NSW Premier Chris Minns and federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton have denounced the “barbarity” of Hamas militants, at a vigil held in support of Israel in Sydney’s east on Wednesday night.
Key points:
- Some 7,000 people registered to attend the event
- Premier Chris Minns said Jewish people had been targeted over their faith
- Opposition Leader Peter Dutton compared the attacks by Hamas to the terrorist group ISIL
Thousands of people gathered in a cliff-side park in Dover Heights, where Mr Minns, Mr Dutton, federal government minister Mark Butler, and NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman were among the speakers.
It came as Israel continued its counter attack on the Gaza Strip after Hamas gunmen crossed the border to launch a terrorist attack on civilians, including at a music festival, on October 7.
Latest reports from Israeli and Palestinian authorities estimate more than 1,200 people have been killed in Israel, and about 950 have died in Gaza.
Organisers of the NSW Jewish Community Gathering in Support of Israel said 7,000 people registered to attend Wednesday’s rally.
Attendees waved Israeli flags while Jewish music was played on the stage.
Minns sorry for ‘hatred’ shown in Sydney
Mr Minns addressed the controversy surrounding a pro-Palestinian march held in the city’s CBD on Monday, during which offensive chants came from small parts of the crowd.
He said Israeli Jews had been targeted in their “homeland … for one simple and only reason, their faith”.
“And it is with eternal sorrow that I acknowledge some of that hatred was seen in your own city and I’m deeply deeply sorry for it,” he said.
“Friends, I don’t want to live in a world where that happens and I won’t live in a state where that is allowed to happen.”
The NSW government and NSW Police had earlier said it would not authorise a second Palestinian event planned for Sunday, with organisers set to challenge that in court.
Dutton compares Hamas attacks to ISIL
Mr Dutton said that the community needed to “stare down the barbarity” of Hamas.
He compared last week’s attacks by Hamas to 9/11 and atrocities committed by the ISIL terrorist group, saying they could not be compared to the response from Israel’s armed forces.
“Hamas has a moral equivalence with ISIL, not with Israel, not with the Jews and not with people of good faith. And we should always remind ourselves of that.”
He went on to say that some “detractors” may pass comment on Israel’s response but said there needed to be a clear message to Hamas that “their acts of terrorism will never be tolerated”.
Mr Butler, the federal health minister who was representing the prime minister, said anti-Semitism and hate speech had “no place in this country,” while Mr Speakman said it was unimaginable “depravity of this scale” occurred in the 21st century.
“There is no choice that any public figure of any decency can make other than to support Israel in its time of need,” Mr Speakman said.
Palestinian Action Group Sydney, who have planned another rally over the weekend, said they were protesting Israel’s retaliatory action against Gaza, including severe bombing, and cutting off its electricity supply.
Organisers of the event said the rally on Monday evening at the Opera House, that was intended to be peaceful, was intercepted by a “tiny fringe of vile anti-Semitic attendees,” who were asked to leave.
‘We need to be strong’
Before the event, Jillian Segal, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said the community needed to stand together as it mourned the “inhumanity” of the attacks.
“Last Friday was a night and a day that will stand in infamy for us as a day of amazing horror and a night of persecution of the Jewish world,” she said.
“We have felt it in our bones and we all mourn together for all those lives lost.
“We are in mourning but we need to be strong.”
Asher Klein, who attended Wednesday’s event, said people should not have to stand for murder and kidnappings regardless of “what side of the political spectrum you’re on”.
“Today’s event means being in solidarity with the people who’ve been killed by Hamas the terrorist group, whether that’s innocent Palestinians or innocent Israelis, it’s about standing with those people, those victims,” he said.
“The message is definitely about peace.”
David Ossip, president of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, told the crowd what was unfolding in the Middle East was a “battle between humanity and barbarism”.
He said that defending the actions of Hamas was “moral bankruptcy of the highest level”.
“It is a fight that Israel will fight and she will win. And we will be right behind her,” Mr Ossip said.
“Israel has not just a right to defend herself and her citizens, but an obligation.”