Rabbi Feldman interviewed about being removed from an anti-Israel protest in Sydney, Australia
(Video: Sky News)
Rabbi Osher Feldman from Sydney was forcibly removed from an anti-Israel protest this week, during which demonstrators praised Hamas and the October 7 massacre last year.
Footage aired on local television showed Rabbi Feldman, holding an Australian flag, being dragged away by police.
2 View gallery
Rabbi Feldman removed from an anti-Israel protest in Sydney, Australia
(Photo: Sky News screenshot)
In an interview with Sky News Australia, Rabbi Feldman expressed outrage over the incident. "The police didn't ask me to leave; they simply dragged me away like a dog. I would have left if they had asked me to leave. They dragged me like an animal, and when my kippah fell off during the removal, I asked them to pick it up, but they refused."
Feldman, a fourth-generation Australian, condemned the treatment and questioned whether it would have been the same if he had represented a different cause. "Imagine if I were Indian or Sikh; they wouldn't have acted this way. Had I been holding a Hamas or Hezbollah flag instead of an Australian flag, I wouldn’t have been removed. Where has the Australia I know gone? This isn't the Australia I grew up with," he said.
"I am a proud Jew, and this is simply shameful and disgraceful. We have freedom of speech, and people can support or oppose Israel, but if you protest against Israel on October 7, you are no peace activists; you are trampling on the bodies of those murdered in Israel, and I, along with all reasonable people, am disgusted by such behavior."
Meanwhile, about 60 people gathered in Sydney on Sunday to honor nearly 1,200 victims. David Ossip, President of the Jewish Board of Deputies, described October 7 as a "day of evil." "It was a day when evil truly walked this earth," he said. "The events of October 7 were personal; the victims were our family and friends. They are not mere numbers or statistics; each of these people was a beloved person."
The protest took place just a day before a gathering of around 60 people in Sydney to honor the nearly 1,200 victims of the October 7 massacre. David Ossip, president of the Jewish Board of Deputies, referred to the day as "a day of evil."
"It was a day when evil truly walked this earth," he said. "The events of October 7 were personal; the victims were our family and friends. They are not mere numbers or statistics; each of these people was a beloved person."