Tens of thousands join anti-Israel march

Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched across Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge on Sunday to call for increased aid deliveries to Gaza and sanctions on Israel.

Participants in the so-called “March for Humanity” ranged from the elderly to families with young children. Among them were Greens deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and former NSW Premier and Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr.

Many carried umbrellas amid heavy rain. Some waved Palestinian flags and chanted “We are all Palestinians.” Members of the crowd also chanted, “Long live the intifada,” a reference to the violent uprisings by the Palestinians that killed hundreds of Israelis, according to videos from the demonstration.

Alongside Palestinian flags and anti-Israel placards – including signs depicting Israeli flags superimposed with swastikas and images of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with a Hitler-style moustache – an Al Qaeda flag was also spotted, while at least one person carried a photo of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler noted that Khamenei is a”dictator who jails women, executes gays, funds terror, and calls for Israel’s destruction”.