Palestine protests in Australia shunned by media, but carry on
Jan 25, 2025
Pro-Palestine protests have been taking place all over Australia right from the time when Israel started its massacre in October 2023. But looking at the mainstream media, one would think that these marches only generate issues for the public at large and do little to educate people on the actual situation in the occupied territories.
Indeed, the Victorian Government has started pushing for cessation of the marches now that a ceasefire, albeit a fragile one, has come into force. Premier Jacinta Allan this week (January 20) referred to the protests as “disruptions” in the streets which did not help heal the situation.
But it does not look like the push against the pro-Palestinian movement, unsupported as it is by the powers-that-be will go very far. There is a more organic force at work, with people from all walks of life, a multiplicity of religions, and numerous backgrounds putting their shoulder to the wheel.
Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) president Nasser Mashni was quoted by the media as saying, “Our protests, which take many forms, continue unabated because this ceasefire is not the end – it is a pause in Israel’s ongoing genocidal violence.
“The Australian Government must act – cut military ties, impose sanctions and meet its international legal obligations to hold Israel accountable for its crimes. Our fight for Palestinian liberation is far from over.”
Last week saw protests in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne just before the Gaza ceasefire took effect, with many of the participants of the opinion that the truce did not go far enough, and certainly not enough to warrant ceasing the weekly activity.
During the period 14-21 January, there were a number of events in South Australia.
An Australian Friends of Palestine Association (AFOPA) event took place on 14 and 15 January, with the screening of No Other Land, a film about the struggle against West Bank expulsions. The film was adjudged best documentary at the Berlin Film Festival 2024.
On 18 January, AFOPA held a march and rally at Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide, to protest the presence of an Israeli cycling team at the Tour Down Under. It ended with a rally at Victor Harbour organised by Adelaide’s BDS group.
This is the second consecutive year that AFOPA has protested the participation of the Israeli-owned and managed cycling team Israel Premier Tech. The protest was aimed at making the Israeli team, its owners and sponsors aware that that Tel Aviv’s efforts to sportswash genocide, occupation and apartheid, would not go unchallenged.
Protests will continue throughout all stages of the event.
In Victoria, Independent & Peaceful Australia organised peak-hour Protests for Palestine on Friday between 4 and 5 pm in Geelong & Victoria Southwest, Castlemaine and Traralgon.
In NSW on 15 January, Pittwater Knitting Nannas met with Teals MP for Mackellar, Dr Sophie Scamps, and presented her evidence of the huge volume of emissions caused by Israel’s year-long bombardment of Gaza
And on 19 January, Jews Against the Occupation ‘48 marched in a Sydney event, marking the 467th day of the genocide in Gaza. The group’s spokesperson Michelle Berkon was quoted as saying: “Zionism is nothing more than white supremacy with a Jewish twist.”

AFOPA has called for a march in solidarity with the First Nations People, at noon on Australia Day in Tarndanyangga/Victoria Square. In Victoria, IPAN’s weekly Friday protests will take place between 4pm and 5pm in the period between 21 and 28 January.