On the eve of Ramadan I joined a Palestinian, Israeli and a small group of supporters as they disrupted a speech held at the St Kilda Town Hall by right wing Israeli politician Ayalet Shaked.
A quote by Ayalet, "Behind every terrorist stand dozens of men and women, without whom he could not engage in terrorism. They are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs, who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. They should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there. They have to die and their houses should be demolished so that they cannot bear any more terrorists,” Shaked said." Saying the mother's should also be killed and the houses should be destroyed also.
Omar sat at the side passage to the building and continued to yell towards the town hall saying "we exist" as people walked past laughed, told Palestinians to fuck off and surrounded by 10 private security guards who then as he left followed him back to his car.
I watch as they surrounded Omar at his car while he was packing his bag and also myself across the road as I was pack my cameras away and decided that I didn't feel comfortable him standing by himself with his friend as a group of security intimidated him so I headed across the road stay with him til he left.
As I hoped into the car with him to be dropped off down the road you could look at the windows and see the security follow us as far as they could before we left them behind.
To photograph this was somewhat intimidating to me, there has only ever been one other occasion where I didn't feel safe photographing something and that was during an Anti-Vax Rally in Sydney where me and a few others were being pointed out and spoken about by the main speakers as the crowd stared and swore at us.
