Protesters marked 11 months of Israel’s genocidal assault against the people of Gaza over September 7–8, as Israel continued to thwart negotiations for a ceasefire.
Israel killed at least 61 people in Gaza over that weekend, adding to the more than 41,000 killed in Gaza, including at least 16,500 children — although the real death toll is likely much higher. Israel has also killed hundreds in the Occupied West Bank.
Ayşenur Eygi, a United States campus activist, was killed by an Israeli sniper in the West Bank village of Beita on September 6. The 26-year-old was a resident of Seattle, Washington, had been a student organiser. She was shot in the back of the head, activists said.
The International Solidarity Movement said that Eygi was the 18th person to be killed in Beita since 2020, following the establishment of Evyatar, a settlement outpost, on village land.
Israel continued to launch attacks against Lebanon, killing three healthcare workers in the town of Faroun on September 7. Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack, said 27 health workers have been killed so far and close to 100 injured.
More than 625,000 school students in Gaza have been unable to return for the new school year, on September 9, meaning a second school year has been disrupted.
Many have attempted to continue their schooling through online platforms, but the constant bombardment, destruction of infrastructure, displacement and disruptions to mobile phone and internet connection make this very difficult.
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At the 48th weekly protest against the genocide in Naarm/Melbourne on September 8, Brandon M reports that speakers called on Labor to end its support for Israel.
Uncle Wayne ‘Coco’ Wharton, Kooma Murri man and Aboriginal activist, spoke of the links between the genocide in Gaza and the genocide of First Nations people in so-called Australia. He said “ceaseless discussion” of interconnected struggles is needed to create change.
“What we have to do is open our eyes,” Wharton said. “The system must be replaced … what you are doing here today is part of that.” He encouraged people to vote for alternatives to Labor and Liberal.
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Megan Krakouer, Menang woman of Noongar Nation and director of the National Suicide Prevention and Trauma Recovery Project, said: “It makes me sad to see, at the 48th week … we still have to fight for what’s right.”
She said Labor was indifferent to the deaths of Palestinians, as they are to First Nations people.
“[The death] of children breaks the souls of many, but not the Australian government. We must all stand up for what is right. Keep speaking, keep talking.”
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The day before, hundreds marched to Labor MP Peter Khalil’s Coburg office to condemn the Anthony Albanese government's support for Israel, at a rally organised by Merri-bek for Palestine, reports Alex Bainbridge.
“It is close to a year since Israel began it’s genocide against Palestine, yet there is still little to no action from the Albanese government,” rally co-chair Jacob Andrewartha told the crowd.
“The Albanese government claims to support peace in Palestine, but has refused to condemn Israel’s war crimes, ban weapons exports to Israel or eject the Israeli ambassador.”
Pro-Palestine candidates in the coming local council elections were given a platform, including Socialist Alliance Merri-bek councillor Sue Bolton, Greens’ Darebin candidate Muhammad Helmy and Victorian Socialists’ Bullek-bek candidate Louisa Bassini.
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Thousands marched for Gaza in Gadigal Country/Sydney on September 8, in the 48th week since Israel’s latest genocidal war began, reports Pip Hinman.
Speakers emphasised that every march, every action and every conversation about Palestine’s right to self-determination helps.
The next protest in the city will be on September 14, 1pm at Sydney Town Hall. As it is the local government election day, it will be a chance to send a message that councils can, and must, take a stand for human rights.
Palestine supporters looking for pro-Palestine candidates at upcoming local government elections in New South Wales and Victoria can check WeVoteForPalestine.net.
The “We Vote for Palestine” campaign is asking candidates to pledge to support Palestine solidarity actions on council and has compiled a list of responses. The initiative is supported by a range of pro-Palestine groups.
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Meanwhile, mainstream media and Coalition leader Peter Dutton are attacking pro-Palestine candidates for expressing support for the Palestinian resistance.
The Sydney Morning Herald published an article attacking Dr Ziad Basyouny for a social post he made last year. Basyouny has announced he will run as an Independent in the seat of Watson in Western Sydney, currently held by Labor’s Tony Burke.
Basyouny told the Guardian on September 6 that he supports “the inherent right of Palestinians to take back and defend their land and to resist oppression”.
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“Food, water, medicine now!” was the theme of the Justice for Palestine (JFP) rally on September 8 in Magan-djin/Brisbane, reports Kamala Emanuel.
Hundreds came out to hear speakers including Fadlullah Wilmot, who has worked for over 20 years in the humanitarian sector, including in conflict zones and disaster zones.
He spoke about the three things so essential to life: water, medical attention and food and shelter. “The Israeli government is deliberately denying the people of Gaza all of these three things,” he said. “They want to make Gaza uninhabitable.”
Oncologist Taz Hossain told the rally that “Israel's decimation of Gaza's healthcare system may be the most acute and most preventable global health catastrophe in the world today”.
“Wiping out the leadership of the healthcare system is a deliberate part of destroying the system as a whole, today and into the future,” she said.
She criticised the “silence” of medical bodies, colleges and institutions.
“The Australian Medical Association rightfully voiced support for Ukrainian refugees in the past, yet remains silent on the clear violation of medical ethical principles displayed by Israel, giving their tacit consent to genocide,” she said.
She said the hope lies in grassroots efforts around the world.
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Two days earlier, JFP rallied outside the office of Brisbane Deputy Mayor Krista Adams.
Adams successfully moved a motion at the Brisbane City Council meeting on September 3 requesting that Greens Councillor Trina Massey repay almost $20,000 for a council newsletter.
Massey's newsletter, sent to residents in her ward, included a story about local resident Khalil who was forced to leave Palestine at age six, as a result of the ethnic cleansing to form the state of Israel in 1948.
The ABC reported that Massey submitted the newsletter to all the normal council approval processes. Massey told the ABC that the Liberal National Party majority on council “could have stopped the newsletter going to print, but instead chose to go to the media and then put up a motion without notice”.
At the September 6 rally, JFP's Phil Monsour said that “they can't even leave us with our stories”.
“They take the country, they take the land, they kill the people. And when we try to just tell a story, they take that away.” He told the action that those in power don't want ordinary people to hear such “powerful stories”.
“Maybe the whole justification for this genocide, the justification for these decades of war, for the murder, the torture, the assassinations disappears because it's as simple as that story.
“It’s as simple as a six-year-old boy, whose family was kicked off their land, and they just want their land back and they want to go home.”
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A large crowd joined the 45th consecutive weekly protest in Tharawal/Wollongong on September 7, reports Indrek Torilo.
The rally was organised by Wollongong Friends of Palestine.
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