As the Geelong and Victoria Southwest branch of Independent Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN) was packing up their “Peak Hour for Peace in Palestine” action — the first for the year on January 16 — they were attacked.
A lone provocateur, on foot, snatched a Palestinian flag from one, ripping it and clipping the activists’ ear with the flag pole, before taunting and pushing another on to the road, before fleeing the scene.
Police and an ambulance were called and an older activist was transported to hospital; they required hip replacement surgery for a broken hip.
IPAN said the attack as “unprovoked” given it was “peacefully exercising their democratic, legal right to protest against the continuing genocide in Gaza”.
One IPAN member, who tried to retrieve the Palestine flag, told Green Left the attacker had called them “a bunch of terrorist bastards”.
IPAN Geelong & Victoria Southwest organiser Jaimie Jeffrey told GL that politicians and the media have whipped up a “blame game” which is “dangerously divisive”.
“They have tried to blame the Palestine movement for the horrific Bondi massacre. This is outrageous because the Palestine movement opposes violence, opposes all forms of racism, including anti-Semitism and is trying to stop a genocide.”
The group started a weekly action in April 2024 with three activists; it has now grown to a regular group of 15-20 activists flying Palestinian flags and holding signs opposing genocide and local weapons manufacturing that assists in this.
IPAN said that, before to the cowardly attack, they noticed “more supportive toots and less abuse than … towards the end of last year.”
It said government and media spin about “hate speech” and “improving social cohesion” is “having the opposite effect” by “tacitly encouraging violence against those of us campaigning to stop the genocide”.
“We have never let aggression from those who disagree with our views deter us from protesting the Israeli genocide of Palestinians or any other injustice,” IPAN said. “And we won’t be deterred after this latest incident. Because we are on the right side of history and our commitment is unshakeable.”