Still fighting for Palestine, one year on
One year ago, Israel began its genocidal bloodbath in Gaza. As the bodies of men, women and so many children piled up, ripped apart by bombs made in the USA, everyone was called on to answer the question: “Which side are you on?”.
Governments of every stripe, from the far right in Italy and Argentina, to the Democrat and Labor administrations of the US and Australia, and the Arab dictatorships and monarchies of the Middle East, chose the side of genocide. Weapons companies kept the ammunition and profits flowing. The Australian media became mouthpieces of Israeli state propaganda. Palestinians whose families were being annihilated were either ignored or asked only one question: “Do you condemn Hamas?”.
But against the tide, a new movement rose. It started with those of us who had been organising in solidarity with Palestine for many years. In Sydney, we in the Palestine Action Group started making calls and by 9 October we had 2,000 people on the streets. Within a few days, protests were occurring in every major city.
We had organised protests against Israel’s previous massacres in Gaza in 2008, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2021. But none of us predicted just how bloodthirsty Israel would be this time. And none of us knew that we were kicking off a movement that would mobilise thousands of people every week, for 52 weeks, to demand freedom for Palestine. If there is one ray of hope amongst all the horror of the past year, it’s that millions of ordinary people have defiantly taken a stand with this movement for liberation.
No sooner had we taken to the streets than the attacks on us began. The script was familiar: we were labelled antisemites. The Jewish organisations and individuals who participated in every protest were erased from the media narrative. In NSW, Labor Premier Chris Minns lit up the Opera House with the colours of Israel’s flag and then declared that our protests would be banned. Police threatened the use of extraordinary powers to crack down on us, and even forcibly strip-search protesters. Peter Dutton called for protesters to be deported. It took real bravery for people to mobilise in the face of all that, but on 15 October, 15,000 people demonstrated that we could not be intimidated into silence.
The centrepiece of this movement has been the nationwide mass weekly or fortnightly protests. They have been the biggest rallies for Palestine in Australian history. In Melbourne and Sydney, upwards of 60,000 people have mobilised, with huge numbers out in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra. Even smaller cities and towns like Wollongong, Newcastle, Cairns and Katoomba have held regular protests, attracting hundreds.
These sustained mobilisations have kept Palestine at the centre of Australian political debate, piling pressure on our rotten politicians, drawing huge numbers into the cause for the first time, giving confidence and inspiration to all who come that we are on the right side of history, and showing the people of Gaza that we are with them, even if our governments are not.
Crucially, the protests have mobilised far larger numbers of non-Arabs and non-Muslims than the Palestine movement had previously. It is a testament to the argument that ordinary people, regardless of their background, are capable of rejecting racism and standing in solidarity with oppressed people.
The mass protests have created the foundation for countless other actions to be organised in the past year: occupations of train stations, pickets at weapons companies, attempted blockades of ports, convoys to Canberra, protests and sit-ins at Albanese’s office, hundreds of vigils, plays and film-screenings, actions aimed at local councils and much more.
Students have played a big part. High school socialists in Melbourne organised the biggest school strike for Palestine in the world last November, and students elsewhere followed suit. Students for Palestine kicked off the Gaza solidarity encampment movement on Australian universities, setting up the first camp at Sydney University in April, before it spread to twelve other campuses.
A wave of huge student general meetings has been held at campuses around the country, mobilising 1,500 people at the University of Queensland and several hundred in other places. The immense majorities voting for pro-Palestine motions are extraordinary and demonstrate how large support for Palestine is amongst young people.
Everywhere people have tried to express their opposition to the genocide, they have come up against institutions that try to repress them. Journalists Antoinette Lattouf and Nour Haydar were sacked for reporting the truth. Fatima Payman was driven out of the Labor Party. Pro-Palestine school students and teachers have faced off against principals and education departments, demanding their right to wear the keffiyeh. Actors and musicians from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra to the Sydney Theatre Company have been punished for taking a stand. Many trade union members have campaigned against their union leaders to take a stronger stance in support of Palestine. University students and staff are currently facing a concerted right-wing campaign to silence them. Recent protests against the arms convention in Melbourne were met with police violence. Yet still, we resist.
As the genocide grinds on and Israel escalates its violence in Lebanon, there are precious few victories for us to celebrate. But all of us who have thrown ourselves into the fight to stand against this descent into hell should be proud of what we have done. There are thousands and thousands of people who are more committed than ever to free Palestine and tear down this barbaric system, and we aren’t done yet.
