Thursday, 16 November 2023

Middle East conflict

Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:56): For the last few weeks I have spent my Sundays marching alongside tens of thousands calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. I have watched these rallies double in size every week. When we started there were a few thousand marching, but this past weekend there were estimates that the crowd was some 100,000 people – the largest anti-war protest since the Iraq war. One thing is very clear: the people of Victoria want a ceasefire. As each day passes and another atrocity is committed against innocent people by the state of Israel, there are more and more taking their anger, their sadness, their disbelief and channelling it into a massive collective call for ceasefire, for an end to occupation and for lasting peace. I see parents with their children, the elderly, people of all backgrounds coming together at these rallies. We know that one atrocity does not justify another and all who commit war crimes must be held accountable. But the feelings of Victorians are seemingly at odds with this Labor government and their federal counterparts. As Senator Mehreen Faruqi said:

As long as Labor continues to shield the apartheid State of Israel, we will not stop talking about Palestine.

We will be out there on the streets every Sunday until you listen.