Antwany Arnold: Pro-Palestine protester vows to fight alleged violence charges following Miznon restaurant incident

A pro-Palestinian activist accused of violence during a protest outside an Israeli restaurant will fight the charges, a court has been told. Antwany Arnold, 50, was charged by police earlier this year with assault, affray, riotous behaviour and criminal damage after allegedly throwing food and chairs outside Miznon on July 4. He appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday as prosecutor Alex Turner said the cases had “not resolved” and should be set down for a contested hearing. Police allege Mr Arnold was among a group of pro-Palestinian protesters that descended on the Hardware Lane venue during the Friday night dinner rush. The father-of-five was allegedly captured on CCTV chanting slogans including “death, death to the IDF”, “out, out, Israel out” and “Israel is a terrorist state” through a speaker in the outdoor dining area. It’s further alleged Mr Arnold knocked over a table and threw two chairs and a cauliflower. The venue was allegedly targeted due to links between a part-owner and the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation — a United States and Israeli-backed organisation tasked with providing food in the war-torn Gaza Strip. Previously, Mr Arnold’s lawyer, Tim Hutton, told a bail application his client’s alleged offending was not motivated by anti-Semitism. “It is the most passionate condemnation of an organisation, the IDF, it is a condemnation of the atrocities and war crimes they’ve committed,” he said. Charges relating to the Miznon protest were set down for a one day contested hearing on March 2 by Magistrate Timothy Bourke, while separate alleged offending was set down for hearing in February. Mr Arnold is further accused of spitting on and threatening to kill a man in April after he was allegedly confronted playing chants from a speaker in the Bourke St Mall. Outside of court, Mr Arnold told reporters he would fight the charges. Asked about the impact the July 4 protest had on diners on Hardware Lane, Mr Arnold questioned “what about the people in Palestine when they, you know, try to get food; the kids get killed”. “Here you make a big fuss … that’s ridiculous, you know what I mean, I can’t believe I got charged with it,” he said. Mr Arnold spent almost two months in custody following his arrest on July 8 before the Victorian Supreme Court granted bail late last month. He described the experience of being in custody as “hell”. Five other people charged over the Miznon protest are expected to appear in court on Thursday. Mr Arnold will return to court next year.