The 63rd weekend of continuous protest against Israel’s genocide in Gaza was marked on December 22 in Naarm/Melbourne and Gadigal Country/Sydney and other Australian cities.
The Naarm/Melbourne protest took place under the shadow of state government moves to “curtail and criminalise protest”, which the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) described as “dangerous attack on civil liberties”.
“Premier Jacinta Allan’s rhetoric fuels harmful narratives that delegitimise Palestine solidarity movements and silence public dissent to a genocide that the United Nations and the world’s highest courts have determined requires immediate intervention by third states to halt,” the group said.
APAN called on the Victorian Labor government to “explicitly condemn and act to end Israel’s genocide in Gaza and commit to protecting — not curtailing — the right to protest”.
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“Anything less is complicity,” APAN said.
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In Gadigal Country/Sydney, pro-Palestine activists carried a 150-metre banner through the CBD with the names of 30,000 people killed by Israel — a small fraction of the total number.
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Kamala Emanuel reports that 150 rallied at Post Office Square in Magan-djin/Brisbane on December 20.
The rally highlighted that the land of Jesus' birth is under occupation and subject to genocide for the second Christmas in a row. The crowd swelled to 200 and marched through the city.
The city was full of Christmas shoppers and revellers. Many stopped to watch and film. Some joined in.
The mood was grim and determined, affirming the steadfastness of 14 months of solidarity with Palestine.
One placard carried in the Naarm/Melbourne protest called on people to boycott Israeli goods at Christmas time.
The Green Left news podcast released an interview with Jews for a Free Palestine representative Janet Parker on December 21.
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