<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/feb/09/nsw-police-pepper-spray-protesters-at-sydney-rally-opposing-isaac-herzogs-visit>
"New South Wales police have pepper-sprayed protesters at a Sydney rally
opposing Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s visit, with a state Labor MP claiming
their actions were “totally over-the-top” and a Greens MP alleging she was
assaulted.
The violent and chaotic scenes came after thousands gathered lawfully near
Sydney’s Town Hall on Monday evening, before attempting to march to state
parliament in defiance of a NSW law passed after the Bondi antisemitic terror
attack that effectively bans protesters from marching in designated areas.
It also followed a NSW supreme court case in which the Palestine Action Group
failed to overturn sweeping powers handed to police for the duration of
Herzog’s visit.
Police said 27 people were arrested and a number of protesters were treated
after being pepper-sprayed. According to police, 10 officers were “assaulted”
but none of those assaults were serious.
Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi, former Australian of the Year Grace Tame, and
Labor backbencher Sarah Kaine were among the high-profile people who addressed
the crowd. Three NSW Labor backbenchers defied the premier to attend the
protest.
But more than an hour after the protest started, organisers and police held
tense conversations, with demonstrators attempting to negotiate with officers
to allow protesters to march.
Police refused to let people march, telling organisers that protesters had to
disperse and could not legally march."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
