NSW Greens councillor Rafaela Pandolfini called out for wearing pro-Palestine keffiyeh to Anzac Day dawn service in Coogee

A NSW Greens councilor has been accused of politicizing an Anzac Day service after appearing in a pro-Palestinian traditional Arab headdress.

Rafaela Pandolfini laid a bouquet of flowers at a moving service in Coogee, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, on Thursday morning, wearing a keffiyeh.

The keffiyeh has recently become a symbol of support for Palestine amid the conflict in the Middle East.

Many on social media took aim at Ms Pandolfini for the fashion choice, including the Australian Jewish Association.

“Disappointed to see that a Greens Randwick councilor could do nothing about it and had to politicize the Coogee morning service by wearing one of the keffiyehs worn by the radical protesters and terrorists,” the organization said on X.

Another commented: “That would be a huge insult to the Anzacs and Light Horse.”

This is not the first time Ms. Pandolfini has chosen to wear the pro-Palestinian statement piece.

In March last year, she wore a keffiyeh to Randwick City’s women’s collection art exhibition – leaving a local Jewish artist ‘shocked’ and ‘threatened’.

ADVANCE director Matthew Sheahan told Daily Mail Australia that Anzac Day should be ‘off limits for the Greens and their hardcore political activism’.

“Wearing the Keffiyeh during our most sacred ceremony was a deliberate act to strike at the core of what binds our country together,” he said.

“It is an insult to every man and woman who has served in defense of our nation.

“The truth is that the Greens view even our most sacred day as simply a political opportunity to impose their unwanted ideas on ordinary Australians.

“This councilor, and anyone wearing a keffiyeh, should be banned from Anzac Day ceremonies.”

The memory of Anzac goes back more than a century in the State of Israel.

An Anzac Memorial commemorating the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who died in Palestine during the First and Second Battles of Gaza (1917) in World War I is located in the Negev, southern Israel.

In 2018, the forest surrounding the monument was seriously damaged by a fire kite sent by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Pandolfini for comment.

It comes as activist groups plan to camp outside the University of Melbourne on Anzac Day as they demand the institution “sever all arms ties” and “stop accepting blood money”.

It is also believed the groups could protest at other CBD locations in Melbourne on Thursday.

The group Unimelb for Palestine wrote on social media: ‘Support the encampment, Anzac Day Our Way. Solidarity with Gaza.”

Protesters will also ask the university to condemn what it says is “the Zionist regime’s systematic destruction of every university in Gaza and the targeted killings of Palestinian academics and students.”

RSL Victoria President Dr. Robert Webster told the Herald Sun the planned protests on Anzac Day were ‘disrespectful’.

“I have no problem with them having peaceful demonstrations, but what comes with that is the right to respect other people. They choose to disrespect the veterans of this country who treat them [Thursday] As our national holiday, that to me is the problem,” he said.

Dr. Webster said he wanted to ensure both morning services and Anzac marches were safe for everyone, and fears protests will upset veterans if it interrupts “their day”.

Similarly, Bob Elworthy, president of the Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia Victoria, believes National Day should be “left alone”.

“Anzac Day is not about glorifying war, we pay respect to those who put themselves in harm’s way so people can protest,” he told the publication.

Mr Elworthy said while people have the right to protest, he did not respect them doing so on April 25.

University of Melbourne Provost Professor Nicola Phillips said she knew a small group of students would protest on the Parkville campus.

She said the university does not support the expression of freedom of speech if it undermines people’s ability to “fully participate in the university.”

However, she said freedom of expression is valued at the university.

Victoria Police said they were aware of at least three planned protests over Melbourne on Thursday and have increased patrols at several locations, including the University of Melbourne in Parkville.

Teachers and school staff for Palestine Victoria, the organizers behind some of the protests, said they would not disrupt any Anzac day services.