A furious wine expert has hit out at activists putting up posters of Israeli hostages, with the bitter confrontation captured on video.
Footage shows top sommelier Harry Hunter calling the pro-Israel group “damn animals” before punching someone who was filming him in King Street, Newtown, in Sydney’s west.
“P*** back to North Bondi and get the hell out of Newtown,” Mr Hunter can be heard saying.
“You’re whiter than the English who gave you the land, you damned animals,” he continues.
Moments later, Mr. Hunter walks up to the man filming the ugly incident – Tom – and tries to knock the phone out of his hand.
Footage shows top sommelier Harry Hunter calling the pro-Israel group ‘f*** animals’ before punching someone who was filming him in King Street, Newtown, in Sydney’s inner west
Tom said he felt “disheartened” by the ordeal, as the group only put up posters of Israeli hostages stranded in Gaza to raise awareness.
“He came over and pulled the posters away. “We asked why and he said it was propaganda and it wasn’t real,” he said the Daily Telegraph.
‘It was very uncomfortable. “We don’t think we are spreading propaganda, we just want to draw attention to the hostages that are in Gaza.”
Hamas launched a deadly wave of attacks on October 7 that killed at least 1,400 Israelis, prompting a declaration of war by the Jewish state.
Subsequent airstrikes have since resulted in the deaths of 10,000 Palestinians.
Hamas terrorists also kidnapped about 240 civilians on October 7 and took them to Gaza, where the vast majority still remain.
Mr Hunter, a “staunch anti-colonialist”, denied removing hostage posters but admitted tearing up a “Free Palestine from Hamas” poster that evening.
He said Israel was guilty of ‘genocide and ethnic cleansing” across Palestine, which had affected people “very close” to him.
“People don’t want to see division on the walls, that will only fuel the fire in the area,” he said.
After taking a night to cool off, Mr Hunter said he apologized “unreservedly” for upsetting Israeli supporters and regretted shouting in the street.
Mr Hunter walked up to the man who filmed the ugly incident – Tom – and tried to knock the phone out of his hand