Australian Mosque Protesters Heckle PM Albanese Over Israel Stance

SYDNEY: Protesters heckled and booed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as he visited Australia’s largest mosque for Eid al-Fitr prayers on Friday, voicing their anger at his handling of ally Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

Some in Australia’s Muslim and Jewish communities are angry at the toe-treading of the centre-left government since the start of the Gaza war; He expresses concern for the Palestinians, repeatedly calls for a ceasefire and supports Israel’s right to self-defense.

Video footage shows protesters disrupting the hearing about 15 minutes after Albanese and Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke joined worshipers at the Lakemba Mosque in western Sydney to mark the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

The demonstrators booed and shouted at Albanese and Burke “Get out!” they said. He called them “supporters of genocide”, referring to Israel’s killing of Palestinians in Gaza following an attack by Hamas militants in 2023.

“Dear brothers and sisters, calm down,” one of the organizers told the crowd, urging people to sit down and stop filming the speech. “Today is a holiday. It’s a joyful day.”

A security guard was seen pinning an attacker to the ground before escorting him away.

“Shame on you!” shouted the protesters who followed Albanese and Burke as they left.

Albanese later said that despite the incident, the mosque event was “incredibly positive”.

“If a few people are heckling in a crowd of 30,000 people, that should be considered in that perspective,” he told reporters, adding that the community was dealing with several hecklers.

He added that there was some disappointment that the government this month designated the Islamist group Hizb ut Tahrir as a proscribed hate group, citing legislation sparked by the deadly mass shooting at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on December 14.

Protesters also appeared in February when Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited at Albanese’s invitation to express solidarity with Australian Jews allegedly targeted by Islamic State-inspired gunmen during the Bondi attack.

Thousands of people attended the rally in Sydney, where 27 people were arrested after a clash with police.