, distasteful, abhorrent even, we are in the unenviable position of sometimes facilitating that because at law, it is permissible,\u201d he told the commission. <\/p>\n

Opposition to protests by police is fairly uncommon with NSW Police only doing so and facing the Supreme Court three times in Mr McKenna\u2019s two years in his position. <\/p>\n

Clash over Hamas attack<\/p>\n

Counsel for Palestine Action Group Dominic Toomey SC and Mr Ossip clashed on Tuesday over details of the \u201cwar\u201d between Israel and Palestine. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou are aware, aren\u2019t you, that Israel Defence Force fighter jets began conducting air strikes in the Gaza Strip at around 5.30pm Sydney time on the 7th of October (2023)?\u201d Mr Toomey questioned. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just have to make the point; this is a royal commission on anti-Semitism. We\u2019re dealing with the protest where protesters shouted out \u2018F the Jews\u2019 and \u2018where (are) the Jews?\u2019, and \u2018I\u2019m going to kill them all\u2019,\u201d Mr Ossip said in response. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m a bit confused as to why are we getting caught up in the minutia of the timeline of a foreign military operation, even though I do reject the premise of your question as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Toomey said the Palestine Action Group protesters organised the \u201crally for a free Palestine and no war on Gaza\u201d, not in celebration of the Hamas attacks. <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to suggest to you that you have seen nothing that has emanated from the organisers of the rally, namely the Palestine Action Group, which would suggest in any way that the rally was being convened to celebrate those despicable attacks,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Mr Ossip said the timing of the march was \u201cunfathomable\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, women were still being raped while children were being kidnapped, whilst families were being burnt alive,\u201d he said in response to Mr Toomey\u2019s questioning. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s impossible to avoid the connection between the events of 7th of October and the calling of this rally.\u201d<\/p>\n

More to come<\/p>\n

Read related topics:Sydney<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Police were aware members of the banned Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir would likely attend the Opera House anti-Israel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":64658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[37413,79276,77086,79246,79238,79248,5609,6257,79275,79270,79241,61634,79273,79208,61779,38151,79226,79284,79217,79259,79212,37290,79280,79215,79262,79267,79283,32689,79224,18712,79223,79235,79264,79272,1112,22,23,79202,978,21,79229,79263,4543,52660,38042,15840,50741,79277,9832,79256,10485,79269,79201,7062,22612,38110,9624,79222,79243,59888,43556,79265,79260,79247,1554,79281,13309,79216,79207,6066,53510,37532,79234,79271,79253,79225,79230,39475,379,79254,79220,44359,3306,79251,79231,79219,79218,79210,79261,79274,79214,3218,48920,79268,1047,79227,16402,79204,12263,62528,79233,79213,38903,79245,38924,35421,968,1019,2585,53451,79211,36461,79239,2802,8312,71410,79228,79282,79266,46872,79237,48845,43541,79198,42262,55727,38199,40163,79199,79278,63983,79236,48228,48420,79203,79249,37516,79279,79221,79205,79244,37121,79240,39391,78581,77992,58226,41563,47306,79255,79232,22198,9626,79200,79250,79252,79258,79206,79242,39006,425,50954,7944,79209,20663,33524,40906,79257],"class_list":["post-64657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-images","tag-protest-intensity","tag-s-view","tag-public-safety-implications","tag-2023-hamas-attack","tag-2023-this","tag-5609","tag-6257","tag-a-neat-line","tag-a-profound-psychological-impact","tag-a-deadly-attack","tag-a-feeling","tag-a-flare","tag-a-jewish-australian","tag-a-loss","tag-a-lot","tag-a-neo-nazi-protest","tag-a-path","tag-a-prohibited-hate-group","tag-a-protest","tag-a-rubbish-bin","tag-a-source","tag-a-vessel","tag-a-vigil","tag-a-work-day","tag-about-1200-people-mr","tag-acting-deputy-commissioner-peter-mckenna","tag-advice","tag-an-extraordinary-and-outrageous-admission","tag-anti-semitism","tag-anti-semitic-chants","tag-anti-semitic-demonstrators","tag-any-group","tag-any-religious-or-racial-group","tag-attack","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australia-he","tag-australian-government","tag-austrlia","tag-black-outfits","tag-celebration","tag-children","tag-communications","tag-concerns","tag-control","tag-counsel","tag-critical-event","tag-david","tag-deputies-president-david-ossip","tag-evidence","tag-extremist-risk","tag-fk","tag-flares","tag-freedom","tag-front","tag-hamas","tag-hamas-militants","tag-hizb-ut-tahrir","tag-incitement","tag-intelligence","tag-intelligence-partners","tag-international-disgrace","tag-interpersonal-violence","tag-israel","tag-israeli-flag-colours","tag-jewish-australians","tag-jewish-board","tag-jewish-hate","tag-jews","tag-just-two-days","tag-members","tag-more-likely-street-level-issues","tag-mr-lancaster","tag-mr-mckenna","tag-mr-ossip","tag-my-statement","tag-my-view","tag-newswire-news","tag-no-counter-protest","tag-november-8","tag-october-2023","tag-october-7","tag-october-7police","tag-october-9","tag-october-9-sydney-opera-house-protest","tag-october-9-the","tag-one-attendee","tag-opera-house-protest","tag-ossip","tag-our-counter-terrorism-special-tactics-command","tag-parliament","tag-permission","tag-physical-and-psychological-sense","tag-police","tag-police-act","tag-police-conduct","tag-pro-palestine-protest","tag-protests","tag-question","tag-questioncounsel","tag-racist-vilification","tag-reality","tag-reassurance-and-comfort","tag-recent-years","tag-richard-lancaster-sc","tag-safety","tag-school","tag-social-cohesion","tag-solidarity","tag-some-members","tag-speech","tag-sydney-protest","tag-terror-attack","tag-terrorism","tag-that-evening","tag-the-despicable","tag-the-anti-israel-protest","tag-the-banned-islamist-group-hizb-ut-tahrir","tag-the-cbd","tag-the-chants","tag-the-clearest-examples","tag-the-commission","tag-the-commission-richard-lancaster-sc","tag-the-conduct","tag-the-context","tag-the-decision","tag-the-experience","tag-the-forecourt","tag-the-hamas-terror-attack","tag-the-impression","tag-the-intelligence-information","tag-the-jewish-community","tag-the-jewish-people","tag-the-jews","tag-the-landmark","tag-the-matter","tag-the-news-coverage","tag-the-opera-house","tag-the-opera-house-anti-israel-protest","tag-the-opera-house-protest","tag-the-police","tag-the-pro-palestine-march","tag-the-protest","tag-the-protesters","tag-the-protests","tag-the-rally","tag-the-rise","tag-the-royal-commission","tag-the-safety-assessment","tag-the-sails","tag-the-star","tag-the-sydney-opera-house","tag-the-sydney-opera-house-protest","tag-the-threat-assessment","tag-their-own-city-cbd","tag-their-own-safety-and-wellbeing","tag-their-own-sydney-cbd","tag-their-plans","tag-this-country","tag-town-hall","tag-two-days","tag-violence","tag-white-men","tag-witness-accounts","tag-witnesses","tag-workplaces","tag-your-community"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64657","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=64657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/australia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}