Hundreds of unionists, activists, and students gathered at Port Botany on the evening of March 24, to answer the call for Boycotts, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) against the Israeli shipping company ZIM’s vessel Ganges docked at Patrick Terminus of Port Botany. The protest was called by the Palestine Justice Movement and Unionists for Palestine to block the 10pm shift change.
ZIM is the largest Israeli shipping company and has been the target of previous actions in Sydney and across the world. The CEO of ZIM stated that the first priority of the company following October last year was to provide for the needs of the “Ministry of Defence and the government of Israel.”
Australia engages in bilateral defence trade with Israel, including $13 million worth of arms and ammunition over the past 5 years.
Dr Mehreen Faruqi & Paul Keating. Credit: Ishbel Dunsmore.
Dr Mehreen Faruqi, Deputy Leader of the Greens, addressed the rally reiterating the dire situation in Palestine and the urgent need to act. She stated that “if our governments fail to stop the genocide, we will act. We will not shy away from using our right to protest.”
Paul Keating, Secretary of the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) Sydney branch affirmed the Union’s support for Palestinian resistance. Keating restated his warning to all shipping companies: “you don’t want protests in the ports, declare that you will not move any Israeli-owned or made goods.”
At the end of Keating’s speech, we marched across Botany and Foreshore Road onto Penrhyn Road to the gates of Patrick Terminus. MUA officials and delegates rushed to the front, proudly holding their union flags, knowing the violence that would befall them.
Sit-in on Penrhyn Road. Credit: Ishbel Dunsmore.
When the police organised and prevented us from marching further, we sat down and linked arms. I was in the front of the crowd handing out bust cards as part of marshalling / welfare duty. Within 15 minutes of doing so, the police “issued” a move-on order.
Legal Observers NSW notes that when a move-on order is given by police, it must mention their name and station, the reason for the order, the area and time period it applies to, that failure to comply is an offence, and that the majority of the crowd is able to hear the order.
I sat in the first few rows. I could not hear the order. If I could not hear the order at the front, no one behind me could either. NSW Police has a history of issuing invalid move-on orders before immediately proceeding to violently arrest protestors, such as at the previous Port Botany action.
The decision was made by the organisers to comply and retreat to the park above Botany Road. However, police began arresting us before most of us were even able to get up. Paul Keating and other union officials were the first to be violently dragged away. The police descended like vultures, picking on those trying to find their footing, those who didn’t link arms with another in time — those they deemed to be prey.
Police barbarism. Credit: Ishbel Dunsmore.
As we slowly moved back arm-in-arm, I watched in horror as 19 comrades were brutally restrained and dragged away. I keep telling myself that there was no other place I could be. The stampede had started, my arms were already linked, the comrade to my left and the comrade to my right needed me. Yet I still cannot shake this feeling of helplessness.
Several members of the police force present on the night wore a “thin blue line” badge. The symbol of a blue line through the flag of so-called Australia is a dog-whistle for fascist and far-right leanings.
Barbarism has a face. We saw it on Penrhyn Road that night.
Once we were corralled back onto the park above Botany Road, the police formed a line at the perimeter with the intent of preventing anyone from stepping back onto the road. Impromptu speeches were heard from various activists and members of the Teachers Federation, the MUA, the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU).
Speakers spoke about how direct action has a tangible effect on the economy of Israel, stressing the importance of disrupting the Israeli war economy and supply chain worldwide. An MUA delegate stated that “Israel could not function [without] every import, every export, every bit of weaponry they are relying on.”
Another speaker emphasised the importance of growing the ranks for future direct action, and that direct action is met with brutality precisely because it has the possibility of causing severe damage to Israel’s war machine.
Had the protest been twice the size, the police would not have been able to move us off Penrhyn Road.
To those that were not there that night, we needed you. Direct action is neither convenient nor safe. Link arms with us so that next time we do not just block the Port for minutes but for hours or days.
If you have any arrest and/or protest footage please send it to Legal Observers NSW at [email protected]
Follow Legal Observers NSW for information on your rights as a protestor and what to do if in custody.
Follow the Palestine Justice Movement and Unionists for Palestine to receive updates on future actions called.