NSW police have charged a woman with intimidation offences after she allegedly verbally abused a Muslim woman who was wearing a T-shirt with a pro-Palestinian message.
The incident allegedly occurred at a Kmart store in Bankstown in Sydney’s south-west on Friday.
In footage of the alleged incident that has been widely shared online, a woman is seen walking towards the camera and showing the middle finger, before asking: “Are you proud of wearing ‘From the river to the sea?'”
Those words were written on the back of the T-shirt of the person filming the incident, who has been identified as Mariam.
The phrase is considered by some Jewish communities as a call for the destruction of Israel, while .
The woman then says, “You are, get f—d Allah (God in Arabic). Every f—ing day. F–k off,” before she walks away.
Mariam said she had reported the incident to Bankstown police, who told her they would send officers to the store. She said three hours later, they had not arrived, and she had not received a phone call from them for 24 hours.
In a statement late on Sunday, police said they launched an investigation after reports a woman was allegedly “verbally abused and intimidated at a shopping centre in Bankstown”.
The 39-year-old suspect was arrested at a home in Parramatta on Sunday evening before being taken to a police station.
There, she was charged with publicly threatening violence on the grounds of religion, behaving in an offensive manner, using offensive language and stalking/intimidating intending fear or physical harm.
She was refused bail and will appear before Parramatta Local Court on Monday.
Mariam (pictured) said she had been shopping with her daughter when the woman who has since been charged verbally abused her. Source: Instagram / @azznewz
Earlier on Sunday, NSW Police confirmed an investigation was underway and said officers had tried to make contact with Mariam but had been unable to obtain a formal statement.
During a snap rally at Bankstown police station on Sunday morning, a small group of Mariam’s supporters condemned what they said was an Islamophobic attack and criticised “inaction” from police.
Mariam said during the rally that she didn’t provide a statement to police when they contacted her because she and her daughter had “decided to look after” themselves.
