Joint ECAJ-NSWBoD statement.

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) in con­junc­tion with the ECAJ will seek to be heard by the NSW Supreme Court as it considers protests planned to end at the Sydney Opera House on Sunday 12 October.

As the recog­nised rep­res­ent­at­ive body for the NSW Jewish community, JBD – supported by their national rep­res­ent­at­ive body the ECAJ – have submitted an amicus brief chal­len­ging the proposed location of the protest.

JBD Chief Executive Officer Michele Goldman said the move comes amid escal­at­ing antisemitism in NSW and follows last week’s dev­ast­at­ing terror attack targeting Jews in a synagogue in Manchester which resulted in the deaths of two wor­ship­pers.

“In the wake of deadly attacks overseas and an alarming rise in antisemitic incidents here at home, we are asking the court to restore the balance between freedom of assembly and freedom from har­ass­ment and hate,” Ms Goldman said.

“For more than two years, weekly anti-Israel rallies have turned our CBD into a no-go zone for Jewish people.”

“But it doesn’t stop there — we know these protests have fuelled real-world antisemitic incite­ment and violence across Sydney.”

“Freedom of assembly must be balanced against the right of all Aus­trali­ans to go about their lives in peace.”

This action follows the notorious protest on the steps of the Opera House on 9 October 2023 just days after the mass atro­cit­ies committed by Hamas in Israel on 7 October when demon­strat­ors chanted “f… the Jews” and “where’s the Jews” among other antisemitic slurs and threats.

“First they used the Opera House to spread their hatred of Jews — even as Israelis were being raped, murdered and taken hostage,” said ECAJ President Daniel Aghion.

“Then they marched across the Harbour Bridge carrying an image of the Iranian dictator who calls for the destruc­tion of Jews.”

“Now they want to return to the Opera House.”

“As the Director General of ASIO noted earlier this year, the cumu­lat­ive effect of these protests has been to create an atmo­sphere of rabid hostility towards the Jewish community and everyone else who rejects the views of the pro­test­ers, as we all have the right to do.”

“The right to protest does not equate to a right to cause maximum dis­rup­tion to the general public. On the contrary it imposes a con­com­it­ant oblig­a­tion on those holding a public assembly to take reas­on­able steps to minimise the dis­rup­tion to the general public.”

“In this case the proposed march directly from Hyde Park to the Opera House, a distance of 1.9 kilo­metres, would occupy the whole of Macquarie Street, a major traffic artery, and restrict public access to Sydney Hospital, Sydney Eye Hospital, the NSW Par­lia­ment and the NSW State Library. It would also shut down the Opera House for a period, and deny the public access to it.”

“The dis­rup­tion to the general public would therefore be excessive, and should be avoided by, at a minimum, re-routing the march.”

“We haven’t taken this step lightly, but the community — Jewish and non-Jewish alike — is exhausted”
“The courts have set a high bar for these cases, but we hope they will recognise the con­sid­er­able weight of evidence we have provided”.

The NSW Supreme Court will consider whether to hear arguments from the nation’s peak Jewish groups at hearings tomorrow morning.