A 19-year-old man, Nazih Chahine, has been prohibited from visiting Bondi Beach following allegations of making threats against a member of the Jewish community. The incident is particularly sensitive as the victim had lost friends in a recent deadly terrorist attack.
Chahine is accused of directing antisemitic threats toward a female passenger on a flight from Bali. Reports indicate he used his hand to simulate a gun aimed at the woman, which led to his arrest by federal police upon landing at Sydney International Airport.
During a court appearance today, Chahine faced charges of threatening force or violence against members of specific groups. Despite the serious nature of the accusations, the court was informed that he has no history of extremist ideologies.
Details of the incident emerged in court, revealing that tensions escalated when the female passenger expressed an intention to film Chahine as he vaped during the flight. This confrontation reportedly triggered the threatening behavior.
The court was told Chahine had no prior history of extremist beliefs.
The conflict occurred as the female passenger threatened to film Chanine vaping during the flight, the court was told.
“What’s clearly occurring is that there’s a 19-year-old man who’s refusing to accept that he can’t vape on a plane,” defence barrister Ertunc Ozen said.
“It might show a cavalier attitude towards the regulations that pertain to being on a flight, but it doesn’t evince any terrorist intent or extremist ideology.
“The applicant absolutely denies any gun gesture or direct threat towards the complainant.”
Ozen said Chahine mingled among fellow passengers without incident before the flight and was aware that the complainant was Jewish.
“The complainant made it clear not just that she is a person of Jewish faith, but that she has had friends who were victims of the atrocity committed four days ago,” Ozen said.
“These are young men who go out of their way to disavow any support for or empathy for what took place on Bondi Beach.”
He said the incident happened during a time of heightened emotions, but his client posed no threat to the Jewish community.
“He’s a young man who, at the end of a long journey from Bali, says something stupid and frankly, quite distasteful at the worst possible time.
“This is not a hate crime, even if the words were to be proved.”
Chanine was granted bail on strict reporting conditions, including not entering Bondi or Bondi Beach and not going within 100 metres of any Jewish school, cultural centre, or place of worship.
The court refused an application to suppress Chanine’s identity and the charges are set to return to court for mention on December 23.
Law enforcement remains on alert for antisemitic incidents in the aftermath of a terror attack at a Hanukkah event on Bondi Beach.
