Pro-Hezbollah Protests Are a Threat to Australian Society

Justin Amler

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Illustrative: Supporters of Hamas gather for a rally in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Reuters/Joel Carrett

Last weekend, a large group of protestors in Melbourne and Sydney, waved Hezbollah flags and displayed photographs of assassinated Hezbollah terror chief, Hassan Nasrallah.

Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist organization in Australia, so this kind of public support is illegal, yet this did not stop the protestors from turning out and chanting anti-Israel slogans through the streets of Australia’s biggest cities.

Unfortunately, Australia has regularly experienced this kind of open hatred.

Just one day after the October 7 Hamas massacre, a frenzied group of demonstrators gathered on the steps of the iconic Sydney Opera House, burning Israeli flags and chanting “f…k the Jews” and “Where’s the Jews?”

That violent display of hate should have been shut down immediately, but it wasn’t — marking the beginning of what would be a difficult year for Australia’s Jewish community, with weekly protests often descending into intimidation, violence, and antisemitism.

Law enforcement has kept order, but mostly seemed determined to avoid levying any actual charges against the perpetrators.

This hatred on the streets of Australia has not been helped by radical imams who have praised Hamas’ terror attacks and spouted hateful, antisemitic rhetoric.

After Nasrallah’s death, one mosque in Sydney issued a notice publicizing  a vigil to be held for him, called him a “righteous martyr.” This was followed by a hateful sermon calling for Israel’s defeat, which cited a notorious tradition accusing the Jews of rejecting Allah and having distorted the Torah.

Particularly disturbing in these demonstrations is the open support from members of The Greens political party, including its deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, who frequently accuses Israel of committing genocide. Faruqi, a regular at anti-Israel demonstrations since October 7, attended the pro-Hezbollah rally in Sydney and spoke to the crowd.

Another Greens Senator attended a pro-Hezbollah rally in Adelaide, the capital city in South Australia.

In response to the actions of the Greens, Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned “any indication of support for a terrorist organisation such as Hizballah,” adding that “All of us — including every political leader –must stand together to reject terrorism and extremism.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke also warned of potential visa cancellations for any non-citizens waving the Hezbollah flag.

Meanwhile, Opposition Home Affairs Senator James Paterson accused the government of displaying “equivocation and ambivalence in the face of an anti-Semitism crisis,” and warned that unless there were consequences, “the extremism we have seen on our streets today will continue to flourish.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton reiterated this, saying it was “completely unacceptable” that there haven’t been arrests yet or the cancelling of visas of people who “glorify” terrorist groups.

The Australian Federal Police have also confirmed that they have been asked to investigate at least six people from the pro-Hezbollah rallies in Melbourne and Sydney.

Despite its vast distance from Israel, Australia is experiencing, like many other countries, an explosive increase in antisemitism after the October 7 attacks. Jewish schools and other communal buildings have been forced to increase security measures that were already tight before October 7.

Indeed, there are many in the Jewish community — including Holocaust survivors — who are currently living in fear.

An online WhatsApp group of 600 Jewish creatives was “doxxed” by pro-Palestinian activists, causing many of them to be subjected to death threats and ongoing harassment, and others losing employment opportunities.

It is simply outrageous that in a multicultural tolerant country like Australia, which also has the largest per-capita number of Holocaust survivors outside of Israel, the glorification of terrorist leaders can be so brazenly displayed and tolerated.

It is imperative that governments, state and federal, and law enforcement crack down on this behavior, otherwise there is a risk to the cohesive fabric of Australian society.

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Justin Amler is a policy analyst at the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).

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