Thousands of Palestine solidarity activists converged on Parliament House, from July 20-22, to press the Anthony Albanese government to sanction Israel for its genocide in Gaza.
In a first for this movement, more than 110 organisations came together in a united action, with many sending delegations from across the country.
On the first protest day, more than 1000 people marched from Parliament House to protest outside the Israeli and United States Embassies. Representatives included Palestinian Australian cardiologist Dr Muntaser Musameh; Amin Abbas, a Palestinian activist from Naarm/Melbourne; Janet Parker from Jews for Palestine Western Australia; Shovan Bhattarai from Students for Palestine NSW; Alex Bainbridge from Justice for Palestine Magan-djin; and Amal Nasser from the Palestine Action Group Sydney.
More than 300 activists gathered in the CBD on the second day of the protest for discussions on how best to growth the movement to the point where Labor is forced to act.
Discussions included the role of direct action in stopping Australian complicity in sending weapons and parts to the Israeli war machine; spreading the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign; how music and other forms of culture can build the movement; and fighting the state’s weaponisation of anti-Semitism in anti-protest laws.
The BDS workshop, facilitated by Palestinian Nour Salmon, discussed the Boycott Caltex, Elbit out of Victoria and Mask off Maersk campaigns. Subhi Awad from Northern Rivers for Palestine and Rachel Evans from City of Sydney for Palestine led a workshop discussing how to activate local councils to adopt BDS measures.
On the same day, activists used direct action to target the Canberra-based company Electro Optic Systems (EOS), which is sending, through its wholly-owned US subsidiary, weapons systems to Israel. Declassified Australia revealed in April that EOS had sold more than one of its R400 lightweight machine guns, priced at A$1.55 million, to Israel.
Protesters then undertook a walking tour of complicit organisations in the CBD, including Nike, HSBC, Reebok and McDonalds.
On the final day, hundreds of protesters gathered on the lawns outside Parliament to hear more than 20 activists from every state.
“You are here to make a difference,” First Nations woman Dr Aunty Matilda House said. “Let there be peace. The Gaza strip belongs to you, no-one else.”
Lizzie Jarrett, Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Dunghutti woman living in Gadigal Country/Sydney, said: “Anthony Albanese is a war criminal. He’s not just supporting and enabling a genocide, he is still committing one right here against my people.” She urged people to keep protesting for First Nations justice, here and in Palestine.
Indigenous activist Uncle Wayne (Coco) Wharton also spoke and Filipino Muruwari rapper DOBBY performed his “We all want Peace, We all want Ceasefire” song. An Australian-Israeli dual citizen burnt her Israeli passport to show her disgust at Israel’s genocide.
NSW Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi and Independent WA Senator Fatima Payman also addressed the protest. Faruqi was censured by the Labor and Liberal Senators for her silent protest on the opening day where she held up a sign saying: “Gaza is starving. Words won’t feed them. Sanction Israel.”
Police tried to stop people’s attempts to enter parliament, but up to 20 entered the House of Representatives before police forced them to leave.
The convergence delayed the colonialist 19-gun salute for the first sitting day of a new parliament, as protesters stood in front of the guns.
Following the convergence, Amnesty International along with ActionAid Australia, Caritas Australia, Child Fund Australia, MAA International, Oxfam Australia, Plan International Australia, Save the Children, and Médecins sans frontières/Doctors Without Borders organised a Voices For Gaza 24-hour vigil, in which people read out the names of Palestinians who have been murdered by Israel since October 7, 2023.
Greens leader and Senator Larissa Waters, Senator David Shoebridge participated as did actress Danielle McCormack, Ahmed Abadla, Aviva Tuffield and Clementine Ford, DOBBY, Sarah Schwartz, Executive Officer at the Jewish Council of Australia, participated as did Labor MP Ed Husic, who is now a backbencher.
The Prime Minister was forced to issue a statement on July 25. “This conflict has stolen far too many innocent lives,” he said, stopping short of announcing sanctions on the Israeli state or ending weapons contracts. It has been widely condemned for its refusal to commit to action beyond hand-wringing.
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