Anti-Israel rally returns to Melbourne

Hundreds of anti-Israel protestors returned to Melbourne CBD on Sunday, rejecting calls from the Victorian Government and Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece to cancel the protest amid raging bushfires and following the Bondi massacre.

During the protest at the State Library, Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni criticised the just announced royal commission into antisemitism, saying “We should be doing a royal commission into hate, not elevating one community, one oppressed community, above all of the others.”  Activist Gary Foley also condemned the royal commission saying, “Why do a small group of right-wing Zionists get to dictate to the Australian government and the Australian people, when at the same time those Zionists who call for that royal commission are the ones who have been supporting the genocide in Palestine.”

The rally protested Israeli President Isaac Herzog upcoming visit to Australia accusing him to genocide, with Mashni calling the invitation antisemitic for conflating Australian Jews with Israel.

National co-convener of Students for Palestine Jasmine Duff led chants of “Long live the intifada”, and “There is only one solution, intifada revolution”.  Duff sought to justify the use of term intifada and said, “We will not let them stop us using the call for uprising, because we believe that we need uprising all over this world against western imperialists causing this genocide.”

The rally concluded with chants of “Death to the IDF” and “All Zionists are terrorists”.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said the chants were “offensive” and “show exactly why a Royal Commission is needed, and has been called by the Government.”

He added, “Calls to ‘globalise the Intifada’ are calls to attack Jews, anywhere in the world. That is what we have seen in Ripponlea, East Melbourne, suburbs in Australia where Jews live, and most devastatingly – Bondi. This is the danger that Australia faces and which must be condemned by all good people of this country.”

Zionist Federation Australia CEO Alon Cassuto said the protest was “disgraceful.”

“While our community is still mourning after Bondi and Victorians battle devastating bushfires, these people chose to gather to glorify the intifada, call for Israel’s destruction, praise Hamas and spread antisemitic slurs about President Herzog,” Cassuto said.
“This is not activism. It is a public celebration of violence and antisemitism that once lived on the fringes. It shows precisely why a Royal Commission is needed. We know where this rhetoric leads. We saw it in Bondi.”

Victoria Police said there were no arrests.