On February 1, 100 people gathered outside the State Library of Victoria to protest the Israeli siege of Gaza. The protest was initiated by the Melbourne Palestine Solidarity Network and organised by a wide range of groups including Australians for Palestine, Women for Palestine, Melbourne Stop the War Coalition, Federation of Muslim Students and Youth, Socialist Alliance and Resistance.
-
-
John Howard was awarded the Jerusalem Prize for his friendship and commitment to Israel at a gala dinner at Melbournes Crown Casino on May 20. The award, by the Zionist Federation of Australia, the State Zionist Council of Victoria and the World Zionist Organisation, includes the John Howard Negev Forest, which will be planted by the Jewish National Fund (JNF) over an ethnically-cleansed Bedouin village.