AUSTRALIA
Meeting discusses support for Gaza
Karly Oliver
24 January 2009
MELBOURNE — A public meeting took place on January 22 to discuss the background of the Israeli invasion of Gaza and the focus for solidarity.
Speakers included Riyad al Adassi, a nurse from Gaza and a Palestinian community activist, Graham Williams, from the Australia Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), Asem Judeh, a Palestinian Community Activist and Ema Corro from the Socialist Alliance.
Al Adassi provided insight into the hardships of living in Gaza under Israeli occupation, and that Gaza has been under siege since 1994, intensifying with the election of Hamas. He outlined the vulnerability of the people explaining that under occupation the people do not have any control over their fate and lacked access to essential resources such as fuel, food, water, and medical supplies.
Judeh discussed the necessity for educating the community in order to identify the problems and find effective solutions. Judeh also discussed the need to highlight Australia’s role in the oppression of the Palestinian people.
Corro gave an overview of the Palestinian situation and cited the movement against apartheid in South Africa as a precedent that can be applied to Israel.
