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Pro-Hezbollah Protests Are a Threat to Australian Society
Illustrative: Supporters of Hamas gather for a rally in Melbourne, Australia. Photo: Reuters/Joel Carrett
Last weekend, a large group of protestors in Melbourne and Sydney, waved Hezbollah flags and displayed photographs of assassinated Hezbollah terror chief, Hassan Nasrallah.
Hezbollah is a proscribed terrorist organization in Australia, so this kind of public support is illegal, yet this did not stop the protestors from turning out and chanting anti-Israel slogans through the streets of Australia’s biggest cities.
Unfortunately, Australia has regularly experienced this kind of open hatred.
Just one day after the October 7 Hamas massacre, a frenzied group of demonstrators gathered on the steps of the iconic Sydney Opera House, burning Israeli flags and chanting “f…k the Jews” and “Where’s the Jews?”
That violent display of hate should have been shut down immediately, but it wasn’t — marking the beginning of what would be a difficult year for Australia’s Jewish community, with weekly protests often descending into intimidation, violence, and antisemitism.
Law enforcement has kept order, but mostly seemed determined to avoid levying any actual charges against the perpetrators.
This hatred on the streets of Australia has not been helped by radical imams who have praised Hamas’ terror attacks and spouted hateful, antisemitic rhetoric.
After Nasrallah’s death, one mosque in Sydney issued a notice publicizing a vigil to be held for him, called him a “righteous martyr.” This was followed by a hateful sermon calling for Israel’s defeat, which cited a notorious tradition accusing the Jews of rejecting Allah and having distorted the Torah.
Particularly disturbing in these demonstrations is the open support from members of The Greens political party, including its deputy leader, Mehreen Faruqi, who frequently accuses Israel of committing genocide. Faruqi, a regular at anti-Israel demonstrations since October 7, attended the pro-Hezbollah rally in Sydney and spoke to the crowd.
Another Greens Senator attended a pro-Hezbollah rally in Adelaide, the capital city in South Australia.
In response to the actions of the Greens, Foreign Minister Penny Wong condemned “any indication of support for a terrorist organisation such as Hizballah,” adding that “All of us — including every political leader –must stand together to reject terrorism and extremism.”
Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke also warned of potential visa cancellations for any non-citizens waving the Hezbollah flag.
Meanwhile, Opposition Home Affairs Senator James Paterson accused the government of displaying “equivocation and ambivalence in the face of an anti-Semitism crisis,” and warned that unless there were consequences, “the extremism we have seen on our streets today will continue to flourish.”
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton reiterated this, saying it was “completely unacceptable” that there haven’t been arrests yet or the cancelling of visas of people who “glorify” terrorist groups.
The Australian Federal Police have also confirmed that they have been asked to investigate at least six people from the pro-Hezbollah rallies in Melbourne and Sydney.
Despite its vast distance from Israel, Australia is experiencing, like many other countries, an explosive increase in antisemitism after the October 7 attacks. Jewish schools and other communal buildings have been forced to increase security measures that were already tight before October 7.
Indeed, there are many in the Jewish community — including Holocaust survivors — who are currently living in fear.
An online WhatsApp group of 600 Jewish creatives was “doxxed” by pro-Palestinian activists, causing many of them to be subjected to death threats and ongoing harassment, and others losing employment opportunities.
It is simply outrageous that in a multicultural tolerant country like Australia, which also has the largest per-capita number of Holocaust survivors outside of Israel, the glorification of terrorist leaders can be so brazenly displayed and tolerated.
It is imperative that governments, state and federal, and law enforcement crack down on this behavior, otherwise there is a risk to the cohesive fabric of Australian society.
Justin Amler is a policy analyst at the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC).
The post Pro-Hezbollah Protests Are a Threat to Australian Society first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Says Missile Launched by Yemen’s Houthis ‘Most Likely’ Intercepted
Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi addresses followers via a video link at the al-Shaab Mosque, formerly al-Saleh Mosque, in Sanaa, Yemen, Feb. 6, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
The Israeli army said on Saturday that a missile fired from Yemen towards Israeli territory had been “most likely successfully intercepted,” while Yemen’s Houthi forces claimed responsibility for the launch.
Israel has threatened Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement – which has been attacking Israel in what it says is solidarity with Gaza – with a naval and air blockade if its attacks on Israel persist.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group was responsible for Saturday’s attack, adding that it fired a missile towards the southern Israeli city of Beersheba.
Since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen, have been firing at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones they have launched have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
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Iran Holds Funeral for Commanders and Scientists Killed in War with Israel
People attend the funeral procession of Iranian military commanders, nuclear scientists and others killed in Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 28, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Large crowds of mourners dressed in black lined streets in Iran’s capital Tehran as the country held a funeral on Saturday for top military commanders, nuclear scientists and some of the civilians killed during this month’s aerial war with Israel.
At least 16 scientists and 10 senior commanders were among those mourned at the funeral, according to state media, including armed forces chief Major General Mohammad Bagheri, Revolutionary Guards commander General Hossein Salami, and Guards Aerospace Force chief General Amir Ali Hajizadeh.
Their coffins were driven into Tehran’s Azadi Square adorned with their photos and national flags, as crowds waved flags and some reached out to touch the caskets and throw rose petals onto them. State-run Press TV showed an image of ballistic missiles on display.
Mass prayers were later held in the square.
State TV said the funeral, dubbed the “procession of the Martyrs of Power,” was held for a total of 60 people killed in the war, including four women and four children.
In attendance were President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior figures including Ali Shamkhani, who was seriously wounded during the conflict and is an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Khamenei’s son Mojtaba.
“Today, Iranians, through heroic resistance against two regimes armed with nuclear weapons, protected their honor and dignity, and look to the future prouder, more dignified, and more resolute than ever,” Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, who also attended the funeral, said in a Telegram post.
There was no immediate statement from Khamenei, who has not appeared publicly since the conflict began. In past funerals, he led prayers over the coffins of senior commanders ahead of public ceremonies broadcast on state television.
Israel launched the air war on June 13, attacking Iranian nuclear facilities and killing top military commanders as well as civilians in the worst blow to the Islamic Republic since the 1980s war with Iraq.
Iran retaliated with barrages of missiles on Israeli military sites, infrastructure and cities. The United States entered the war on June 22 with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
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Israel, the only Middle Eastern country widely believed to have nuclear weapons, said it aimed to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Iran denies having a nuclear weapons program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has said it has “no credible indication” of an active, coordinated weapons program in Iran.
Bagheri, Salami and Hajizadeh were killed on June 13, the first day of the war. Bagheri was being buried at the Behesht Zahra cemetery outside Tehran mid-afternoon on Saturday. Salami and Hajizadeh were due to be buried on Sunday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that he would consider bombing Iran again, while Khamenei, who has appeared in two pre-recorded video messages since the start of the war, has said Iran would respond to any future US attack by striking US military bases in the Middle East.
A senior Israeli military official said on Friday that Israel had delivered a “major blow” to Iran’s nuclear project. On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said in a statement that Israel and the US “failed to achieve their stated objectives” in the war.
According to Iranian health ministry figures, 610 people were killed on the Iranian side in the war before a ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday. More than 4,700 were injured.
Activist news agency HRANA put the number of killed at 974, including 387 civilians.
Israel’s health ministry said 28 were killed in Israel and 3,238 injured.
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Pro-Palestinian Rapper Leads ‘Death to the IDF’ Chant at English Music festival
Revellers dance as Avril Lavigne performs on the Other Stage during the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, in Pilton, Somerset, Britain, June 30, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Dylan Martinez
i24 News – Chants of “death to the IDF” were heard during the English Glastonbury music festival on Saturday ahead of the appearance of the pro-Palestinian Irish rappers Kneecap.
One half of punk duo based Bob Vylan (who both use aliases to protect their privacy) shouted out during a section of their show “Death to the IDF” – the Israeli military. Videos posted on X (formerly Twitter) show the crowd responding to and repeating the cheer.
This comes after officials had petitioned the music festival to drop the band. The rap duo also expressed support for the following act, Kneecap, who the BCC refused to show live after one of its members, Liam Óg Ó hAnnaidh – better known by stage name Mo Chara – was charged with a terror offense.
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