Our Streets Not Safe for Jews

31 December 2023, Daily Telegraph, by Anton Rose

Jewish residents in Sydney’s east say they are so concerned about being targeted in their own suburbs that they are avoiding going out to Bondi Beach on New Year’s Eve.

Some have told police and their local council they have felt “intimidated” in recent weeks by pro-Palestinian activists roaming their suburbs.

One, who wanted to remain anonymous, said that a group of men had repeatedly been driving around the Dover Heights area with Palestinian flags and blaring “Arabic music” from their car.

“We’re not the only ones staying in, there’s a real fear about being out and about on Sunday night,” another told The Sunday Telegraph.

Others have been bombarding their local council to act with similar stories of feeling intimidated in their suburbs.

“Obviously there is a lot of tension in our community,” Waverley councillor Leon Goltsman said.

“People are not feeling safe on normal days, but now especially on New Year’s Eve.

“They fear the police will be outnumbered. People are fearful and want to stay at home.

“The council really have not taken that into consideration and I’m really concerned for the safety of our community.”

The same council, whose community consists of a high proportion of Jewish residents, sacked its deputy mayor after he wanted to call out Israeli “war crimes” as part of a motion to give $10,000 to local Jewish groups.

Ex-deputy mayor Ludovico Fabiano made the claim at a council meeting with a packed gallery of residents holding up posters of Israeli hostages taken by Hamas on October 7.

According to the last census close to 16 per cent of people living in the Waverley local government area identified Judaism as their religion.

It comes after reports to the local council that a Jewish student recently had drinks thrown at them while walking through Westfield at Bondi Junction. Other Jewish parents have said they fear sending their kids to school while some students at Jewish schools like Moriah College hide their uniforms when in public.

Just last month tensions threatened to boil over in the eastern suburbs when a pro-Palestine motorcade to Coogee Beach was met by a group of locals waving Israel flags.

The motorcade drew criticism from an organiser of the main pro-Palestine protests Fahad Ali. “I’ll be clear: this is a deliberately provocative action. No one I know in the Palestinian community is on board with this,” he wrote on social media at the time.

The Saturday Telegraph revealed the motorcade was organised by Zaky Mallah, who was jailed for threatening to blow up the offices of ASIO and DFAT in 2003.