Israel: Man charged over alleged anti-Semitic act in Sydney’s east

Abdullah Al-Taay allegedly verbally threatened four teenagers on Bellevue Rd in Bellevue Hill at 6.30pm on Monday after they had tried to display an Israeli flag on their car.

A video of the incident emerged online, appearing to show Mr Al-Taay telling the group to “put that thing back” before allegedly threatening them.

“I swear if I f***ing see youse with that flag I’ll f***ing kill youse all,” he allegedly says in the video.

“I’m telling youse right now – all of youse,” he added before retreating from the car.

The 23-year-old attended Liverpool Police Station on Wednesday and was charged with stalking/intimidating with intending to cause fear of physical harm.

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley has commended the “quick work” of police over the alleged incident, saying that there is “no place for any kind of hate in our society”.

“The Sydney Jewish community should never feel unsafe in their own city. Everyone should be able to conduct their business without fear,” she said.  
“Hatred of any kind has no place in our society. We don’t see this kind of thing in Australia and we don’t want to see it now.”

Mr Al-Taay was refused bail and will appear at Downing Centre Court on Thursday.

Tensions are high in Australia and around the world after conflict broke out in Israel on Saturday when militant group Hamas fired more than 3500 rockets in a surprise attack.

Armed militants also stormed Jewish communities, killing and capturing civilians as hostages.

Israel has responded with force in the escalating conflict with Hamas, firing thousands of rockets into Gaza in a “complete siege” of the region, flattening dozens of buildings.

On Monday night, a small group at a pro-Palestinian rally at the Sydney Opera House reportedly chanted “f**k the Jews” and “gas the Jews”, a reference to the Nazi Holocaust that slaughtered more than six million Jews in Europe in the 1940s.

NSW Premier Chris Minns condemned the scenes at the Opera House as “abhorrent”.

“To have some people celebrate atrocious indiscriminate killing and kidnapping in Israel is appalling,” he said.

“This is the opposite of the dynamic multicultural community we want in NSW and Australia.”

The group behind the protest has condemned the actions of a “tiny fringe” of 20 “vile anti-Semitic attendees” who were not connected to the rally.

“From our observations this occurred for less than one minute and was not an ongoing chant. They were quickly condemned for their chants and asked to leave,” Palestine Action Group Sydney wrote on social media.

“Longstanding Palestinian organisers and activists, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim elders attending the protest were disgusted and deplored by the action.”

“This is not what our movement stands for.”

More to come