What was Claimed
A man waving an Israeli flag was the only arrest from the pro-Palestine rally at the Sydney Opera House.
Our Verdict
Misleading. While the flag-waving man was the only arrest on the evening of the event, three others were arrested the following week.
It is being claimed that a man with an Israeli flag was the only person arrested in connection with the October 9 pro-Palestine rally which descended on the Sydney Opera House.
This is misleading. While the flag-waving man was the only person arrested on the evening of the protest, three others were arrested the following week in relation to alleged actions at the protest.
The march took place two days after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Attendees descended on the Sydney Opera House which had been turned blue and white in solidarity with Israel.
The claim appeared in a February 2 Facebook post (archived here) having originally appeared on X (formerly Twitter).
It was posted on the same day NSW Police announced it had found no evidence an offensive anti-Semitic term was chanted at the rally.
“Whatever was chanted on the steps of the Sydney Opera House (F**k the Jews, G*s the Jews, Where’s the Jews) …it was aggressive, targeted, and bang out of order as a response literally two days after the October 7th attack in Israel,” the post states.
“And yet the only arrest, was of a Jewish man carrying an Israel flag.”
NSW Police told AAP FactCheck the man with the Israel flag was one of four rally attendees arrested.
Police told media in the days after the protest that the flag-carrying man had been arrested to prevent a breach of the peace, was removed for his own safety and was later released without charge.
NSW Police told AAP FactCheck three other men were also arrested over their alleged actions at the rally.
The three men - two aged 31 and a 19-year-old - faced court in November 2023 over allegations they assaulted a man at the protest.
The 19-year-old pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault.
One of the other men pleaded guilty to common assault and was given a six-month conditional release order without conviction.
The Verdict
The claim a man waving an Israeli flag was the only person arrested from the pro-Palestine rally at the Sydney Opera House is misleading.
While the flag-waving man was the only arrest on the evening of October 9, three others were arrested the following week.
Police said the man waving the flag was arrested for his safety and to prevent a breach of the peace. He was later released without charge.
Misleading – The claim is accurate in parts but information has also been presented incorrectly, out of context or omitted.
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