Palestinian Protest Against ABC Bias

Yesterday afternoon, about 80 people gathered outside the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) headquarters in Ultimo, Sydney, Gadigal land, to protest against what they say is biased reporting on the ongoing war in Gaza.

Speakers cited the dismissal of journalist, Antoinette Latouf, who was sacked after posting to her private social media account about the war, as well as last November’s Q and A program, featuring Nasser Mashni, which the ABC cleared itself of bias after nearly 900 complaints, amongst other examples of prejudice within the ABC.

The protesters also decried the general media misreporting on the Palestinian demonstration outside the Sydney Opera House in October last year.

The rally was organised by students from Sydney University, the University of New South Wales and University of Technology Sydney.

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Invasion Day 2024

Tens of thousands of people rallied last Friday, the 26th of January, 2024, on Gadigal Land, Sydney, to commemorate Invasion Day, the 236th anniversary of the landing of the British ‘First Fleet’ at what is now known as Sydney Cove, marking the beginning of the colonisation of so-called Australia and the attempted genocide of the continent’s First Nations’ peoples.

The rally started at Belmore Park, where speeches were made, before marching down Broadway to Victoria Park to join the Yabun Festival, a celebration of survival of Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islanders.

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Going Global - Is There Justice or Just Us?

On Wednesday, a full house attended the Red Rattler in Marrickville, on Gadigal land, to hear a discussion on current events of colonialism and genocide across the global south and elsewhere.

Speakers included MC Lizzy Jarrett (Gumbaynggirr), Dr Lana Tatour (Palestine), Vanessa Turnbull-Roberts (Bundjalung Widubul-Wiabul), Ahmed Alababla (Palestine), Michael Kolkossian (Armenia), Sim Khatshaza (South Africa), Dan Miller (speaking in support of West Papua), Antonella Maldonado Godoy (Mapuche), Paul Sanchez (Chile), and Renuga Inpakuma (Eelam Tamil).

A video statement from Paul Silva (Dunghutti) and a written statement from Naomi Benjamin (South Sudan) were also presented, in absentia.

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Haweyate - Open Mic For Palestine

Photographs of ‘The Young Will Never Forget’, an open mic night at Bankstown Arts Centre, in solidarity for Palestine, held on January the 14th, 2024.

Performers included MC, Assala Sayara, Ahmed Sari, Amina Dasouqi, Celine Shadid & Yasmeen Shadid, Christina Batshon, Danya Shadid, Elia Suleiman, Elina Sayarah & Aisha Sayara, Jada Kabbout, Lujane Elwan, Noura Hussain, Rawda Alshroof, Rita Emad, Sabilla Karnib, Zackaria Al-Haddeadeh, Zahra jaber and Zayd Abou-Zeid.

The event was organised by Haweyate and proceeds directed towards the Palestinian Medical Relief Society.

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Free Palestine Rally Week 14

For the 14th consecutive week, thousands turned up to Hyde Park, Sydney, Gadigal country, to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to all hostilities across the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

The rally came as the International Court of Justice heard South Africa’s case against Israel of genocide.

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New Year's Eve at The Aboriginal Tent Embassy

Photographs from New Year’s Eve at the Aboriginal Tent Embassy, Canberra, Ngunnawal country.

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Free Palestine Rally Week 13

Yesterday, for the thirteenth week running, thousands of people again turned up to Hyde Park, Sydney, Gadigal country, to protest against Israel’s war on Gaza.

The number of protesters over consecutive weeks across the last three months has been unprecedented in Australia, outnumbering (on a week-to-week basis) protests against wars in Iraq in the early 2000s and Vietnam during the 1970s.

According to Palestinian health authorities, deaths in Gaza since October the 7th, 2023 have now exceeded 22,000.

Speakers at Saturday’s rally included MCs Assala Sayara, Orphelia and Damien Ridgewell, Lebanese woman Dania Hawat, journalist Wendy Bacon, Dalia Ahq, and South Coast Labor Council rep and unionist, Arthur Rorris. All called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and across the Palestinian Occupied Territories.

Organisers - the Palestinian Action Group Sydney - have vowed to continue the protests for as long as the war persists.

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Health Workers for Palestine Vigil

Last night, health workers NSW gathered outside the Queen Victoria Building in Sydney, Gadigal country for their weekly vigil for Palestine.

According to the World Health Organization, there has been 600 attacks on healthcare in the Palestinian Occupied Territories in the last 3 months, with over 600 killed and nearly 800 injured, including medical staff and healthcare workers.

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Countdown To Ceasefire

Last Sunday, on New Year’s Eve, 2023, around 100 people gathered outside the Embassy of the United States of America in Canberra, Ngunnawal country, to demand that the USA stop funding and providing weapons for Israeli forces in Gaza. Speakers also urged the Australian government to publicly declare when it would halt providing arms to Israel.

The protestors then marched to the Israeli Embassy where further denunciations against the war were made. Speakers called for an immediate ceasefire, as the countdown to the new year approached - a plea that was ultimately ignored, with the war continuing to take lives across the Palestinian territories into 2024. Israeli officials today declared the assault on Gaza would continue for at least another six months.

Sunday’s action was organised by the Palestinian Action Group Canberra. A substantial presence of surveillance, embassy security and Australian Federal Police was on hand at the rally.

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Free Palestine Rally Week 12 - Canberra

Yesterday, around 200 people turned up to Garema Place in Canberra’s CBD, Ngunnawal country, to mark the 12th week of the war in Gaza.

The crowd heard speeches from Awn Nuwwar & Diana Abdel-Rahman (MCs, Palestinian Action Group Canberra), Dr Rick Kuhn, Dr Hasan Hijazi, Sue Wareham (Medical Association for the Prevention of War) and members of the public. They called for an immediate ceasefire to hostilities in Gaza.

The protesters then marched through the CBD, where one person was fined by police after being given a move-on order when they tried to block traffic at an intersection.

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Free Palestine Rally Week 10

For the 10th consecutive week, thousands of people turned up to Hyde Park, Gadigal Land, to protest against the war in Palestine.

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Health Workers for Palestine Rally

Yesterday, around 100 NSW healthcare workers rallied at the Sydney Hospital, Gadigal Land, to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Reports from Gaza say over 250 Palestinian healthcare workers have been killed during the war so far. There are also reports that up to 70 medical staff from the Kamal Adwan Hospital were arrested and detained by Israeli forces.

Friday afternoon’s rally moved from the Sydney Hospital, marching through the CBD to Hickson Road Reserve on Sydney Harbour, where speeches were made and watermelon served.

The event was organised by ‘Health Workers 4 Palestine NSW’.

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Free Palestine Rally - Week 9

On Sunday, coinciding with International Human Rights Day, and for the ninth consecutive week, tens of thousands turned out on the streets of Sydney, Gadigal Land, to protest against the war on Gaza, calling for an immediate, lasting ceasefire and a halt to all hostilities in the occupied Palestinian territories. According to the health ministry in Gaza, over 18,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since October the 7th, 70% of whom have been women and children.

Speakers at Sunday’s rally in Hyde Park included MC Assala Sayara, First Nations man and actor Meyne Wyatt, NSW Greens MP Jenny Leong, Nasser Mashni from the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network and the Grand Mufti of Australia, Ibrahim Abu Mohamed.

Similar numbers are expected at next week’s rally.

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Vigil For Palestine

On Thursday evening, a small, solemn group of around 100 people gathered at Liverpool mall, on Dhurrawal and Darug country, to hold a vigl for the victims of the war in Gaza and the Palestinian occupied territories.

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School Strike for Palestine

Yesterday, around 200 school students gathered again at Sydney Town Hall, Gadigal Land, walking out of class for their second strike against the war on Gaza, which is currently in its 8th week. Also present were several anti-Zionist Jewish students, who spoke out against the war.

The event was organised by School Strike for Palestine.

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Free Palestine Rally - Week 8

Photographs of Sunday’s ‘Free Palestine’ rally at Hyde Park, Gadigal Land, where for the eighth consecutive week, tens of thousands marched through Sydney’s streets to protest against the war on Palestine.

The rally came after a brief pause in hostilities, with Israeli troops continuing their assault on Gaza, and aerial bombing across the southern occupied Palestinian territory recommencing.

Speakers included MC Assala Sayara, Rayanne Hussain, Josh Lees, Nousra Hussain, Reem Borrows and Wesam Charkawi. Acknowledgement of Country was performed by Uncle David Bell.

All speakers called for an immediate end to the war and warned Labor politicians that they may not see a second term - both nationally and state-wide - because their one-sided response to the conflict has alienated many communities across NSW and Australia.

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COP28 Climate Protest

Photographs from yesterday’s COP28 climate rally at Belmore Park, Sydney, Gadigal Land, where protesters called for greater action on climate change. The United Nations sponsored COP28 summit is currently underway in the oil and gas rich United Arab Emirate, where world leaders are meeting to debate the next moves to curtail fossil fuel emissions.

While the tripling of renewable energy outputs seems as though it will be agreed upon, scientists are now fearing the 2015 Paris Agreement target of 1.5 degrees Celsius increase in post-industrial global temperature is on track to be doubled to a catastrophic 3 degrees. Climate activists are demanding that during the current climate emergency, far more needs to be achieved at COP28 than is proposed.

Speakers at today’s rally included MCs Caitlin Doyle-Markwick and Harpreet Kaur Dhillon from the Sydney Climate Coalition, Aisake Nasedra who spoke on the impact on global warming on Fiji and the Pacific, Nic Clyde from Lock The Gate, Arthur Rorris from the South Coast Labour Council, and Deen Kafina, a Palestinian student activist. Welcome to Country was performed by Aunty Rhonda Dixon-Grovenor.

Under a significant police presence - nearly more police were on hand than protesters - the rally marched from Belmore Park, through the CBD to Sydney Town Hall,

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Pro-Palestine Rally at Martin Place as Israel Restarts Gaza Bombing

Several hundred people turned up to Martin Place, Gadigal Land, yesterday for a pro-Palestinian rally and to demand that charges be dropped against the 23 protesters who were arrested at Port Botany last week. The protesters were arrested under the draconian anti-protest laws which have been condemned by civil liberties and human rights groups across NSW. The laws were passed in the last term of government by both the state Coalition and Labor parties, and have been retained by the incoming Labor government.

As the rally was underway, news broke that the ceasefire in Palestine had been broken, and that Israel had recommenced the bombing of Gaza.

Speakers included MCs Jana Fayyad and Matt, Greens NSW state MP Jenny Leong, Angus McFarland from the Australian Services Union, Amad Abadia from the Palestine Justice Movement Sydney, Maritime Union of Australia rep Natalie Wasely, and the National Tertiary Education Union representative, Sophie Cotton. Acknowledgement of Country was performed by Wadi Wadi man and trade unionist, Matt Jeffery.

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Pro-Palestinian Sit-In at Central Station

Yesterday afternoon, about 200 people turned up to Central Station in Sydney, Gadigal Land, to perform a sit-in during peak hour to protest against the war on Gaza.

A significant police presence was in attendance, including members of the riot squad.

The action lasted about an hour and was organsied by School Strike for Palestine.

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Free Palestine Rally - Week 7

Week 7 into the Israeli invasion into Gaza and thousands of people again turned out at Hyde Park, Sydney, Gadigal Land, to call for a permanent ceasefire.

Speakers included MCs Assala Sayara and Jana Fayyard, Acknowledgement of Country by Carolyn Ienna, BDS representative Hemni Habad, Palestinian Christians in Australia rep Susanne Wahab, Rayanne Hussain and 12-year old Salma Jabber, who just returned from Palestine earlier this year.

The protest was organised by the Palestinian Action Group Sydney.

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