A NSW Greens councilor has been accused of politicizing an Anzac Day dawn service after turning up with a traditional pro-Palestinian Arab hairstyle.
Rafaela Pandolfini left a bouquet of flowers at a moving service in Coogee, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, on Thursday morning while wearing a keffiyeh.
The keffiyeh has recently become a symbol of support for Palestine in the context of the conflict in the Middle East.
Many people on social media targeted Ms Pandolfini over her fashion choice, including the Australian Jewish Association.
“Disappointed that a Randwick Greens councilor couldn’t help herself and had to politicize the Coogee dawn service by wearing one of the kaffiyehs worn by radical protesters and terrorists,” the organization said on X.
Another commented: “It would be a huge insult to the Anzacs and the Light Horse.”
NSW Greens councilor Rafaela Pandolfini (pictured left) was criticized after wearing an Arabic keffiyeh while honoring fallen Anzacs.
Ms Pandolfini wore the traditional headdress during a dawn service in Coogee on Anzac Day. The keffiyeh has recently become a symbol of support for Palestine
This is not the first time that Ms. Pandolfini has chosen to wear this pro-Palestinian piece.
In March last year, she wore a keffiyeh to Randwick City Council’s women’s art exhibition – leaving a local Jewish artist “shocked” and feeling “threatened”.
ADVANCE executive director Matthew Sheahan told Daily Mail Australia that Anzac Day should be “off limits to the Greens and their hardcore political activism”.
“Wearing the keffiyeh during our most sacred ceremony was a deliberate act aimed at striking at the heart of what unites our country,” he said.
“It is an insult to all the men and women who have served in the defense of our nation.
“The truth is that the Greens view even our most sacred day as just another political opportunity to impose their unwanted ideas on ordinary Australians.
“This councillor, and anyone wearing a keffiyeh, should be banned from Anzac Day ceremonies.”
The memory of Anzac dates back more than a century in the State of Israel.
An Anzac memorial dedicated to Australian and New Zealand soldiers killed in Palestine during the First and Second Battles of Gaza (1917) during World War I is located in the Negev in southern Israel.
In 2018, the forest surrounding the monument was severely damaged by an incendiary kite sent by Hamas from the Gaza Strip.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Pandolfini for comment.
The advisor (photo second from left) posted this photo on her Instagram account Thursday morning.
It comes as activist groups plan to camp out at the University of Melbourne on Anzac Day while demanding the institution “cut all gun ties” and “stop accepting money from blood “.
It is also believed the groups could demonstrate at other venues in Melbourne’s CBD on Thursday.
Writing on social media, the Unimelb for Palestine group wrote: “Support the encampment, Anzac Day Our Way. Solidarity with Gaza.
The protesters will also call on the university to condemn what it sees as “the Zionist regime’s systematic destruction of all universities in Gaza and the targeted killing of Palestinian academics and students.”
RSL Victoria president Dr Robert Webster told the Herald Sun the planned Anzac Day protests were “disrespectful”.
“I have no problem with them organizing peaceful protests, but that implies the right to respect for others. They choose to disrespect the veterans of this country who consider (Thursday) our national holiday, that to me is the problem,” he said.
Dr Webster said he wanted to make sure dawn services and Anzac marches were safe for everyone, and he fears protests could upset veterans if they interrupt “their day” .
Similarly, Vietnam Veterans Association of Australia president Bob Elworthy believes the national holiday should be “left alone”.
“Anzac Day is not about glorifying war, we are honoring those who put themselves in danger so people can protest,” he told the newspaper.
Mr Elworthy said although people have the right to protest, he failed to respect them by doing so on April 25.
Veterans say planned pro-Palestinian protests on Anzac Day are ‘disrespectful’ (People pictured attending dawn service in Newcastle on Thursday morning)
The University of Melbourne will hold an Anzac Day protest to demand the university stop accepting ‘blood money’ (pictured are pro-Palestinian protesters who gathered on Sunday)
Senior lecturer Nicola Phillips from the University of Melbourne said she knew a small group of students would be protesting at its Parkville campus.
She said the university does not support the expression of free speech if it prevents people from “fully participating in the university.”
However, she said free speech is valued at the university.
Victoria Police said they were aware of at least three protests planned in Melbourne on Thursday and had increased patrols in several locations, including the University of Melbourne in Parkville.
Teachers and school staff in Palestine Victoria, who are the organizers of some of the protests, have said they will not disrupt any Anzac Day services.
dailymail us
