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Jihad El Cheikh was sitting with his wife sipping his coffee at the food court in Stocklands Merrylands when he was allegedly slapped in the back of the head by an Israeli Defence Force volunteer.
El Cheikh had spotted a man in a pro-Israel shirt in the food court and, after trading some words on the conflict in Palestine, was allegedly slapped and shoved before a crowd intervened.
Since then, El Cheikh, who lives in Merrylands, says he and his family no longer feel safe as Arab-Australians, as Muslims and as supporters of Palestine.
“This kind of happened in our backyard, and we don’t feel safe. We feel that something like this could happen at any time.”
The alleged perpetrator is 53-year-old Russell Campbell, a Merrylands local who was banned from the shopping centre due to the incident.
Footage of the incident posted to social media shows Campbell pushing a man away before being held back as a crowd forms around him.
Police confirmed that on October 9 last year, officers were called to the shopping centre and were notified that he was banned for the incident.
They added that they did not proceed with an investigation as “officers were unable to identify any offences”.
In a separate incident, Campbell was charged with common assault and harassment after he knocked down a man in March.
Police said he allegedly approached a 29-year-old man, who was campaigning to have people sign a pro-Palestine petition, and pushed him in the chest, knocking him down.
In a video of that incident posted to social media, Campbell can also be seen kicking down an A-frame with the Palestinian flag on it. He is also seen wearing a pro-Israel t-shirt.
Police arrested him two days later, and he is due to face court in Parramatta on two charges on May 13.
Campbell volunteered for the IDF between December 2024 and January 2025, taking part in a Sar-El program that organises groups to support military base operations in Israel, his social media reveals.
The Sar-El programs are designed to support the military through non-combat logistics roles, such as packing supplies of field meals, uniforms, medical supplies, and “treats to combat soldiers”.
They also run “cultural programs” in Israel, and provide opportunities for participants to “connect with soldiers”.
Participants work at IDF bases, some near Gaza or Lebanon, for one, two or three weeks. The organisation charges $120 for an application fee and $US190 for one week of the “Israel program”.
The brochure for the program advertises that participants can “assist the IDF with their efforts” and that they would “get the troops ready”.
Russell and Sar-El were both approached for comment.
The twin incidents come amid rising rates of anti-Palestinian racism, captured by a report from the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network.
It tracked anti-Palestinian incidents between November 2025 and February 2026, reporting 264 incidents. Sixty-five per cent of respondents said it was not their first experience of such racism, which they defined as conduct that “silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames, punishes, withholds rights from, or dehumanises Palestinians and/or their narratives”.
Eighty-eight per cent of respondents did not identify as Palestinian, 59 per cent identified as Muslim and 8 per cent of respondents experienced physical violence.
APAN president Nasser Mashni said the report showed anti-Palestinian sentiment was being normalised.
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Mostafa Rachwani is a Parramatta reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald. He was previously the Community Affairs reporter at Guardian Australia.Connect via email.From our partners
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