Sunday, December 10 marked the ninth week of the Palestine Action Group’s Sydney protests against Israeli occupation and genocide of Palestinians.
Organiser Assala Sayara made mention of December 10 as the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ adoption by the United Nations in 1948, the year coinciding with the state of Israel’s creation.
“The year in which my people were displaced,” said Sayara.
Greens MP Jenny Leong criticised the United States’ veto against an immediate humanitarian ceasefire during a UN Security Council meeting invoked by Article 99 by Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Leong also criticised the NSW Labor Government’s continued partnership with BP, and their ignoring of Palestinian Australians call for BDS actions.
“The NSW Government offers nine million dollars in contracts to BP every year,” said Leong. “Until [the government] calls for a permanent ceasefire, we have failed by not pressuring them enough.”
Wongutha-Yamatji writer and performer Meyne Wyatt reminded attendees of the interconnectedness of Indigenous liberation, “Where you stand for the liberation of Palestinians is the same as where you stand for [First Nations Peoples].”
Wyatt also criticised the backlash felt by Sydney Theatre Company actors after gesturing Palestinian solidarity by wearing keffiyehs onstage.
Australian Palestine Advocacy Network President Nasser Mashni reinforced the significance of concentrated BDS strategies, highlighting five main points: to disinvest from Axa; BP, boycott Puma; Sodastream, and to purchase Arabic goods and ingredients from local retailers and manufacturers.
Attendees marched a loop returning to Hyde Park, moving through Market Street, Pitt Street then Bathurst Street.
The demonstrations have sustained a significant presence throughout nine weeks, amid continual increases in Palestinian deaths and injuries and global rallies calling for a ceasefire.
