Allan said on Thursday that no one should use the terrorist massacre to drive further division in the community, and later told this masthead that anybody who went into the CBD this weekend to fuel hate would face action.
“People should not be protesting this weekend,” Allan said. “If you are going to come into the city and whip up hate and division you will be dealt with by police.”
A Victoria Police spokesperson confirmed the force would have a presence at the weekend rallies.
“Our focus will be to prevent breaches of the peace and to ensure the safety of the community,” the spokesperson said. “Any unlawful behaviour will not be tolerated.”
Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said he was lost for words to describe Anti-Zionism Australia’s planned action in the days following Australia’s worst terrorist attack.
“There’s only one word to describe it – it’s called antisemitism,” Leibler said.
“I think every decent member of society will see this for what it is, which is an attempt to use a handful of people that have self-identified as being Jewish to attack and undermine the Jewish community at their most vulnerable time.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has stated he is busy implementing Segal’s report, which includes reforms calling for children to be better educated at school about the Holocaust, Israel and antisemitism and for funding to be stripped from universities that indulge antisemitism. The antisemitism envoy has also pushed for Australia to take harder look at whether its migration system is importing hatred against Jews.
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Anti-Zionism Australia organiser David Glanz on Thursday had vowed to continue with Saturday’s gathering, saying the event had been organised in direct response to the Bondi attack by its predominantly Jewish membership.
“We want to make it clear that we think the Palestinian movement has no case to answer in terms of what happened in Bondi, and we stand with our brothers and sisters in the Palestine movement, and that’s a point that we would be looking to make on Saturday,” Glanz said.
“We would consider pausing if [former federal treasurer] Josh Frydenberg withdraws his speech. The people who support Israel have gone in full bore, before some of the funerals have ever even been held, to blame Palestinians. In some cases, they’ve blamed Muslims; in other cases, they blame migrants.”
Frydenberg was contacted for comment. On Wednesday, the former treasurer gave an impassioned speech in which, in part, he called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and state governments to stop allowing certain protests.
Frydenberg sheds tears as he leaves flowers at the Bondi memorial on Wednesday.
“Different people on the right of the spectrum, they haven’t held back,” Glanz said. “They are politicising the horror in Bondi, and we are not. We’re simply saying that what happened in Bondi has nothing to do with the politics of the Palestine movement, and people should be allowed to grieve without that politicisation.”
Saturday’s event is billed to feature four Jewish speakers including Glanz, who has spoken at previous Free Palestine events.
Free Palestine Melbourne member Mai Saif was advertised as a speaker at Saturday’s now cancelled Anti-Zionism Australia gathering, but told this masthead she would not be taking part.
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“The Palestinian community are appalled at this heinous crime and stand in solidarity with the Jewish community. We share nothing but love, care and support,” Saif said.
On Thursday, Glanz denied Saturday’s gathering had been organised as a political rally and said it would be a “very sober, a sombre gathering” that would begin with a minute’s silence for the victims of Bondi.
“None of us are minimising the horror of what we saw, but I think it’s also worth remembering there is a Palestinian and broader Middle Eastern community who have also lost relatives on a massive scale over the last two years, and yet they’re being told that they are to blame for the actions of two crazy guys.”
One prominent Jewish community leader said they were “aware and appalled” in regard to Saturday’s anti-Zionism gathering and had never heard of the group’s members being involved in the Jewish community.
Right-wing anti-immigration activists have also seized on the Bondi attack, organising a “Save Australia” rally on Sunday afternoon at Parliament House, with promoter Morgan Jonas accusing Albanese of treason for issuing visas to those responsible for terror.
Victorian Trades Hall Council secretary Luke Hilakari said he was dumbfounded that anyone would stage such a protest a week after the Bondi massacre.
“You could not plan a more stupid activity or be more insensitive to the moment or do more damage to whatever cause they want to pursue,” he said. “I’m dumbfounded about why anyone would do such a thing. It is being deliberately hurtful to a community that is in a lot of pain right now. That is not what solidarity looks or feels like.”
State member for Caulfield David Southwick said protests in the wake of the massacre were inappropriate and would only cause more hurt and division.
“Jacinta Allan needs to follow the NSW premier’s lead and ban these events from taking place at this time,” Southwick said.
“Victoria remains the only state without a protest permit system. Despite repeated calls from Jewish leaders, the police union and the Liberals and Nationals, Premier Allan has refused to act.”
Organisers of Gathering for Gaza announced they were postponing their $89-a-head fundraiser because the community needed “a moment to process and grieve”.
“Our hearts go out to all those affected, their loved ones and the wider Jewish community,” the organisers posted on their website.
More Bondi terror coverage
