LONDON: Australia’s Jewish community has criticized pro-Palestinian celebrations in Sydney after Saturday’s Hamas attack on Israel.
Hundreds of people attended a rally in the Lakemba area, at which police said attendees “complied with all police directions and no significant issues arose, with no arrests made.”
Footage of green and red fireworks set off from a car waving Palestinian flags in the city’s Greenacre district on Saturday evening emerged the same day.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said there was “nothing to celebrate by the murder of innocent civilians going about their day.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: “The targeting of civilians and the taking of hostages is never a cause for celebrations.”
Robert Gregory, CEO of the Australian Jewish Association, said of the events in Sydney: “It is distressing that there are monsters living amongst us and we expect the Muslim community to condemn the actions.
“In this situation you can either be on the side of evil or on the side of good and we urge the authorities to look at whether there are any charges to be laid and for those people to be deported. They are clearly not fit to be in Australia.”
Mark Speakman, leader of the opposition in New South Wales, said Sydney’s Jewish community need to be made to feel safe.
“It was disappointing to see overnight people celebrating brutality … (There is) never an excuse for attacking civilians, let alone for celebrating that attack,” Speakman added.
Maha Abdo, CEO of Muslim Women Australia, said: “There is a lot of trauma, anxiety and fear. Loss of life on all sides is just not right. It hurts, and the pain of course increases over the years of oppression.
“We need to recognize that pain, but two wrongs don’t make a right. There is no win-win here. Let’s bring on an avalanche of peace. Let’s wage peace, not war.”
The Australian National Imams Council said it “supports the Palestinian people’s right for self-determination,” calling for “a cessation of the Israeli offensive on Gaza and end the siege on Gaza.”
