Arabic version: ماراثون سيدني يثير احتجاجات على مشاركة جنود إسرائيليين

According to Al Jazeera, hundreds of demonstrators gathered along the Sydney Marathon course to protest the participation of Israeli soldiers. Pro-Palestine activists called on Australia’s government to explain the soldiers’ presence, while protesters waved Palestinian flags and carried signs calling for war criminals to be excluded and for Australia to “cut ties with apartheid Israel”.

The reported delegation comprised 40 soldiers, and Al Jazeera said it verified that at least one Israeli soldier ran and finished the race. The delegation included members of the Israeli army’s Golani Brigade and signal intelligence Unit 8200. Al Jazeera identified Roy Oryon as a delegation member who served as deputy company commander in Golani’s 13th Battalion, which fought in Gaza and has also served in Israel’s advance into southern Lebanon.

Rights organisations and activists had staged online protests before the marathon, urging race organisers and state officials to investigate and potentially prosecute participating soldiers identified by name and military division. The Boycott, Divest, Sanctions movement said Australian authorities had a legal obligation to act, while the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network called for urgent scrutiny of reported Israeli participants.

Questions focused on the Australian Department of Home Affairs’ decision to grant visas. Asked whether the individuals received extra security screening or character checks under Ministerial Direction 110, the department said it could not comment on individual cases for privacy reasons. A spokesperson said all non-citizens must meet identity, health, character and security requirements, and that applications are assessed case by case under migration law.