Thousands turn out for pro-Palestine rally in Adelaide
Australians’ support for Palestine is at its greatest ever level and even bigger protests are to come, rally organisers say.
A pro-Palestine demonstration in Adelaide yesterday attracted at least 10,000 people, according to organisers.
The rally – organised to “demand action to end the genocide, occupation and apartheid being carried out on the Palestinian people by the state of Israel” was one of more than 40 across Australia on Sunday.
The marches drew crowds in the hundreds of thousands – the largest pro-Palestine demonstrations in Australia’s history.
The nationwide day of action saw every major Palestinian organising group join forces from state capitals to far-flung inland and coastal towns.
In Adelaide, the rally began in Victoria Square, where speakers, including Senator Fatima Payman, addressed the crowd. The demonstrators – including Labor MP Lucy Hood – then marched to Parliament House.
The Australian Friends of Palestine Association deputy chairperson Mike Khizam said “support for Palestinian people is only getting stronger”.
“The people of South Australia sent a clear message yesterday: they want an end to Australia’s support for a state engaged in an illegal occupation, apartheid and genocide,” Khizam said.
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“While our leaders hide behind empty words, 10,000 ordinary Australians took to the street to demand justice – showing courage and moral clarity that our government lacks.
“Australians know the difference between right and wrong, and we aren’t going to look away.”
He called on the Federal Government to “cut all political, economic and diplomatic ties with the state of Israel”.
“Anything less is a betrayal of our values and our people.”
Police estimates of rally attendees were more conservative. They said about 5000 people attended, and there were no arrests.
Premier Peter Malinauskas said he was “really proud of… the manner in which the protest was conducted here in South Australia”.
“The report I got this morning from South Australian Police was the crowd was exceptionally well behaved, there was no major contention, it was a clear demonstration despite some of the fear mongering from including the Liberals’ Frank Pangallo that in South Australia protests are something that we embrace, they are part of a free and rich tapestry that we have in a proud liberal democracy,” he said on ABC Radio Adelaide.
“There are a lot of South Australians who support what I firmly believe in and that is that we should be seeking to have a two-state solution. I have always believed that having a peaceful two-state solution where there are two independent states that acknowledge the recognition of one another is the best way forward for this part of our world.
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“Of course, that aspiration is always going to be complex in its delivery and pursuit but it’s a worthwhile one.”
Nationally, large crowds were drawn to simultaneous rallies, including an estimated 50,000 in Brisbane (though local police put the figure at 10,000).
Palestine Action Group’s Sydney spokesman Josh Lees said the numbers had bolstered the group’s plans for greater continued resistance.
“Sunday was the most nationally coordinated day we’ve had so far,” he told AAP.
“If you add all the numbers up, this is the biggest ever mobilisation over 40 cities and towns in support of Palestine.
“What we saw with the Sydney Harbour Bridge march of 300,000 people … that was the moment that the dam burst.
“Now it’s overflowing.”
Lees put the combined turnout on Sunday at more than 300,000 with Sydney and Melbourne attracting crowds of about 100,000 each.
“You don’t get these kinds of numbers out unless there’s a big majority support,” he said.
Organisers are aiming for another national day of action on Sunday, October 5, to mark two years since the violence began.
More than 60,000 Palestinians have died including 18,000 children since October 7, 2023, when Hamas killed 1200 people and took more than 200 hostages at an Israeli music festival, according to the United Nations.
The UN recently confirmed famine in parts of the Gaza Strip for the first time, as Israel prepares for a military takeover of the entire city.
Israel has rejected criticism that its actions in Gaza amount to genocide, a claim that has also been brought against it at the International Court of Justice.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the famine declaration an “outright lie”.
-with AAP
