Hundreds of thousands march nationwide to demand Labor sanctions Israel, end arms trade

More than 200,000 people took the streets across the country on August 24 in a national day of action demanding Labor sanction Israel and stop the two-way arms trade.

It comes after 300,000 people marched, in driving rain, across the Sydney Harbour Bridge on August 3 to demand the same.

Palestine solidarity groups across the country are coordinating their plans as Israel’s illegal deliberate starvation policy is delivering its expected results.

Protests were organised in more than 40 cities and towns — a first in nearly two years since the genocidal war began.

At least 50,000 rallied on Gadigal Country/Sydney, 10,000 in nipaluna/Hobart, 50,000 in Magan-djin/Brisbane, 100,000 in Naarm/Melbourne, 15,000 in Kaurna Yerta/Adelaide, 15,000 in Boorloo/Perth, 600 in the Blue Mountains, 300 in Bathurst, 5000 in Muloobinba/Newcastle, 1600 in Gimuy/Cairns, 2000 in Coffs Harbour, 1600 in Gimuy/Cairns, 200 in Armidale, 5000 in Canberra and 700 in Djilang/Geelong.

More photos on Green Left for Ecosocialist Action on Facebook and Green Left Instagram.

More than 700 people marched 2.6 kilometres in Djilang/Geelong from the river to the sea. Sarah Hathway reports that young families with prams and dogs came, including many new faces. Palestinian activist Nicole Azzam, who works in child safety, addressed the crowd with her 19-month old daughter in her arms.

“What kind of world do we live in where a child dies, not because there is no food, but because food is kept from them?” she asked, before detailing the lifelong impacts of malnutrition, a weapon of war by the Israeli government.

Close to 300 people attended the protest in Bathurst, on the unceded lands of the Wiradjuri people. “Regional voices are uniting with the rest of the nation to say clearly: not in our name,” said Kaat DeMaere, spokesperson for Central West NSW for Palestine.

“Australians are sickened by the cruelty of the Israeli government and the violence of the Israeli Defense Forces against a civilian population, half of whom are children. We demand that the Albanese government end its complicity, impose an arms embargo, and sanction Israel now.”

Former Mayor of Dubbo and NSW Labor MLC Stephen Lawrence spoke, as did locals who called for an end to Israel’s starvation of Palestinians in Gaza, an immediate ceasefire and for urgent humanitarian aid to be allowed in to Gaza. Support for families in Gaza was central DeMaere told Green Left. “The compassion of the people here today, who have attended in their 100s, is a reminder of what’s at stake,” said DeMaere. “We care about the people of Gaza, we want our government to do all that they can to bring an end the siege.”

Solomon Doyle reports from nipaluna/Hobart that the 10,000 strong Palestine protest marched behind a banner reading “ningina milaythina LAND BACK”. Chants such as “Resistance is justified when Palestine is occupied!” and “Justice is our demand! There is no peace on stolen land!” rang out as the energy surged.

Dr Adel Yousif, challenging the mainstream media’s talking points about the Palestinian resistance, arguing: “Resistance is not terrorism,” he said arguing that “to erase the context of Palestinian resistance … is to ignore decades of Israeli siege, occupation and dispossession”.

Palawa activist and lawyer Michael Mansell drew similarities between the struggles of Palestinian and First Nations peoples.

Feras Shaheen, co-president of Tasmanian Palestine Advocacy Network, whose relatives are trapped in Gaza, spoke with urgency. “I don’t know which day I will wake up to get the message to tell me that my family have passed away, that they’ve been murdered, killed.”

Kazi Sabbir, head of the Muslim Association of Tasmania, painted a stark picture of life under siege. “Think about the people of Palestine who sleep each night knowing they may not wake alive … The hungry parents not only feel the pain of their hunger, but the pain of looking into the hungry faces of their starving children. Some children cannot even cry. They have no energy left.”

Jordan Van den Lamb, from the Victorian Socialists, said: “The same system that bombs children in Gaza is the one that makes you unable to afford your rent.

Ayda Issa, daughter of long-time Gazan exile Issa Abu Dawud, delivered a moving poem weaving Palestinian memory, exile, and resistance.

Nadia Refaei, TPAN co-president, said Labor’s recognition of a Palestinian state is a distraction. “Justice looks like land back, the right of return, reparations, the same protections for all people and a holistic redress for the generational inequality suffered. Recognition without these is purely symbolic.”

Markela Panegyres reports that Kaura Yerta/Adelaide held its largest mobilisation for Palestine to date, with up to 15000 marching.

The protest was addressed by Senator Fatima Payman, Freedom Flotilla crew member Robert Martin, Boycott Divestment and Sanctions activist and historian David Faber, Australian Friends of Palestine Association deputy chairperson Mike Khizam and Ahmed Azhar from Students for Palestine. They demanded Labor immediately sanction Israel, stressing that recognition of Palestine without sanctions and other tangible action is not enough.