Surveillance video showed an individual wearing a dark hoodie wield a small sledgehammer against the reinforced glass windows of the U.S. Consulate in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, around 3:00 a.m. Monday.
In addition, two upside-down red triangles were apparently spray-painted on the building’s front, The Associated Press reported.
Those red triangles are “seen by some as a symbol of Palestinian resistance but by others as supporting the militant group Hamas,” the AP noted.
The North Sydney consulate was the first American Foreign Service post in Australia, dating back to 1836, according to the U.S. State Department.
The consulate was closed on Monday anyway because of a holiday in New South Wales, the AP said. June 10 is the official date for the celebration of the King’s Birthday in 2024.
The facility was expected to reopen as normal on Tuesday, according to the outlet.
It wasn’t the first time that the consulate had been disfigured by pro-Hamas protesters.
“The consulate was sprayed with graffiti in April, including the words ‘Freee (sic) Gaza,’” the AP reported. “The U.S. Consulate in Melbourne was vandalized by pro-Palestinian activists on May 31.”
Australia’s prime minister called for a return to “respectful politican debate and discourse,” according to the AP.
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“People are traumatized by what is going on in the Middle East, particularly those with relatives in either Israel or in the Palestinian Occupied Territories,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said during a news conference, the outlet reported.
“And I just say, again, reiterate my call to turn the heat down and measures such as painting the U.S. consulate do nothing to advance the cause of those who have committed what is, of course, a crime to damage property,” he added.
The state’s premier agreed, saying that most Australians disapprove of vandalism.
“We can make our point in this country without resorting to violence or malicious behavior,” New South Wales Premier Chris Minns told the AP.
“A gunman opened fire last week at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, though his motive was not immediately clear,” the outlet reported.
Australia’s Sky News noted that several Australian government offices had been vandalized recently.
“It came after a recent spate of vandalism targeting government MPs, including Energy Minister Chris Bowen’s office in West Fairfield and Premier Chris Minns’ Kogarah office, each spraypainted with the word ‘murderer’ in an apparent protest against the war in Gaza,” Sky News reported.
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George Upper is the former Editor-in-Chief of The Western Journal and was a weekly co-host of “WJ Live,” powered by The Western Journal. He is currently a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. A former U.S. Army special operator, teacher and consultant, he is a lifetime member of the NRA and an active volunteer leader in his church. Born in Foxborough, Massachusetts, he has lived most of his life in central North Carolina.
George Upper, is the former editor-in-chief of The Western Journal and is now a contributing editor in the areas of faith, politics and culture. He currently serves as the connections pastor at Awestruck Church in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a former U.S. Army special operator, teacher, manager and consultant. Born in Massachusetts, he graduated from Foxborough High School before joining the Army and spending most of the next three years at Fort Bragg. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English as well as a Master’s in Business Administration, all from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He and his wife life only a short drive from his three children, their spouses and his grandchildren. He is a lifetime member of the NRA and in his spare time he shoots, reads a lot of Lawrence Block and John D. MacDonald, and watches Bruce Campbell movies. He is a fan of individual freedom, Tommy Bahama, fine-point G-2 pens and the Oxford comma.
