(The Australian, 16/10/2023)
Supporters have turned out in their thousands to march through Melbourne’s CBD in solidarity with the Palestinian people as the conflict in Gaza rages on.
Victoria Police confirmed an estimated 10,000 people crowded the steps of the Victorian State Library before marching on to Parliament House.
National flags, posters and pro-Palestinian banners packed the crowd on Sunday with the sound of “in our thousands, in our millions – we are all Palestinians” chanted throughout proceedings, echoing out across the CBD.
Speakers at the rally were critical of the federal and state governments, the media and those supporting Israel for their reaction and coverage of the conflict.
Victoria Greens senator Janet Rice addressed the crowd prior to the march, condemning “horrific attacks” against civilians.
“In (the) Palestine community and in Jewish communities, human tragedies are here before us, laid up before us, touching us all,” Senator Rice said.
Most of the speaker’s vitriol was aimed at the Israeli government, with a specific call-out to the NSW Labor government and Premier Chris Minns for projecting the Israeli flag on the Sydney Opera House on Monday. The crowd responded with a series of boos and jeers.
One woman made an emotional address to the crowd, claiming she had returned from Gaza two months ago, which she described as a “beautiful” and “resilient” place.
“We are literally watching, every day, every minute, every second. We had to relocate our families from their homes,” she said on the verge of tears.
“We’ve had to drag our elders from their homes, we have had to watch genocide happen, and then we had to listen to people telling us we were the bad guys.”
Despite the peaceful nature of the march, a group of young men leading near the front of the march were seen holding Nazi salutes for a brief period.
One member ignited a flare as the procession rounded the corner from Swanston Street onto Collins Street.
A Victoria Police spokesperson said there were no major “incidents” during the march, with police stepping in on a handful of occasions to stop protesters from climbing onto tram station coverings and railings.
“Our top priority was keeping the peace to ensure the event did not impact the safety of the broader community,” they said.
Melburnians, including many who ran the Melbourne Marathon in the morning, watched and listened as the crowd made their way through the CBD, filming and taking photos of the protesters.