Content Warning: Palestinian and other First Nations communities, as well as the Jewish community, are advised this piece discusses colonial and state violence and mentions antisemitic language.
Hundreds of people rallied in solidarity with the Palestine Action Group Sydney on Monday, marching from Sydney Town Hall to the Opera House. The action occurred just a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war against Hamas and began a complete siege of Gaza
Palestinian activist Assala Sayara opened the Town Hall gathering with chants as numbers of protesters swelled, “Resistance is justified when Palestine is occupied! Free, free Palestine, free, free Gaza!”
USyd Indigenous Community Engagement Officer Jeremy Heathcote made clear the historical resonance and solidarity between First Nations Peoples and Palestinians. “You see, between us Aboriginal People, and what you [Palestinians] are going through are the same things: dispossession of our land, racist attacks on people, intergenerational trauma we are facing (…) it’s really important we support you as you supported us,” said Heathcote.
Sayara then contextualised Palestinian oppression and the cause for Monday’s action, “Seventy-five years of occupation. Seventy-five years of injustice. Seventy-five years of theft of land. Seventy-five years of demolition of homes. Seventy-five years of innocent lives taken in cold blood (…) In these two days until now, the death toll reached 436 innocent lives taken by the Israeli occupation.”
Organiser and activist Josh Lee criticised the state and federal governments for sympathising with Israel, calling the Opera House’s blue-and-white sails a disgusting, fallacious signal for the world to see. Lee condemned Netanyahu’s announced siege of Gaza as a forthcoming act of genocide, and the Australian government’s unwavering allegiance to Israel.
Jasmine Al Rawi (USyd SRC Global Solidarity Officer) criticised this political–alliance dynamic, stating “our government has always put their own bloody, imperialist interests before human rights. Australia has blood on their hands, the U.S. has blood on their hands, Israel has blood on their hands!”
Justification of Palestinian armed resistance was central to later speeches by Palestinian activist Ahmed Abadla and USyd academic Fahad Ali.
“What’s happening now has been happening for the past seventy-five years, but the world has just woken up to such a reality because there is Israeli blood being spilled in Palestine now. This myth of ‘the army that can never be conquered’ has been crushed by the Palestinian resistance. This war is not just on Gaza, this war is against Palestinians everywhere in historic Palestine,” said Abadla.
Ali emphasised the necessity of violent resistance in the context of Israel’s settler-colonial occupation, stating “if [the Israeli government] will not end the occupation like we’ve been calling for decades, if they’re not going to listen to international law, if they’re not going to listen to the pleading of Palestinians every time we come to these protests, then they cannot act surprised when Palestinians fight back!”
Swarms moved towards Circular Quay chanting for the liberation of Gaza, and in ode to the sanctity of Islam, “Takbir! Allahu akbar!” Onlookers became distracted from their harbourside meals, and mass media news outlets featured reporters speaking into microphones amidst a mobilised crowd. At the Opera House forecourt, steps leading to the sails were guarded by rows of metal fences and organised police. Beside the illuminated sails, Palestinian activists and their allies occupied the forecourt for hours beyond schedule, where the protest turned into a flared celebration of Palestinian resistance. Despite heavy police presence, no arrests were made.
Conservative media outlets have already sensationalised yesterday’s protest as anti-semetic in nature, and of terroristic incitement. This perception has been perpetuated by the Australian federal government. Anthony Albanese spoke on 2GB, saying Palestinian activists ought to have cancelled the action, and needed to “take a step back”. This is in line with Defence Minister Richard Marles’ opinion, claiming Israel to be a liberal democracy which values human rights.
The Palestine Action Group has since released a statement addressing the estimated group of twenty whose anti-semitic chants have been mainstreamed. The Group condemns those who participated in the offensive chants, reiterating that the protest at large did not endorse anti-semetic behaviour. Resistance is directed towards Zionists, whose beliefs are completely separate from Jewish peoples’ which was stated thus:
The Palestine Action Group wrote, “Long-standing Palestinian organisers and activists, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim elders attending the protest were disgusted and deplored by the [separate, anti-semetic] action. This is not what our movement stands for. We oppose Zionism, an ideology distinct from Judaism. (…) We are an anti-racist and anti-colonial movement and we refuse to fight racism with racism.”
A second action is planned to take place on October 15 at 1:00 pm outside Town Hall, organised by the Palestine Action Group.