(Nicola Smith’s post from the FINANCIAL REVIEW on 11 February 2026.)
NSW
Police blasted over treatment of praying protesters at rally: New South Wales
police crossed a red line when they forcefully disrupted Muslims praying on the
street during a protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog, says
Australia’s special envoy to combat Islamophobia.
Envoy Aftab Malik has demanded an apology for the police treatment of praying protesters, saying it was “simply unacceptable”. A decision by the Albanese government to invite Herzog this week to console the Jewish community in the aftermath of the Bondi attack prompted nationwide demonstrations against the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza and angry confrontations with the police on Monday night.
In one widely shared incident, NSW Police appeared to repeatedly punch an unarmed man showing officers his hands and in another, a group of Muslim men kneeling in prayer outside the Town Hall were roughly moved on by officers.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said there was “no suggestion under any circumstances that police would have wanted to cause offence to the people praying or get in the way of people lawfully exercising their religion”.



