A council in Sydney’s south-west has unanimously approved raising the Palestinian flag, a move branded “incomprehensible” by Jewish leaders.
Labor councilor Karl Saleh tabled a motion at the Canterbury-Bankstown City Council on Tuesday evening calling for the flag of Palestine to be flown from both Bankstown’s Paul Keating Park and the Campsie Administration building ‘in support of the Palestinian people’.
Cllr Saleh said the flag would remain until a ceasefire is declared in Gaza Daily telegram.
“The media often asks: do we condemn all acts of violence against civilians and of course we condemn terrorism and violence in any form,” Cllr Saleh said.
Labor councilor Karl Saleh (pictured) tabled a motion at Canterbury-Bankstown Council on Tuesday evening calling for the flag of Palestine to be flown from both Bankstown’s Paul Keating Park and the Campsie Administration building ‘in support of the Palestinian people’
Cllr Saleh said the move was a ‘sign of respect for the City of Canterbury-Bankstown to express our condolences to more than 5,000 Palestinians, almost half of whom are children who have been murdered’ (photo: protesters holding a giant Palestinian flag at a meeting in Sydney)
“Of course there is no place for anti-Semitism or Islamophobia in our city, but let’s not pretend that the Palestinians have only been suffering since October 7 of this year.”
He said the move was a “sign of respect for the City of Canterbury-Bankstown to express our condolences to more than 5,000 Palestinians, almost half of whom are children who have been murdered.”
The motion was passed unanimously, but several councilors were absent.
Jewish leaders condemned the decision in the wake of the October 7 terrorist attacks by Hamas that killed at least 1,400 Israelis.
Australian Jewish Association president Dr David Adler said it was “incomprehensible that any civilized people could support a gesture at this time”.
“This would be comparable to flying the German flag after Kristallnacht or the Japanese flag after Pearl Harbor,” he told the newspaper.
He accused Bankstown-Canterbury Council of showing a ‘complete lack of empathy for the Jewish community’.
Most pro-Palestinian protests across Australia have been peaceful
But two weeks ago a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney’s CBD descended into chaos when protesters were allowed to chant ‘gas the Jews’ and burn the Star of David in front of the Sydney Opera House (pictured)
“The phrase condemning all violence is a cover for trying to build a false moral equivalent… there is no equivalence to what happened on October 7,” he said.
David Ossip, chairman of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, also condemned the move.
“An act of support for Palestinian citizens caught up in Hamas’s war is understandable, but without also condemning Hamas’ terror regime, you are only giving comfort and support to Hamas, which has proven to be worse than ISIS,” he said. Mrs Ossip.
Mayor Bilal El-Hayek described the situation in Gaza as “nothing less than a humanitarian crisis,” as Israel continues to bombard the area with rocket attacks.
Mr El-Hayek wondered “why the human rights of Palestinians are continually ignored” and said the community “cannot be silenced or allowed to live in fear”.
“It’s about freedom of expression and letting the rest of the world know that there are two sides that are grieving,” he said.
Daily Mail Australia witnessed a large crowd of men attempting to set fire to an Israeli flag with fireworks before stomping on it and tearing it into shreds (pictured)
A large crowd gathered outside the Opera House before projectiles were thrown at police and flares went off
“Let us be proud, we are a council with heart and soul and we will show our true colors as the flag we fly.”
Mr El-Hayek suggested the council write to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the opposition leader to make a “final statement as they did with Israel and declare that they stand with the innocent people of Gaza”, and for an immediate ceasefire.
It comes after bloodshed in the Middle East fanned the flames of division around the world, including in Australia.
Two weeks ago, a pro-Palestinian rally in Sydney’s CBD descended into chaos when protesters were allowed to chant anti-Semitic slogans and burn the Star of David in front of Sydney’s Opera House.
The demonstration was hijacked by radical Muslims – some wearing black masks – who threw lit flares at police and chanted ‘f*** Israel’ and ‘f*** the Jews’ under the steps of the iconic port city.
At one point there were even cries of ‘gassing the Jews’ – a gruesome echo of the fate of millions of Jewish people under the Nazi regime.