A man who was arrested for wearing a T-shirt saying “fuck Israel, fuck Zionism” at Bondi Beach last year has had all charges quietly withdrawn, and claims the police pursued an unwinnable case amid pressure from the Jewish lobby.
Andrew Brown, a former deputy mayor of Mosman, was charged with two counts of “behaving in offensive manner in/near public place” and one count of “stalk/intimidate intend fear physical harm” in November 2024, and given strict bail conditions banning him from Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
The businessman intended to fight the charges by arguing that they violated his implied right to freedom of political communication under the Constitution, but NSW Police have now abandoned the case, Mr Brown revealed in an interview with Michael West Media.
Mr Brown, who has not received an explanation or apology, now plans to seek costs and damages as a result of the year-long legal battle, and claims a police prosecutor admitted to his barrister there were no prospects of a conviction but was ordered to proceed “regardless of the likely outcome” by the commander of Strike Force Pearl.
But despite knowing there was insufficient evidence to convict Mr Brown, the NSW Attorney-General joined proceedings to defend the charges on constitutional grounds anyway before the case collapsed when Mr Brown fought the charges.
Mr Brown said one of the arresting officers told him police had been ordered to arrest him for the T-shirt rather than acting in response to evidence, and described the case as “nonsense”.
He said he was then privately contacted by former police and the partners of serving and former officers who told him the Waverley Local Area Command was under pressure to cave to demands from the local Jewish community, and one ex-cop claimed he was moved to desk duties and shuffled out of the area after resisting that pressure.
Mr Brown, who attended the pro-Palestine protest on the Sydney Harbour Bridge and has also conducted interviews in a T-shirt saying “anti-Zionism is not anti-Semitism”, said he believes the case was only pursued to force him out of the eastern suburbs and act as a warning to anyone else wishing to protest in the area.
He also told journalist Michael West that he disavowed all violence and terrorism, and condemned the Bondi massacre “without qualification”.
“I want to reiterate my deep sympathy for the victims of the Bondi Beach mass shooting, their families, and everyone traumatised by that horrific event. The violence was senseless and devastating. Nothing I have said or done was ever intended to diminish that tragedy or exploit it in any way. I condemn it entirely,” he said.
Header image: Left, right, Mr Brown in the T-shirt and being arrested (X).
