On Sunday 6th of April, Palestine Action Group (PAG) gathered in the streets of the CBD in protest after Western politicians failed to respond to calls for humanitarian aid and a permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
The rally was held after Israel broke the ceasefire deal on the 18th of March, and continues to bomb civilians in ‘safe zones’, including Rafah.
PAG co-chair Josh Lees began the protest with an Acknowledgement of Country and drew connections between the unceded land ownership of Indigenous Australians and the Palestinians in Gaza. He led a series of chants to demand the ultimate withdrawal of Israeli military out of occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Syria.
Lees also spoke out against the impunity of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump, and the complicity of Western leaders, including Australian PM Anthony Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton.
“This is not just a genocide perpetrated by the leaders in Tel Aviv, but a genocide perpetrated from Washington, Canberra, Berlin, Paris, London, and the capitals of the Arab world who continue to support Israel’s barbarism,” Lees said.
“Hope lies in people’s power,” said Lees as he introduced the first speaker of the rally.
Ethan Floyd, USYD’s very own, leader of the 2024 Student Encampments, Wiradjuri man and activist.
“What’s happening in Gaza is not a conflict, it is not self-defence, it is a calculated campaign of annihilation carried out on an industrial scale,” Floyd said.
He describes the ongoing Israeli military campaign as “collective punishment on the population of Gaza”, and draws upon his own identity and channels the crowd’s collective outrage against the marginalisation of minority communities.
“We all come from communities that know what it means to be dispossessed… your land stolen, brutalised, and turned into a symbol or a threat and never to be seen as fully human.”
Floyd’s speech captivates his audience as he moves to speak about the upcoming Australian Federal Elections to take place next month. He holds majority parties to account for “there is a price to pay for their complicity… [which] they will pay come May 3rd”.
“We refuse to live in a world where genocide is dressed up as geopolitics and genocide is shrugged off as a complicated issue.”
“This is the generation of intifada. This is the generation of liberation,” said Floyd, before leading the crowd in chants for a “Free Palestine”.
Denise from Healthcare Workers for Palestine is the second speaker of the rally. As a Lebanese-Australian healthcare worker, she pledges to remain steadfast alongside the First Nations community in Australia towards the global “fight for justice and truth telling”.
“I feel sick to my stomach… watching the criminal attacks by the Israeli occupation on the healthcare system in Gaza,” said Denise. “The IDF has carried out at least 670 attacks on healthcare services and facilities since October 7. At least 1200 healthcare workers have been murdered in Gaza and thousands more injured.”
She goes on to recognise the destruction caused by Israeli airstrikes to the healthcare services and facilities in Lebanon, despite its ceasefire agreement last year. “The Israeli military has attacked 67 hospitals, 56 primary healthcare centres, and has killed 222 Lebanese medical and emergency relief workers,” Denise said.
Denise recalls the repetitive nature of the Israeli military strikes, stating they are enabled by “the impunity of knowing the world leaders will not lift a finger to do anything about it.”
Denise ended her speech with an audio testimonial of Dr Mohammed Moustapha, a medical professional from Perth volunteering in Gaza. He recounted the scarcity of medical supplies and the difficulty in conducting surgeries on injured civilians, including “seven young girls whose legs are to be amputated without anesthesia.”
Lees carried on Denise’s chant, “One struggle, one fight, healthcare is a human right,” before introducing the third speaker.
Jepke Goudsmit from Jews Against the Occupation ‘48 shared a poem she wrote as a means of “channeling our rage”. Drawing inspiration from a famous Billy Holiday song, she connected the resistance of the Civil Rights Movement with the pro-Palestinian fight for “telling truth to power”.
Goudsmit’s message was carried onto the fourth and final speaker of the rally, Yasmine Johnson.
Johnson, Leader of the UTS Students for Palestine Movement and fundamental activist during the Student Encampments last year, began her speech by calling out the ongoing detention of Columbia University student, Mahmoud Khalil.
She shed light onto the role of students in the Pro-Palestinian movement and called out the US Republican administration for cancelling “hundreds of student visas.”
Johnson also holds Western jurisdictions to account beyond the key players. “Germany has said in the last 5 days, they will deport German non-citizens attending pro-Palestine rallies,” she said.
“Our world leaders are hypocrites. They are cynical and they know it.”
In Australia, Johnson said the government “has barely said a word”, with Labor leaders Albanese and Penny Wong “sitting aside while Israel massacres Palestinians”. She also called out the Liberal party, saying Dutton supports Trump’s plans to “ethnically cleanse the Palestinians” and “who said the Palestinian refugees coming into Australia would disrupt unity and cohesion in this country.”
Johnson also responds to Dutton’s recent disapproval of Palestinian refugees “who would disrupt unity and cohesion” in Australia.
“We do want to disrupt the social cohesion in Australia if social cohesion looks like support for genocide,” said Johnson. “We do want to disrupt unity in Australia if unity amongst politicians looks like support for Israel across the board and continue to be complicit in the massacre of Palestinians. “
As the speeches concluded, Lees informed the crowd of upcoming protests before leading the rally from Hyde Park through the busy streets of the CBD.
The next protest by PAG will be held on Wednesday the 16th of April at 7.30pm at ABC Studios Parramatta Square to demand discourse at the site of the broadcasted electoral debate between Dutton and Albanese. Following that, the next Hype Park protest will be held on Sunday the 27th of April at 1pm.
Prior, Lees also encouraged the crowd to attend the Palm Sunday protest against war and for peace at Belmore Park on Sunday the 13th of April at 2pm.
