Louise Moran, Canberra
On March 2, rows of Israeli flags lined Commonwealth Avenue to signify the Australian government's welcoming of Israeli President Moshe Katsav. But outside the Israeli embassy, 70 protesters gathered to express their outrage at the suffering of the Palestinian people at the hands of the Israeli army, and also to object to the Australian government's continuing support for the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
The protest was addressed by Kim Bullimore, who recently returned from spending three months in the Occupied Palestinian Territories as an activist with the International Women's Peace Service. Bullimore, who is also a member of the Socialist Alliance, described some of the Israeli atrocities that she observed during her visit, including the ruins of a Palestinian home that had been bulldozed by the Israeli army, killing nine of the occupants, several of whom were children.
Bullimore described the current "peace process" as a sham, saying that once again the Palestinian people are being asked to agree to enormous concessions, while very little is conceded by the Israeli government.
Other speakers included Peter Davidson from the National Tertiary Education Union, Dr Sue Wareham from the Medical Association for the Prevention of War, Reverend Gregor Henderson, president-elect of the Uniting Church, and Avigail Abarbanel, peace activist and former Israeli citizen.
Chris Lines reports from Sydney that 150 Palestinian supporters rallied at the Sydney Town Hall on March 2 to demand an end to Israel's continued occupation and dispossession of Palestinian land.
Fouad Charida, expelled from his Galilean home in 1948 by the creation of the State of Israel, delivered an impassioned speech denouncing Israeli policy as the "longest inhumane occupation in modern history, a war of aggression that has destroyed our land".
Ray Fulcher reports from Melbourne that 70 supporters of Palestine marched through St Kilda on March 3 to deliver a message to Katsav demanding an end to the apartheid wall and Israel's occupation of Palestinian land. The protest wound its way through Grand Prix crowds to the Palais Theatre where Katsav was speaking to an exclusive audience behind tight security. Speakers from the Palestinian and Melbourne Jewish communities addressed the protest.
From Green Left Weekly, March 9, 2005.
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