A group of young men waving the Palestinian flag through Sydney’s Jewish heartland allegedly confronted a young Jewish man sitting in his car and threatened to ‘shank’ him.
The incident occurred in Bondi last night, just hours after opposition leader Peter Dutton called out Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in parliament, accusing him of not doing enough to protect the Jewish community.
Police were called to the Ampol station on Old South Head Road in North Bondi around 10.20pm, following reports of the altercation.
The Australian Jewish Association alleges a Jewish man was sitting in his car when he was confronted by four men who had a Palestinian flag on their vehicle.
Police were called to a service station in North Bondi following a violent brawl
Four men spoken to by police at the scene (pictured) received move-on orders. No charges have been laid
AJA president Robert Gregory told Daily Mail Australia the jewish man’s car mirror was smashed and that threats of violence were made before police arrived.
‘All four of them got out of the car and attempted to fight him. They threatened to ‘shank’ him. At this point police arrived.
‘Carloads of young Middle Eastern men driving from the other side of the city with Palestinian Arab flags looking to provoke violence is a worrying development.
‘We haven’t heard of any cases of carloads of Jews with Israeli flags driving around Lakemba Mosque. Thankfully police turned up when they did.’
Approximately two-thirds of Sydney’s Jewish community reside in the eastern suburbs, notably in Bondi. This area has witnessed several recent incidents prompting police intervention, related to conflicts over the Israel-Palestine issue.
A police source told media that a group of young men were spotted by a group of Jewish men driving around the eastern suburbs with a Palestinian flag displayed from their car.
It’s understood two teens in the car with the flag, stopped at a service station where another car carrying two men performed a U-turn and met them there.
‘Officers arrived and were told a group of unknown people were acting aggressive before leaving the scene,’ a police statement read.
No charges have been laid and there are no reports of injuries.
There are unconfirmed reports four men spoken by police at the scene received move-on notices and were banned from returning to Bondi.
Police remained at the scene for at least seven hours until 5am Thursday to ensure no further incidents took place.
Officers also scoured the scene for evidence and reportedly seized a number of items, including a hockey stick and a tool.
NSW Police are yet to confirm whether the incident was racially motivated but are expected to provide more details later on Thursday.
Investigations into the incident continue.
Police remained at the Ampol service station until 5am Thursday
Police (pictured) spent seven hours at the scene and seized a number of items from the scene
On Wednesday, Mr Dutton called on the prime minister to not depart Australia for the APEC summit in San Francisco until he had assured Jewish Australians would be protected in the community.
‘The prime minister should not leave this country until the national cabinet has been convened to provide assurances and support and comfort and safety to people of the Jewish community,’ he said.
The Prime Minister hit back, saying saying he had been consistent in his views in calling for unity.
‘The weaponisation or attempt to weaponise anti-Semitism in this chamber and make it a partisan issue is, frankly, beyond contempt,’ he said on Wednesday.
‘I make no apologies for standing up against anti-Semitism and I will do it unequivocally … I have a track record on this and I’m proud of it, but I also have a track record of standing up for the rights and for justice of Palestinian people.
‘I make no apologies for being a consistent supporter of a two-state solution, and I make no apologies for trying to bring communities together, not divide them.’
Earlier this month, two men from Western Sydney drove to Bondi Beach and attempted to destroy posters of Israelis who were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists, while being confronted by a larger aggrieved group.
NSW Police spoke to a 25-year-old man at a Granville home and a 40-year-old at a home in Bankstown, issuing both men with criminal infringement notices carrying a fine of $500.
In October, a man was banned from entering Sydney’s Jewish suburbs after allegedly verbally threatening four teenagers after they tried to display an Israeli flag on their car.
‘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.
Meanwhile, six federal electoral offices across the country were the target of pro-Palestinian protests involving bloodied replicas of Gazan corpses.
Those targeted included Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and fellow Labor MPs Ged Kearney and Peter Khalil.
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