The 39th week of continuous protests against Australian complicity in Israel's genocide against the people of Gaza came days after WA senator Fatima Payman announced her resignation from Labor.
Payman told a media conference on July 4 that the issue of Palestine has “impacted everyone with a conscience”.
The Ngunnawal/Canberra rally on July 6 included several messages of support for Payman.
Hundreds gathered to show their solidarity with Palestine and called for an end to Israel's genocide, reports Kamala Emanuel.
Contingents of unionists from the Community and Public Sector Union and the Australian Education Union were very visible, and the rally MC also highlighted the consistent support received from the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union.
Speakers, including Diana Abdel-Rahman, expressed their support for WA senator Fatima Payman who left Labor over its failure to condemn Israel and support Palestine.
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US singer/songwriter David Rovics, currently on his Bearing Witness World Tour, performed some of his powerful songs for Gaza.
In an impromptu speech, while protesters sat in an intersection, a protester explained what would have happened during pregnancy, for a baby born in Gaza today, and all that faces them now.
The weekly Gaza solidarity march on through the streets of Gadigal Country/Sydney on July 7 also applauded Payman for breaking from Labor.
Peter Boyle reported that spirits remained strong on the 39th weekly march.
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Rovics also sang a couple of songs before the march and was well-received.
Thousands marched in Naarm/Melbourne on July 7, reports Jacob Andrewartha, who said the rally highlighted the education sector in Palestine.
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Dana Alshaer from Unimelb for Palestine spoke out against the charges of misconduct against 20 pro-Palestine students and university staff involved in the Gaza solidarity encampment.
Unimelb for Palestine has launched a petition calling on the University of Melbourne to withdraw the charges against activists.
Similar crack downs by university management have happened in other cities too.
Brandon Morin reports that 100 protesters gathered in Dandenong's Harmony Square on July 6.
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Speakers included Palestinian educator and activist Reem Yunis, former Al Jazeera journalist Hashmat Moslih, Free Palestine Dandenong member Bob Reynolds, and student organisers Jack Gardner and Sam Allan.
They told stories of their communities and their struggles against the apartheid regime of Israel. They also paid tribute to the student protesters and spoke against local weapons manufacturers which are contributing to the genocide.
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The rally marched through Dandenong’s centre to Labor MP, Julian Hill’s office, where speakers criticised Labor’s pro-Israel position, including its treatment of Payman.
In other actions, more than 200 Palestine solidarity campaigners joined a community picket against Electromold in Thomastown on July 4.
The same day, four activists draped banners reading “From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” and “war crimes enabled here” from the roof of Parliament House in Ngunnawal/Canberra.
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