Thousands March in Melbourne Nakba Day Rally
Witnesses reported verbal abuse directed at the Jewish counter-protesters, including throat-slitting gestures.
Several thousand demonstrators participated in a “River to the Sea” Nakba Day march from Melbourne’s CBD to St Kilda beach on Sunday afternoon, while a small group of counter-protesters faced threats and verbal confrontations on Princes Bridge.
The Lions of Zion group, numbering fewer than 50, gathered on the bridge over the Yarra River and were surrounded by a police cordon as the much larger pro-Palestinian march passed by.
Witnesses reported verbal abuse directed at the Jewish counter-protesters, including throat-slitting gestures and threats.
Lions of Zion spokesperson Yaakov Travitz described a tense 45-minute standoff when marshals from the main march attempted to block their position further down St Kilda Rd near the US consulate.
Travitz criticised what he sees as a lack of Jewish community unity in facing such demonstrations.
“I believe the Jewish community is fractured and not united,” he said.
Travitz said he hears many Jewish people in Melbourne talk about staying home and protecting their families.
“That will only last for as long as until they knock on your door, and then you’ll be on your own and it’ll be too late. Why not turn out beforehand and do something earlier on before it’s too late?”
Rabbi Daniel Rabin from Caulfield Shule attended the counter-protest to support the Jewish community.
“I came to make them feel that there’s nothing for us to be ashamed about, nothing for us to feel that we don’t belong,” he said.
The Rabbi described confrontations with marchers who accused him of supporting genocide.
“There was an elderly couple who put their mask down and said, ‘You’re committing genocide, you’re on the wrong side,'” he recounted.
“I tried to respond, but they just walked on. They weren’t interested in listening to what I had to say.”
Despite the tensions, both Travitz and Rabbi Rabin praised Victoria Police’s handling of the situation.
“The police this time stepped up in a very good way and we’re very happy with how they dealt with it,” Travitz said.
Criminal barrister Peter Lavac, who travelled from Sydney to provide legal support, was happy with the Police response.
“They formed a phalanx around our guys, and nobody broke through the phalanx”, he said.
The march organisers claimed 15,000 attendees, though Travitz disputed this figure, estimating the crowd at just over 5,000 people.