Nationwide protests against Israeli genocide in Gaza took place in every major city across Australia on Sunday, 24 August. Organisers claim this is the single biggest gathering for Palestine since the 7 October attacks in 2023. There was an estimated total of over 300,000 in attendance across the disparate nation of 30 million.
These protests followed a march of 250,000 in Sydney earlier in the month, which drew ire from the authorities for marching over the famous Sydney Harbour Bridge.
CWI members took part in the protests in Melbourne and Sydney. In Sydney, the march was led by Palestine Action Group (PAG) – a loose organising committee comprised of Palestinian activists and members of Socialist Alternative, an Australian group founded in 1995. The main demands of the PAG were sanctions on Israel, and end to the genocide in Gaza, and an end to the two-way arms deals between Israel and the Australian government.
The Australian government has maintained that no lethal military equipment has been sold to Israel from Australian defence contractors since 7 October, but was forced to admit that parts for F-35 fighter jets had been sent to Israel through third parties.
In addition to moving speeches of Palestinian refugees describing the horrors their families face in Gaza, there were speeches by Green Party representatives, local campaigners and SAlt. A common theme amongst the speakers was the absence of serious political strategy. They were all highly critical of the Labor government’s role in Israeli genocide but fell short of calling for a new party of the working class which could bring an end to Australia’s involvement in this unfolding tragedy.
There appeared to be no discussion on the limits of sanctions, and only a fleeting mention of the need to direct funds from arms-production to housing and social services.
Josh, a SAlt member and a leading organiser of PAG, said he did not know if sanctions would be enough to end genocide, but would be a step in the right direction for the government.
In Melbourne, the 97th consecutive Palestinian solidarity rally drew crowds close to 100,000. Many demonstrators carried pans and wooden spoons highlighting the starvation facing Palestinians in Gaza at the hands of the ultra-right Israeli capitalist state.
Banners held by protestors pointed to the murder of journalists by the IDF, condemned the continued expansion of illegal settlements on Palestinian territory, called out the deliberate policy of starvation of the people of Gaza, and the devastating numbers of Palestinians murdered. There were also several solidarity banners from Jewish demonstrators which emphasises the importance of solidarity between working class Israelis and Palestinians as the only viable path to peace in the Middle East, through a socialist confederation of the region.
Speakers at the rally included Aboriginal activist Gary Foley, and Green Party senators Mehreen Faruqi and Lidia Thorpe. They expressed horror at the genocidal war being waged by the Israeli regime against the Palestinian people and condemned the belated and inadequate action from the Albanese government.
Socialists call for an end to the genocidal war in Gaza and an end to the oppression of Palestinians in Isreal, the West Bank and Gaza while arguing that no real solution is possible on the basis of capitalism. The endless oppression and repeated wars will only finally end and real national and social liberation be possible when a socialist movement is able to end capitalism. This could see the creation of a socialist Israel alongside a socialist Palestine, with two capitals in Jerusalem and full rights for minorities, where workers’ and oppressed peoples’ organisations democratically negotiate and decide the state boundaries and characteristics. Whilst recognition of a Palestinian state by Western powers like Australia represents a break in their past policy in the Israel/Palestine conflict, it is not enough to bring liberation to the Palestinian people.
The reality of regimes in the Middle East, from Gaza to Tehran, is that they fear, and can be deeply unpopular, with the working class of their respective nations as they are not able to provide security and prosperity for the masses of workers and youth and fundamentally rule through repression. A revolutionary Socialist movement in Palestine and Israel is necessary, not only for the liberation of workers and broad masses from oppression war and exploitation while ending the cycle of wars.