Weaponizing fear: Sydney incident fuels anti-Palestinian crackdown

The shooting incident in Sydney, Australia, has become a pretext for officials of the Zionist regime to target supporters of Palestine—and even some of its own allies.

According to the regime, even symbolic actions by certain Western countries in recognizing the State of Palestine have led to an increase in what it labels as antisemitism.

Experts believe that the Zionist regime has used the Sydney incident to condemn pro-Palestinian supporters and policies that, according to its claims, encourage antisemitism.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the Prime Minister of the Zionist regime, accused Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of “adding fuel to the fire of antisemitism” due to his support for the establishment of a Palestinian state, claiming that such policies lead to attacks like the Sydney incident.

Since the incident, Zionist officials have repeatedly attempted—through statements and social media posts—to link pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Western countries to the Sydney shooting.

Jillian Segal, Australia’s Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism, has also linked the Sydney incident to pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Sydney.

Experts have condemned this approach, saying that the incident is being used to justify the suppression of Palestinian solidarity movements and the continuation of Islamophobic policies. They argue that the incident is being exploited to divert attention from the actions of the Zionist regime in Gaza.

+972 Magazine wrote: “It is shameful how quickly the right wing has seized upon this incident to advance its Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian agenda; and it is disturbing to see Israeli politicians almost welcoming the opportunity to use the Sydney incident as a political weapon to divert attention from their genocidal assault on Gaza.”

Other figures who support the Zionist regime and its crimes, including Netanyahu, have similarly linked supporters of Palestinian rights to the incident.

Some Western media outlets also attempted, in articles published after the Sydney incident, to associate the attack with grassroots movements supporting Palestine.

However, experts and advocates for Palestinian rights have condemned this framing, saying it amounts to a cynical instrumentalization of the Sydney incident.

A human rights activist commented: “The New York Times suggests that Israeli security requires complicity in permanent occupation, ethnic cleansing, and the genocide of Palestinians. What a profound moral failure.”

Meanwhile, Anthony Loewenstein, a member of the Australian Jewish Council, said in an interview responding to Netanyahu’s claims that he is a disgrace, emphasizing that Zionist officials are linking pro-Palestinian protests to the Sydney incident without any evidence. He added: “This kind of linkage is completely shameful.”