Shayne Chester: The Artist Who Wants to ‘Wash Zionist Filth’ From Australia

Meet Shayne Chester:

A Sydney based oil painter, Chester is an Islamic convert who has not surprisingly taken on antisemitism and Israel-hatred as part of his beliefs.

Beliefs that earned him a visit from the NSW police for a highly troubling tweet last year:

A Sydney artist has been visited by NSW Police over pro-Palestine social media posts – which included a line “You’re lucky no one left a petrol bomb at your family home” to a Jewish community leader.

Oil painter Shayne Chester, an Islamic convert from Waterloo, had police seize his mobile phone, computer and laptop last week under a digital evidence access order after his public post on X, formerly Twitter.

Mr Chester, a 69-year-old disability pensioner, described the action as “weaponizing the police to terrorise citizens”.

He said his mention of the petrol bomb in the tweet was in relation to comment a few days earlier by NSW Greens politician David Shoebridge – who had publicly questioning the role of the police in the case of a “petrol filled bomb” being placed on a Palestinian supporter’s car at Botany.

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Two days later officers from Kings Cross police station visited Mr Chester, who studied at the National Art School and offers his paintings online at Saatchi Art, and quizzed him about his social media posts.

The police Form 35 order from March 28 states that the digital order on Mr Chester will expire on April 10.

“About 4pm on Thursday (28 March 2024), officers attached to Kings Cross Police Area Command, executed a search warrant on a property at Cooper Street, Waterloo,” NSW Police Media said in a statement.

“During the search, police seized a mobile phone, computer and laptop.

“Inquiries into the matter are ongoing.”

Mr Chester said he was asked about his tweet by police.

“I am mystified why 12 top cops thought such an extraordinary action was necessary against a 69 year-old disability pensioner on the basis of a simple opinion expressed on Twitter of which they did not seem to understand its meaning or context,” he said.

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Mr Chester said his tweet was comparing Mr Ryvchin’s “outrage and legal action at two Imams” with an alleged “lack of outrage at the case of Theo in Botany, who found a bomb on his car, and fought for eight weeks to get it investigated”.

Australian Jewish Association’s chief executive Robert Gregory said Mr Chester’s post had “targeted the Jewish community”.

As you can see, Chester played the victim, claiming his tweet was misunderstood and was not meant to be construed as him targeting the Jewish community.

I look forward to Chester explaining this recent Facebook post from before yesterday’s Sydney Harbour Bridge protest:

Curious minds want to know what he means by “a rising tide that washes the Zionist filth out of this country.”

Or what the “bitter retribution” he speaks of in the following post, alongside photos of prominent Australian Jews and allies (including Alex Rychin, the subject of his petrol bomb tweet):

I mean, I am not exactly feeling the “I don’t mean violence” vibes from the guy who also writes “we are a global intifada”:

I think the NSW Police need to be paying Shayne Chester another visit. I see this less a misunderstood metaphor from a pensioner with a paintbrush and more like a real threat of violence.