Supreme Court strikes down laws against protests at places of worship

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies (JBD) has expressed deep disappointment after the NSW Supreme Court struck down laws restricting protests near places of worship, with the NSW Government now considering an appeal.

The Australian reported on Thursday morning that Supreme Court judge Anna Mitchelmore ruled the six-month-old law “impermissibly burdens the implied constitutional freedom of communication on government or political matters and is invalid”.

JBD CEO Michele Goldman said the decision was “deeply disappointing” and “puts at risk the right of all people in NSW to practice their faith freely and safely”.

“Places of worship are sacred. They are places of safety, refuge and comfort, and they deserve to be protected,” she said.

“We are grateful that this judgment appears to be limited to ‘move on’ powers, not the offence of intimidating or threatening an individual seeking to access their place of worship,” she continued.

“Scenes like those that unfolded outside The Great Synagogue in 2024 are an anathema to the multicultural, multi-faith state we all cherish. They must never be repeated.”

Goldman noted that even with a ceasefire in Gaza, “Protestors have made clear their intention to continue making our cities no-go zones for Jews.

“It is profoundly troubling that demonstrators have fought to protect their right to target places of worship.”

The Palestine Action Group successfully challenged the amendments to the protest laws, with organiser Josh Lees declaring victory against what he called a “whipped up and manipulated” antisemitism crisis.

According to The Australian, Justice Mitchelmore argued in her judgment that the protest laws were “not necessary” because amendments to the Crimes Act passed at the same time achieved the same purpose without infringing on protesters. Those laws remain in place and were not subject to challenge in the courts.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin also expressed disappointment in an interview with 2GB radio.

“Once again, we’ve seen the most extreme and obnoxious and dangerous in our society put above the interest and the welfare of the rest of us,” he said.

“It’s not merely this one decision and protesting outside synagogues which is absurd, but there’s the cost issue, there’s the fact they’re able to take over the Harbour Bridge. There’s a much deeper issue with these protests, what they’re doing to our state and how they’re bankrupting us as well, diverting police resources.

“They will always maintain they’re not antisemitic, and yet they just went to court to fight for the right to protest outside synagogues, outside non-political Jewish venues.”

According to The Australian, NSW Premier Chris Minns said the court decision “does not mean there is free rein outside places of worship”.

“Although the Supreme Court has determined that a police power to ‘move on’ persons engaging in obstructing, harassing and other conduct as part of a public assembly outside places of worship is invalid, the decision has no impact on the offence introduced recently in the NSW Government’s places of worship laws that make it a crime to impede, harass, intimidate or threaten a person accessing a place of worship,” he said.

Sky News journalist Sharri Markson reported on X that the NSW Government and NSW Police will review whether to launch an appeal against the decision. The Minns Government will also consider whether to legislate to account for the Supreme Court decision.

The laws were passed in February following the discovery of a caravan in Dural loaded with mining explosives alongside a note listing synagogues to be targeted. It was later revealed to be what authorities called a criminal “con job” leveraged by organised crime figures.

However, alleged mastermind Sayet Erhan Akca, 35, reportedly posted a series of antisemitic and anti-Israel slurs over many years. In one post he claimed, “Hitler was only washing earth, they made him out to be evil.” In 2018 he posted, “How did 6 million die when only 3.2 registered Jews in Europe at the time?”

Ryvchin previously said the revelation that the alleged mastermind has “a long history of extreme antisemitic views does not surprise our community in the least”.

“But it has exposed dangerous failings by authorities, political leaders and public figures who chose to characterise the firebombings that hit Jewish targets as a hoax or con-job unconnected to antisemitic ideology and to do so before the investigation had been concluded. This was reckless and irresponsible,” he said.