Disturbing detail is spotted in photo of Greens senator at school student protest for Palestine
By Brett Lackey For Daily Mail Australia[1]
Published: 08:06, 24 November 2023 | Updated: 09:31, 24 November 2023
Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi has posed with a student protester holding up a ‘keep the world clean from Jews’ poster at a pro-Palestine rally.
The Pakistan-born Senator has previously voiced her support for Palestine[2] and said the Australian government showing its support for Israel[3] was ‘one colonial country supporting another’.
Senator Faruqi joined hundreds of school students who skipped classes on Friday to gather in front of Town Hall in Sydney[4], with similar events held in Wollongong, Melbourne[5] and Byron Bay[6].
In the photo, Senator Faruqi smiles as she stands with students in front of a placard that appears to call for the eradication of Israel; reading : ‘Keep the world clean’ above a person throwing a garbage bag emblazoned with the Israeli flag into a bin.
The Senator later deleted the post but not before it was quickly shared on X sparking backlash.
‘Imagine her outrage if a pro-Israel senator stood in front of a sign with the a protester putting the Palestinian flag in the bin calling them rubbish,’ one person said.
‘It would be career-ending. But given antisemitism is trending (in life and on twitter[7]), double standards apply.’
The protest was organised by High Schoolers for Palestine and University of Sydney group Students for Palestine.
Senator Faruqi shared this picture in which she posed with students, one holding a placard that appeared to call for the eradication of Israel
Others at the Sydney protest held posters calling for a ceasefire and one appeared to show the Nazi swastika
Students skipped school on Friday to voice their support for the state of Palestine
Education minister Jason Clare urged students to remain in school and focus on their studies if they wanted to positively change the world
Also at the protest one man was arrested and led away by police ‘to prevent a breach of the peace’ after he unfurled an Israeli[8] flag in front of the protesters.
A video from the rally, posted to social media platform TikTok[9], shows students chanting ‘From the river to the sea / Palestine will be free,’ a rallying cry of Palestine supporters.
The camera pans from the students over to a small group of people on the fringe of the rally who clearly support Israel, with the man at the centre of the video standing and brandishing an Israeli flag while he argues with a NSW[10] Police officer.
‘Have you got your body camera on?’ he asks the officer, who repeatedly tries to de-escalate the situation.
‘I’m not putting it down,’ he tells the officer, before the video cuts to a short time later when the group of pro-Palestine students has turned to begin chanting in his direction.
Police and media camera operators can be seen standing between the two groups, before the flag-bearing man begins repeatedly asking the officer ‘Am I under arrest?’
Another officer steps in and forcibly moves the man away from the main protest, before the shot cuts to the man demanding the original officer take his hands off his wrist, as he points in the officer’s face.
A video posted on TikTok shows police confronting a man who unfurled an Israeli flag
The man was led away from the Sydney protest to avoid a ‘breach of the peace’
The man was arrested though police have not confirmed any charges
The man struggles and other officers step in, walking him further away. They can all be seen talking some distance away, while the man tries to film on his phone as the video ends.
‘Around 1.30pm … officers from the Central Metropolitan Region were facilitating a high-visibility operation at a public assembly at Town Hall, to ensure a peaceful demonstration,’ NSW Police said in a statement.
‘Officers observed a man approaching the large group carrying a flag.
‘The 49-year-old was arrested to prevent a breach of the peace and was taken to Day Street Police Station.’
It’s unclear at the time of writing if he’s been charged with any alleged offence.
At the protest in Melbourne a teenager has been quoted sharing her support for terrorist organisation Hamas[11].
In Melbourne, a 16-year-old was quoted as saying Hamas was ‘doing a good job’
Speaking to The Australian[12], the 16-year-old said she believed Hamas was doing a ‘good job’ and said it wasn’t important to ‘stay in school when matters like this really matter’.
‘I think (Hamas) are doing a good job.
I think they should stand up and protect … Palestine,’ she said.
‘After what they’re putting my brothers and sisters through, I don’t think (Israel) should really exist.’
The student, who was not named, was one of about 500 attendees who attended the rally in Melbourne’s CBD on Thursday.
The arrest comes after tense clashes between protesters on both sides of the Middle East conflict and police in recent weeks.
In a similar incident, another man waving an Israeli flag had to be removed by police after a pro-Palestine rally held outside Sydney Opera House in early October, just days after a Hamas raid on Israeli settlements escalated the conflict between the two nations.
Politicians across the divide have also urged students not to skip class ahead of a similar school strike planned in Sydney.
Education Minister Jason Clare said the best way for school students to change the world was ‘go to school’ ahead of the second day of student protests.
He said schoolchildren ‘should be at school in school hours’ and his state and territory counterparts had the same view.
‘The important thing for students is that school is on. If you want to change the world, go to school,’ he told Channel 7.
‘Education is the most powerful cause for good in this world.
That is where you learn.
‘If you want to protest, do it on the weekend.’
His panelmate, Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said social harmony was ‘very important in schools’.
‘I’m very worried about the activists and their influence on schoolkids via social media,’ she said.
‘I am not blaming the kids, there is some poisonous stuff circulating … pushed towards our schoolchildren, and it is causing some of the problems that we are seeing.’
Daily Mail has contacted Senator Faruqi for comment.
References
- ^ Brett Lackey For Daily Mail Australia (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Palestine (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Israel (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Sydney (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Melbourne (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Byron Bay (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ twitter (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Israeli (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ TikTok (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ NSW (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Hamas (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ The Australian (www.theaustralian.com.au)