A crowd of approximately seventy people gathered outside the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to demand justice and liberation for Palestine. The rally was organised in response to DFAT’s cancellation of visas for Australians in Gaza, and the absence of consular assistance provided to leave Gaza.
Assala Sayara led the rally organised by Palestine Justice Movement, Unionists for Palestine, Families for Palestine, Palestine Action Group Sydney, and other activist organisations. Despite the noisy construction across the street, and the occasional negative commentary from passers-by, the rally went for over an hour with five speakers.
Shula Mit, a representative from Tzedek Collective, a Jewish anti-Zionist and anticolonial group, spoke in opposition to the existence of the Israeli state. “As a Jewish person, occupation does not make me safe, genocide does not make me safe. What will make me safe is solidarity with everyone. Until we are all free none of us are free”.
Raneem Emad, an activist from Palestine Justice Movement, shared the experiences of her family members in Gaza. Emad and Sara Shaweesh, co-founder of Palestinian restaurant Khamsa Eatery, both criticised the Albanese Labor government for cutting funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine (UNRWA) and the halting the granting of visas to Australian citizens in Gaza, the same system that was used successfully for Australians in Ukraine following Russia’s invasion.
Jenny Leong, Greens member for Newtown, began her speech by acknowledging First Nations people and the shared struggle “from Gaza to Gadigal” against colonialism, weapons manufacturing, and genocide. Leong called out both the Labor governments, both federal and state, for complicity in the genocide against the Palestinian people, referencing Chris Minn’s refusal to show public solidarity with the Palestinian and Arab communities in NSW. She also criticised Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s recent hints that the Federal Government is considering recognising Palestinian statehood, calling it a “cynical ploy” and an attempt to ease anger from the community at the government’s response to Israel’s aggression on Palestine.
University students, babies and toddlers, and the elderly were all present at the protest, as was the usual police presence. The rally ended with the promise of continued action for Palestine, with the next protest to be held on Sunday, April 14 at Hyde Park North.
