iscover
On Monday night, NSW and the Albanese government have welcomed the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, to our country to console the Jewish community following the Bondi terror attack where 15 innocent people were killed.
However, with the Israeli government continuing their violence and force against the Palestinian people, this visit has obviously seen major backlash.
This has resulted in harrowing chaos and violence in Sydney between police and protesters, something that is troubling to witness considering people exercising their democratically enshrined right to protest.
I’ll get further into my thoughts at the end of this article, but for now, let’s examine all the objective pieces of the protest and the government’s response.
The before
Following the initial invitation, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said people should “recognise the solemn nature of the visit” and “bear in mind by the way that they respond over the coming weeks”.
“President Herzog is here in Australia to offer sympathy and solidarity to people who are mourning and offer his support to members of Australia’s Jewish community.
“I will treat President Herzog with respect. I’ve known him for a long period of time. He is someone who you can have a respectful discussion with, whilst examining differences which are there.”
The NSW government deemed that President Herzog’s visit is a major event, thus enabling broad police powers to be unleashed under the Major Events Act 2009 (NSW).
Major event declaration is typically used for large-scale sporting, entertainment or other unique events. This is the first time a visit from a foreign official has been declared as a major event.
The measures implemented allow officers to issue move on orders, stop and search warrants, object seizure and implement shutdown zones.
Palestine Action Group challenged this, hoping to march from Town Hall to NSW Parliament House.
Supreme Court Justice Robertson Wright ruled against this just hours before protesters began arriving but noted the ruling had not been “reached lightly”.
“The designation of an area, where all of Hyde Park is excluded, indicates an attempt to balance the interests of protesters.”
Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees said that “We’re not seeking any confrontation or conflict with police”.
The government argued that these policies were meant to promote “social cohesion” and simmer political divide; however, as Ben Saul, Challis chair of International Law at Sydney University, said, the opposite was achieved.
“The restrictions do not make the public safer and may, counterproductively, fuel social division,” he wrote for The Sydney Morning Herald.
The during
Chaos and undisputed violence particularly unravelled after police and protesters clashed on the approach to the NSW Parliament, an area that fell under a restricted area.
Capsicum spray was deployed at close range and there were multiple instances of police using strong, aggressive force against protesters.
Video footage largely showed protesters being punched, shoved and kicked by NSW Police Officers.
Members of the public, independent media and political parties are calling for investigations into “sickening police brutality”, as Lees said.
Twenty-seven people were arrested.
The after
Within hours of footage and accounts of the violence circulating, responses came flooding in.
Following the scenes out of Sydney, Prime Minister Albanese urged all parties involved to “turn the temperature down”, and said he is devastated about what has transpired.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said the police did “everything possible” to avoid confrontation and has fiercely defended the actions of police, despite saying that footage “doesn’t look good”.
“I think it’s important that people not judge the actions of police on 10 seconds or 15 second social media clips.
“We had to keep the public safe, and as distressing as those scenes were, it would have been far worse if … the protesters breached police lines and we had conflict in Sydney streets. That would have been terrible.”
Minns also defended the actions of police forcibly removing Muslim men praying, saying, “it was, in effect, in the middle of a riot”.
Shadi Alsuleiman, Australian National Imams Council president, said he was “appalled and outraged” by this move.
Four Labor MPs were present at the rally, with NSW State Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane urging Minns to sack them for attending.
Minns has said he will not begin an “endless loop of sacking”.
NSW Police has fiercely defended the actions of officers, with Assistant Commissioner Peter McKenna saying he is “very proud of the police officers”.
“They took more than their time before they utilised any of their powers.
“It was really quite precarious at times for our officers, who were significantly outnumbered by the protesters and the people who wanted to act in a violent and offensive manner.”
My opinion and final thoughts
Consoling a suffering community is a beautiful thing, that is undisputed – innocent people have died and that is truly abhorrent and awfully distressing.
But the Australian government wants to welcome with open arms a widely regarded war criminal to our country instead and said implementing restrictions on protests about this will promote social cohesion.
The International Court of Justice had cited many of President Herzog’s public statements as evidence of genocidal intent, with the UN Commission of Inquiry also naming Herzog among high-profile figures of “inciting the commission of genocide”.
So Australia welcomes him, but where is the consolation for the thousands of families of Palestinians being slaughtered and starved out by the Israeli government?
Bans, restrictions and limitations on political protest is the first step away from democracy. The freedom of assembly is an intrinsic right that should never be stripped and met with clear evidence of police brutality.
