On 9 October 2023, two days after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, a rally was held on the steps of the Sydney Opera House in an attempt to prevent Jews from gathering in solidarity to mourn the massacres carried out by Hamas. NSW Police advised the Jewish community not to attend the CBD out of fear for their safety.
On Friday 2 February, NSW Police said that, as a result of forensic analysis of the audio-visual files, it found no evidence that the phrase ‘gas the Jews’ was chanted at this rally.
Let us be clear – no matter the findings of NSW Police with respect to whether “gas the Jews” was in fact chanted, “fuck the Jews” and “where are the Jews” were chanted at this same rally.
While numerous eyewitnesses heard the crowd chant ‘gas the Jews’ (and signed statutory declarations to that effect), we understand and respect the difficult position police forces across the nation are finding themselves in on a daily basis as our community is confronted by hundreds of acts of antisemitism and threats of violence. We note that several independent sources including Sky News have confirmed that the footage had not been edited or doctored, and NSW Police has not claimed the video was edited or doctored.
ZFA President Jeremy Leibler said, “The crowd at the Sydney Opera House were reveling in the massacre of Hamas on October 7, and spewing revolting antisemitism – including chanting ‘fuck the Jews’ and ‘where’s the Jews’. This vile rally was purposefully designed to prevent the Sydney Jewish community from gathering in mourning and solidarity.”
