Australian Prime Minister heckled at mosque, labeled ‘putrid dog’ by demonstrators

(SeaPRwire) –   Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was escorted out of the nation’s largest mosque on Friday as attending Muslims expressed anger over his position on Israel’s war with Hamas. 

The Telegraph reported that Albanese was labeled with several insults, such as “putrid dog” and “genocide supporter,” in connection to Palestinian deaths in Gaza following Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. 

Video footage captured the prime minister standing with Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke at Sydney’s Lakemba Mosque during the community’s Eid celebrations, which mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan.

“Why is he here? Get him out!” some people yelled. 

Albanese and his Left Labor government have faced criticism for their backing of a Gaza ceasefire and Israel’s right to self-defense. 

Amid the disturbance, Gamel Kheir, the mosque’s secretary, begged for calm. 

“Respect this space,” he stated. “We need to engage in honest, open dialogue with our political leaders instead of avoiding them and being isolationist.”

“You called him honorable—he’s responsible for the deaths of a million people, a million of our brothers and sisters,” one individual reportedly yelled. 

Security escorted Albanese to an office inside the mosque before moving him out of the building and into his motorcade. 

As he departed, chants of “shame on you” and the slur “Alba-tizi”—a derogatory Arabic twist on his last name that refers to buttocks—were yelled. 

“He wants to come here after shaking hands with Israel’s president, who has blood on his hands,” said a person who confronted the prime minister. “To show up here and act like nothing’s wrong is a disgrace.”

Albanese shared photos on X of himself smiling and shaking hands with attendees.

“By and large, the reception was extremely positive,” he told reporters about his visit. “I walked through the crowd to the mosque, and no one heckled me. There were a few hecklers inside—they were handled.”

“Contrary to what’s been claimed, no one was hurried out,” he added. “We just stayed there. … The community itself handled it because most people didn’t want that to happen.”