Disrupt Wars, the group that organized the protest, along with countless other demonstrations that have plagued Melbourne over the past 12 months, argued there was no place for Christmas celebrations when children in Gaza were suffering.

The protest organizer, who goes by the pseudonym Amy Settal, found herself in the spotlight after a series of tense interviews with Melbourne radio presenter Tom Elliot on 3AW, where she questioned why Australian children had more rights to enjoy Christmas than the children of Palestine. .

Settal converted to Islam last year, around the same time he began frequenting pro-Palestine rallies alongside thousands of other Melbournians following the escalation of the Israel-Gaza conflict on and after October 7.

Settal does not want her real identity to be made public, saying she is just another “face in the crowd” despite being at the forefront of the latest controversy.

“I am not a public person. I have no interest in being known. I’m just an activist. A face in the crowd,” she said in a statement.

“I dared to do something in my power. Am I sorry for causing public outrage and angering the Prime Minister? Not even a little bit.

“I’m not trying to be famous. Just a soldier on the move. Shouts to all the ‘journalists’ and Nazi cops monitoring my IG account.”

Settal is referring to comments made by Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan ahead of the protest.

The prime minister also called the group “morons” on Friday, inspiring protesters who arrived on Sunday with signs reading “Morons 4 Palestine”.

Despite the department store giant canceling the coveted unveiling event, a handful of pro-Palestinian demonstrators protested outside the store on Sunday as shoppers sought to see the Myer window display.

Settal, who was the first to announce that Disrupt Wars would cancel their protest because “children were never a target,” instead said she stood in solidarity with those who showed up on Sunday with confrontational signs that it read “You look stupid looking out the windows. while children are killed’ and ‘Vic Pol = Nazi’.

Settal revealed to the Daily Mail that she also used the fake name for her personal safety.

“I use a pseudonym for my own safety. My Instagram has been flooded with Islamophobic and violent messages,” Settal told the press.

“There are white men who have publicly tried to find out my identity and location and have made threats of violence and sexual assault.”

The group Disrupt Wars wanted to target the event to “inconvenient those who would rather bury their heads in the capitalist machine than speak out against a genocide.”

Settal has posted numerous clips since the toned-down opening of Myer Windows to her Instagram, which used to feature posts about an indigenous treaty but now focuses almost exclusively on her pro-Palestine message.

In clips from the event, protesters can be heard verbally arguing with members of the public unhappy about the disruption.

One bystander pointed out that there was a “time and a place” to have such conversations, but protesters seemed to intentionally misunderstand him, instead accusing him of implying that “there is a good time and place for genocide”.