A woman who allegedly verbally abused intimidated a mother and her young daughter at Kmart over their pro-Palestine outfits has spent the night behind bars.
The extraordinary encounter at a Bankstown shopping centre in south-west Sydney, on Friday afternoon saw a woman erupt into a foul-mouthed tirade at the shopper.
Mariam filmed for several seconds before the woman finally unleashed her rage in a torrent of abuse at her and her terrified 10-year-old daughter.
‘Are you proud of wearing ‘From the river to the sea?’,’ the woman roared at the pair, referring to the slogan used extensively by the pro-Palestine movement.
The phrase refers to the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, which includes Israel and which many Palestinians say should be part of Palestine.
‘You are… get f***** Allah,’ the woman’s tirade of abuse continued. ‘Every f****** day. F*** off.’
NSW Police launched an investigation into the incident and following inquiries, arrested a woman, 39, at a home in Parramatta in Sydney’s west on Sunday night.
The woman was charged with one count each of publicly threaten violence on grounds of religion, behave in offensive manner, use offensive language and harassing with the intent of causing fear of physical harm.
A woman (pictured) has been charged over an alleged outburst in Kmart at a mother and daughter over their pro-Palestine shirts
The woman was refused bail to appear in Parramatta Local Court on Monday.
Police made the arrest hours after footage was widely shared on social media platform X captioned: ‘Raging lunatic… aka Zionist Karen’.
In another video posted online, Mariam claimed the woman ‘marched at me, came straight to my face’.
‘She looked like she could do some physical harm because prior to recording the video, she had started throwing boxes at me and my daughter when we were in one of the aisles,’ she said.
‘My daughter was there as well, which was really appalling.’
‘I was just stuck in that position. I did not know what was happening, how to protect my little one, how to deal with this situation.
The footage sparked a rally outside Bankstown Police Station on Sunday, just hours before the woman was arrested, calling on more action amid claims officers didn’t investigate until the following day.
Wearing the same ‘Stand for Palestine’ T-shirt that sparked the alleged incident, Mariam told reporters at the rally that the verbal tirade was just one part of it, claiming that she ‘locked me between her body and the shelves’.
Mariam (pictured) recalled the alleged abuse she and daughter copped in Kmart at a rally outside Bankstown Police Station on Sunday
A woman, 39, will appear in court on Monday charged with a string of offences
Mariam also alleged the woman gestured to her that she would ‘slowly slit my throat’.
She also alleged the woman also ‘stalked’ the vehicle of a prominent Australian Shaykh just two days prior’.
Canterbury Bankstown mayor Bilal El Hayek was among the community leaders to condemn the incident.
‘I have been made aware of and watched footage of a deeply concerning incident at Kmart Bankstown,’ he wrote on Facebook.
‘I want to assure the community that I have spoken with the police, and they are actively investigating the matter.
‘We are committed to ensuring that everyone in Canterbury-Bankstown feels safe and respected.
‘Our city is built on values of diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect.
‘Hate speech and discrimination are never acceptable, and we must all work together to create an environment of kindness and understanding.’
Arab-Australian poet and local Greens federal election candidate Omar Sakr added:
‘We deserve better than the police force that doesn’t bother to show up to the scene of a crime,’ Sakr said.
‘Mariam deserves better than this; our community deserves better than this.’
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Kmart for comment.
