Sydney Jew detained for waving Israeli flag at anti-Israel protest

An Australian Jewish man detained outside a Sydney synagogue for waving an Israeli flag at pro-Palestinian protesters decried policing double standards that ignored anti-Israel activists.

Ofir Birenbaum and his wife had arrived at the Sydney Great Synagogue on Wednesday to attend the Technion 100 Years Grand Event and, before entering, waved an Israeli flag at the Stop the War on Palestine protest across the street.

Birenbaum was not only met with cries from anti-Israel protesters calling him a “murderer” but was immediately approached by a visibly angry police commander who castigated the Jewish community member for antagonizing the demonstrators.

“You’re just antagonizing them; [there is] no need to be here,” said the officer in a video recorded by Birenbaum. “You’re just coming here to cause drama.”

Birenbaum was ushered away from the synagogue, detained for breaching the peace, and not allowed to return to the street. Birenbaum demanded to know why the protest was not a breach of the peace, to which the officers said that the activists had permission to hold a rally.

Jew detained outside Sydney's Great Synagogue for having Israeli flagA Sydney Jew and friend of AJA, Ofir Birenbaum was detained by police for having an Israeli flag as he was on his way to attend a Jewish event at Sydney's Great Synagogue.Police said he was being detained… pic.twitter.com/CFVSTW1tSZ

— Australian Jewish Association (@AustralianJA) December 5, 2024

Hate festival monitored by police

The New South Wales Police confirmed in a statement that the anti-Israel protest was, in fact, not authorized.

“The police treated this entire incident as [if] we crashed into their event,” said Birenbaum. “I would never go to their pro-Hamas weekly hate festival and wave an Israeli flag. This was a Jewish and Israeli event which they crashed, unauthorized, and waved their flags.

“One must wonder how come the first protester in front of a synagogue wasn’t detained for breaching the peace. I guess it’s ok to upset Jews, but not hate-filled ‘resistance’ supporters.”

Birenbaum said the result of “keeping the peace” meant that Jews were heckled while in synagogue and had to take security precautions like hiding Jewish symbols while leaving the event.

NSW Police and Birenbaum that a second man, aged 50, had also flown an Israeli flag across from the anti-Israel protest. The second man did not comply with police demands to move and was issued an infringement notice.

The protest by Stop the War on Palestine gathered around 70 people, according to law enforcement.

Protesters called for Australian universities to cut all ties with Technion and for the government to place sanctions on Israel. The activists argued that the Technion has been involved in developing technologies used by the Israeli military and is thereby complicit in a supposed Gaza genocide.

“Holding this event in the synagogue is an attempt to present Technion’s anniversary as a Jewish event. It’s not,” Stop the War on Palestine activist Adam Adelpout said. “Our protest is directed at Technion’s complicity with the Israeli state perpetrating starvation and a genocide in Gaza that has been condemned by the international court.”

The activists also took issue with the guest speakers at the event, which featured a Technion student sharing his experiences as a reservist and writer, David Weinberg, whom they described as an “Israeli war-hawk.”

The Technion event was held, according to the event website, to commemorate 100 years of Technion as a “global leader in scientific innovation and education.”