Flares and fireworks were lit in the crowd and thrown onto the forecourt steps of the Opera House, where rows of police officers were monitoring the situation.
Palestine Action Group statement on last night’s protest:
On 9 October 2023, Palestine Action Group organised a successful rally in support of Palestine, calling for the end of the occupation and for Australia to cut ties to Israel. Thousands on thousands of diverse attendees marched to the Opera House and demonstrated our opposition to Australia’s support to the State of Israel, a genocidal apartheid regime which has waged war on Palestinians for over 75 years.
Today, we have woken up to the Premier of NSW, the Prime-Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister and Independent MP, Allegra Spender condemning our protests and questioning why it went ahead. Let us affirm, we have the right to demonstrate. At a conjuncture where anti-protest laws widen to target anyone who opposes the colonial and capitalist structures of this state from First Nations movements to the Climate Justice movement, the states attack on Pro-Palestinian protestors is no different. Australia as a colonial and imperialist entity will always support Israel and the state is frightened by people in their masses showing that we oppose imperialism and colonialism. At a time where the people of Palestine resist over 75 years of war and massacres and Israel declares intent to commit genocide against the people of Gaza, we will demonstrate, we will continue to demonstrate and we will show this state that we oppose apartheid, we oppose settler-colonialism and we oppose genocide.
Despite a very successful and peaceful rally, the media has reported on a tiny fringe (we estimate less than 20 people) of vile antisemitic attendees who showed up to the opera house for an event unrelated to the demonstration we organised. Media reports and videos circulating show young boys, mostly in their teens chanting “fuck the Jews”. From our observations this occurred for less than one minute and was not an ongoing chant. They were quickly condemned for their chants and asked to leave. Long-standing Palestinian organisers and activists, Palestinian, Arab and Muslim elders attending the protest were disgusted and deplored by the action. This is not what our movement stands for. We oppose Zionism, an ideology distinct from Judaism. We oppose Israel, a racist state which has waged genocide on Palestinians. We are an anti-racist and anti-colonial movement and we refuse to fight racism with racism.
PAG has a long-standing history of working with Jewish activists and organisers who oppose Zionism, from Tzedek to Jews against the occupation, we share anti racist and anti colonial values with our anti-Zionist Jewish siblings. We thank them for their ongoing solidarity, including the contingent who attended this very rally. We’ve checked in with as many of those Jewish people in the contingent as we know to ensure they are feeling safe and okay.
For over a decade we have organised peaceful Palestinian rallies and we have mobilised the Australian community and we will continue to mobilise. If you are an antisemite, you are not welcome at our rallies and are not a part of our movement. As we did today, we will ask you to leave and we will continue to do this. We thank the 99.9% who have continued to show up for Palestine, who have continued to help keep our rallies peaceful and promote anti-racist and anti-colonial values.
We will be back on the streets at 1pm, Sunday 15 October 2023, at Town Hall to continue to protest both attacks on Palestinian resistance and Israel’s declaration of genocide on Palestinians. We will not bow to pressure from parliamentarians to end our mobilisations. We will demonstrate until Palestine is free, from the river to the sea!
I went to a talk by Israeli & Palestinian reps from PCFF earlier this year in Melbourne. It was heartbreaking, but also encouraging to see people trying to peacefully mend bridges and spreading awareness. Naive, maybe, but it’s good to know that some good came out of the atrocities.
This attack by Hamas (and the Israeli response) would’ve undone decades of their effort. I can’t begin to imagine how devastating the latest events would be. It’s a sad day for humanity.
From the organisers:
https://www.facebook.com/syd.bmbc/posts/pfbid02DQP8J4JCNr42JcbT5cpiWkGPircjjj4iUU9v4xftU37xcFEwXmfjFuH5zGztuEwhl
I went to a talk by Israeli & Palestinian reps from PCFF earlier this year in Melbourne. It was heartbreaking, but also encouraging to see people trying to peacefully mend bridges and spreading awareness. Naive, maybe, but it’s good to know that some good came out of the atrocities.
This attack by Hamas (and the Israeli response) would’ve undone decades of their effort. I can’t begin to imagine how devastating the latest events would be. It’s a sad day for humanity.