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Sydney government apologizes for pro-Palestinian protest that included ‘gas the Jews’ chants
(JTA) — The premier of New South Wales, the Australian state that is home to Sydney, apologized to the Jewish community on Wednesday as they reeled from a pro-Palestinian protest that included “gas the Jews” and “f— the Jews” chants.
Chris Minns said in a statement that his local government had tried to “create a place and a space” for Jews to mourn victims of the attacks in Israel outside of Sydney’s famed opera house, which was lit up in the colors of the Israeli flag on Monday night.
But he admitted that the exterior of the opera house was “overrun with people that were spewing racial epithets and hatred.” The pro-Palestinian rally on Monday, which gathered over 1,000 people, also included the burning of an Israeli flag and the firing of several flares.
“I want to apologize to [the Jewish community] specifically on behalf of the government and myself, as the premier of New South Wales,” said Minns, a leader in the Labour Party who assumed his position earlier this year. “I really want to ensure that the Jewish community in New South Wales feel that they can have full access to this city, that they can enjoy its life, that they can be part of its culture, that they can commemorate together during solemn occasions.”
He added that a number of Australians “had family and friends that were caught up in this conflict.” One dual Australian-Israeli citizen, Galit Carbone, has been confirmed dead from the violence, while other Australians have been confirmed captured by Hamas.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also expressed concern over the way the rally was allowed to escalate and called Hamas’ actions in Israel “completely indefensible.”
A similar rally held in Melbourne on Tuesday night drew hundreds of participants but notably lacked the inflammatory chants and behavior witnessed in Sydney.
NSW police have since rejected a request by pro-Palestinian groups to hold another rally on Sunday and are investigating Monday’s incident.
“The idea that they’re going to commandeer Sydney streets is not going to happen,” Minns said.
Many Australian Jews, who in total number close to 100,000, are reeling from Monday’s rally and calling for details on how police handled the event. In a statement posted to his Instagram page, Australia’s former ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma was critical of the NSW government.
“How on earth did the New South Wales Government allow this to happen? How did they allow an important show of solidarity with the hundreds of victims of terrorism in Israel to be hijacked by extremists to applaud these very acts of terror?” he wrote.
Parliament member Allegra Spender, who represents the electrical district of Wentworth — which is near Sydney and has a high Jewish population — also demanded answers. “The scenes and chanting outside the Opera House last night are abhorrent. At a time when there should be solidarity with our Jewish community, they have been subject to appalling abuse. I am seeking an urgent explanation of how this was allowed to happen,” she wrote on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.
Alex Ryvchin, co-chair of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry umbrella group, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the Australian Jewish community was shaken but determined to move on.
“The community wants to come together at a time of immense anguish and pain,” he said. “These atrocities have shaken us all, but we are determined to emerge united and more committed to our community and our people.”
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The post Sydney government apologizes for pro-Palestinian protest that included ‘gas the Jews’ chants appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.