Assala Sayara

Sydney pro-Palestine activist and rally organiser · Sydney, Australia
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Assala Sayara is a Sydney-based pro-Palestine activist. The Age reported that she helped organise the pro-Palestinian protest at the Sydney Opera House on 9 October 2023, two days after the 7 October Hamas attack on Israel, a protest "marred by some attendees' antisemitic chants". A widely circulated claim that the rally included chants of "gas the Jews" has been confirmed false; the recorded chants that night included "where's the Jews" and "f*** the Jews".

The 9 October 2023 protest gathered at Sydney Town Hall before marching to the Opera House. Speaking to the crowd at Town Hall, she said in footage aired by Sky News Australia ("New footage of Opera House protest", captioned "Assala Sayara | Palestine Action Group"): "So to anyone who comes out with an argument that says Hamas is a terrorist organisation, let me tell you that it is internationally recognised that we Palestinians, as Hamas, have a right to resist." In the same speech she said: "Hamas practise anti-colonialism." PAG organiser Josh Lees spoke straight after her: "We're on the side of the Palestinians, not just when they're victims and are being massacred. But we're also on the side of the Palestinians when they fight back."

In December 2024 she marched at a rally in Jordan marking the 37th anniversary of Hamas's founding. The Age (Paul Sakkal, 2 March 2025) reported that videos of the event, and her own Instagram page, showed her next to demonstrators holding photographs of Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar and Ahmed Yassin. "Sayara was not holding such material; she held a Palestinian flag, chanted with the crowd, and spoke to others alongside her." The Age reported that clips on her Instagram account appeared to be deleted after it asked questions. News24 reported that she was filmed echoing chants of "no division and no Judaisation" and responding "Allahu Akbar" to a call for "takbir" made in Sinwar's name.

The Age noted that she was a keynote speaker at the November 2024 launch of The Muslim Vote, in which she holds no formal position, and stated: "There is no suggestion that Sayara ... supports terrorist violence, only that she attended a rally for an organisation that does." Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson told The Age: "Hamas is a listed terrorist organisation, and associating with it is a serious crime."

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