{"id":650047,"date":"2026-05-05T00:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T00:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/650047\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T00:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T00:16:10","slug":"sydney-lord-mayor-clover-moore-cancels-globalise-the-intifada-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/650047\/","title":{"rendered":"Sydney lord mayor Clover Moore cancels &#8216;globalise the intifada&#8217; event"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A pro-<a href=\"https:\/\/www.9news.com.au\/palestine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Palestine\">Palestine<\/a> forum set to take place in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.9news.com.au\/sydney\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Sydney\">Sydney<\/a> council building has been cancelled by Lord Mayor Clover Moore.<\/p>\n<p>The event, called &#8220;Why is it right to say Globalise the Intifada&#8221;, was set to be held at the East Sydney Community Arts Centre tonight, and was organised by the Stop The War on Palestine group.<\/p>\n<p>However, Sydney&#8217;s lord mayor has issued an eleventh-hour order to the city&#8217;s chief executive to cancel the event due to fears it could cause unrest in Sydney.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/064a4081-116d-44fa-817b-1d7ff9cd614c.jpeg\"   alt=\"Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, said she feared the event would create hostility and fear at a fragile moment in Sydney.\"\/>Lord Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, said she feared the event would create hostility and fear at a fragile moment in Sydney. (Rhett Wyman)<\/p>\n<p>In a statement, she said events couldn&#8217;t contribute to &#8220;hostility and fear&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I have long supported the principles of peaceful assembly, protest and freedom of speech. However, these rights must always be balanced with a responsibility to ensure public safety and respect for all members of our diverse community,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>She claimed a media campaign has sought to stoke division based on the event, which could lead to heightened tensions, especially as the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.9news.com.au\/national\/antisemitism-royal-commission-daughter-of-bondi-beach-terror-attack-victim-hopes-for-social-cohesion-as-royal-commission-public-hearings-begin\/de716be3-45ed-44d3-91e8-d33e5194eb30\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Royal Commission into Antisemitism\">Royal Commission into Antisemitism<\/a> begins this week.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;In recent weeks, we have seen a persistent media campaign by the Murdoch press against this event,&#8217; she claimed.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The coverage has exploited trauma, painting complex issues in black and white and, in bad faith, demanded our communities take sides.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/2b15e111-cf59-44b5-ae6e-8b269b39f4c1.jpeg\"   alt=\"SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - AUGUST 03: People, including Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and Craig Foster, march across the Harbour Bridge during a pro-Palestinian rally on August 03, 2025 in Sydney, Australia. Protesters in Sydney and Melbourne joined marches and actions globally, as pressure mounts on the Israeli government over a devastating humanitarian crisis unfolding as its war against Hamas continues. (Photo by Lisa Maree Williams\/Getty Images)\"\/>Colver Moore, fourth from left holding the banner, taking part in a pro-Palestine march across Sydney Harbour Bridge last year. (Getty)She insisted she supports the right to free protest, mentioning she participated in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.9news.com.au\/national\/pro-palestine-protest-to-shut-down-sydney-harbour-bridge-today-strong-police-presence-across-sydney-melbourne\/c8b94bbf-e177-4b15-a9cd-cd6dd06a42c4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"pro-Palestine march\">pro-Palestine march<\/a> across Sydney Harbour Bridge last year, and also accepted there had been rises in multiple forms of discrimination against multiple groups.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The impact of violence in the Middle East has left many hurting and afraid,&#8221; she said.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Families have lost loved ones. Antisemitism, lslamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism has risen. Unthinkable evil terrorised Bondi.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>She also claimed some media reporting looked to conflate any anti-war protest with being a criticism of Israel, which she denied.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/https:\/\/prod.static9.net.au\/fs\/684b341a-eddd-42fa-beae-5692ec2c4dd1.jpeg\"   alt=\"\"\/>Members of NSW Police clash with rally participants at Town Hall in February. (Getty)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Protesting the war is legitimate, and in no way affects my deep sympathy, solidarity and concern for Jewish communities,&#8221; Moore said.<\/p>\n<p>Pro-Palestine protests have been a source of controversy in Sydney, with several people being arrested by police after a demonstration outside Town Hall in February during the visit of Israel&#8217;s president, Isaac Herzog.<\/p>\n<p>This came after Premier Chris Minns passed special temporary laws to limit protests in the aftermath of the Bondi shooting and increase police powers to act during protests.<\/p>\n<p>The laws were later ruled unconstitutional by the NSW High Court.<\/p>\n<p>NEVER MISS A STORY: Get your breaking news and exclusive stories first by following us across all platforms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A pro-Palestine forum set to take place in a Sydney council building has been cancelled by Lord Mayor&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":650048,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-650047","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650047","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=650047"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/650047\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/650048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=650047"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=650047"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=650047"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}