- everything is fine*
- Posts
- 'It’s a bit hot to be wearing that scarf, isn’t it?'
'It’s a bit hot to be wearing that scarf, isn’t it?'
Zionist harassment and intimidation in Sydney's east
Alex McKinnon
March 14, 2024
On Monday, the Australian Jewish News reported that a Jewish artist in Sydney’s east “was left feeling shocked and uncomfortable” after attending Randwick City Council’s recent art exhibition commemorating International Women’s Day.
The artist, named as Lily, said that Randwick Greens councillor Rafaela Pandolfini’s decision to wear a keffiyeh while she emceed the event left her feeling “threatened” and like “the Jewish community is being terrorised”.
“I was shocked and very surprised because, unlike other people, I was naive about the prevalence of anti-Zionism and antisemitism in the arts world,” Lily said.
Lily complained about Pandolfini’s keffiyeh to Randwick mayor Philipa Veitch, who was also in attendance. When Veitch told her she supported Pandolfini’s decision, Lily raised it with Liberal councillor Daniel Rosenfeld, who reported it in turn to Randwick Council general manager Ray Brownlee.
Pandolfini has a very different interpretation of what happened that evening.
“A woman came up to me after my emceeing responsibilities and spoke to me very closely. She said, ‘It’s a bit hot to be wearing that scarf, isn’t it?’” Pandolfini says. “She took out her phone and started following me very closely while filming me, which I found very intimidating.”
After the incident, Pandolfini noticed a spike in people viewing her LinkedIn page, as well as an increase in abusive messages. It wasn’t until several friends contacted her that she discovered that her contact details had been published in a video that has been widely circulated on Australia-based Zionist Instagram pages.
“A Reel was published on lots and lots of pages on Instagram calling me all sorts of names, including a ‘Jew hater’,” Pandolfini says. “It published my contact details — phone number, address, my LinkedIn page, where I work. Everything about me.”
One of the people Pandolfini noticed commenting on the video was Adam Lippmann, a local writer and filmmaker. In November Lippmann messaged Pandolfini’s Instagram page, taking exception to her posts in support of Palestine.
After emails back and forth in which Lippmann rejected Pandolfini’s offer to meet for coffee, Pandolfini terminated the correspondence, deeming it unproductive.
“I’m also aware of your constant messaging of another mutual acquaintance, until they felt the need to block you due to the number of messages and the language being used,” Pandolfini wrote to Lippmann.
A month later, Lippmann was the subject of a profile in the Australian Financial Review. In the article, ‘Why some Australian Jews think they will be safer in Israel’, Lippmann complains about losing friendships over his support for Israel, and claims that people opposed to the Gaza genocide “[consider] the rape, torture and immolation of my people inevitable, or even worthy of celebration”.
“There is no dialogue, no discourse. As soon as you try to question people, you get blocked,” Lippmann says in the article. “It seems I can no longer be anti-Hamas and not expect to be grouped with homophobes, misogynists, white supremacists or colonisers.”
Concerned about the video, Pandolfini reached out to her state and federal representatives, MP for Kingsford-Smith Matt Thistlethwaite and Member for Maroubra Michael Daley. While both men’s offices promised to respond, she says she has heard nothing since.
“I sent it to [Daley and Thistlethwaite], including some really disgusting comments, and asked: am I safe in this area? Are we free to have a Palestinian flag or wear a scarf in solidarity? Or do you consider there to still be an active threat out there in the community?” Pandolfini says.
“Neither of them have written to me, called me, asked me if I’m okay. Nothing.”
Asked for comment, Daley’s office sent the following response:
"Mr Daley responded directly to Cr Pandolfini. The correspondence advises that if Cr Pandolfini feels unsafe she should contact the NSW Police.”
It’s not the first time local Labor politicians have stayed silent as Palestinians and their supporters have been harassed and intimidated in eastern Sydney.
Theo, one of the victims of the Botany car bomb in January, said at the time that Thistlethwaite had personally promised he would make a statement in Parliament “that adequately represents the nature of the crime as a political one specifically targeting supporters of Palestine”.
Four Parliamentary sitting weeks have passed since then, and Thistlethwaite has said nothing.
Since October, Randwick Council has become a centre of conflict not only between residents who support Palestine and those who support Israel, but between councillors themselves.
In December, Labor councillors voted down Pandolfini’s motion asking Randwick Council to call for a permanent ceasefire. A resolution put by Liberal councillors, that passed with Labor support, stated that “Randwick Council does not take a position on international conflicts” and that “discussing this matter inflames community tension”.
Pandolfini cites the example of independent councillor Noel D’Souza. In an email to a resident in December, D’Souza said that “peace will only come when the Arabs will love their children more than they hate the Jews”.
Resident complaints to Randwick Council triggered a review into D’Souza’s comments, which found no need for action.
“They came back and said ‘nothing to see here’,” Pandolfini says.
Last week Pandolfini herself was censured by Randwick Council for publicly criticising Council’s decision in July to end flexible working arrangements for its staff.
“I was charged with ‘discriminating against male executives’,” Pandolfini says. “I earn $25,000 as a councillor, and I think the executives are on four or five hundred thousand a year. That’s the culture.”
“My phone number and personal details have been published online, basically with suggestions for people to come after me. If we’re not telling people that’s not okay — that we are allowed to show solidarity with Palestine and hold our own beliefs as long as we’re not abusing people — then it shows we can’t do these things in public and feel safe.”
Asked for comment, Thistlethwaite’s office sent through the following lines:
“There is no place in our community for hatred and violence.
“The cohesion of our multicultural society is vital and everyone needs to play their part in protecting it.
“We call on all Australians to consider and respect their fellow citizens.”
Fundraiser for Noor Hammad
I’m trying to raise some money for Noor Hammad, a young mum in Rafah who’s trying to get her family to Egypt.
I’ve been speaking to Noor for a couple of months — she’s a nutritionist who gave birth to her daughter in January after fleeing south from Deir al-Balah in October. In November she spoke to the Guardian about being pregnant in Gaza while clinics and hospitals were being bombed. If you’ve got some spare cash it’d do a lot of good going to her and her bub. Link’s below.
Reply