After Israel’s invasion into Lebanon, Palestine Action Group took to Miller Street at North Sydney to protest the US consulate and their complicity in funding Israel’s deadly campaign.
Nine police were stationed outside the US consulate, while other constables stood around the corner, and squad cars were parked nearby. Protesters were prohibited from marching through North Sydney and would be arrested by police if done so.
Jasmine Al-Rawi, convenor of Students for Palestine at University of Sydney, led the protest with an evocative call to action, highlighting the USA’s imperialistic connections to Israel and calling them out as “the real terrorists”. Speakers were encouraged to stand on the tattered American flag, looking toward the Consulate’s windows which were boarded-up with wooden panels.
UNSW student activist, Jamie Tyres, addressed “the absolute barbarism aided by the people that the consulate represents, with the help of the Australian Government.” With Israel shifting its aggression toward Lebanon, Tyres declared that there are “no red lines” for allies of American imperialism, criticising Netanyahu’s aims to “see Beirut look like Rafa and Lebanon to look like Gaza.”
Student activist, Yasmina Henry, captivated the crowd with their speech about growing up in Beirut. “A city that on most nights smells like Jasmine,” now tragically “suffocated by the stench of ammonia, burnt flesh and destruction.”
Henry shared her outrage over Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, noting that just two nights ago, Israeli airstrikes struck the central neighbourhood in Beirut, only 10 minutes from her former school, resulting in 22 deaths and 117 injuries.
Henry concluded with an urgent call for mobilisation, to dismantle the “imperialist, capitalist system,” that puts “profit above human lives.”
Students for Palestine advocate, Yoshi Leung, followed with a powerful speech addressing Biden’s hypocrisy.
In the light of recent surges of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton in Florida, Leung highlighted that there were “over 21,000 people” in the path of the hurricanes whose evacuation was not assisted because it was “too expensive.” Meanwhile, the US has sent “$26 billion” to fund Israel’s campaign in the past year.
Leung ignited cheers from the crowd when they declared, “Biden fills the barrel and tells Netanyahu to take his aim.”
Greens Inner West Councillor Izabella Antoniou called for Albanese to end the two way arms deal between Australia and Israel, emphasising that Australia’s place in AUKUS makes us “an extension of the US military system,” that foolishly funds Israel’s “human rights abuses,” amidst the cost of living crisis.
Concluding the protest, Palestine Action Group organiser Josh Lees highlighted the brutality of the American empire and the potential return of Donald Trump after witnessing “four years of what the Democrats have to offer, which is pretty much the same.” With the American empire unleashing “untold misery on untold millions,” he emphasised the need to confront the system to “end wars, challenge the billionaires who hold power, and stop genocide.”
