Fierce comments at first Free Palestine rally since Bondi massacre
A prominent leader of the Palestinian movement in Australia used his first major rally in Melbourne since the Bondi massacre to criticize the federal government and others, including calling South Australian Prime Minister Peter Malinauskas “f*ck”.
The rally, held to protest Israeli President Isaac Herzog’s upcoming visit to Australia, went ahead despite public pressure to cancel it due to the bushfire emergency in Victoria and its proximity to the December 14 terrorist attack on the Jewish community.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Nick Reece and the state government had called for the protest to be stopped, citing the disaster situation and the pressure on the police. As a concession, rally organizers downsized their march to a “static” protest in front of the State Library, but trams were still stopped on Swanston Street.
Police said 500 people attended the rally, but Age It is estimated that there were more than 2000 protesters at the peak. Reece said he was disappointed the protest was continuing but welcomed the lack of a disruptive march.
Addressing the crowd, Nasser Mashni, president of the Australian Palestine Advocacy Network, condemned the “sleaze” of people trying to link pro-Palestinian protests to the Bondi terror attack and described their attempts to hold the movement accountable as “racist”, “shameful” and “disgusting”.
Mashni expressed his deep disappointment at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s establishment of a royal commission into antisemitism, arguing that it had created a “hierarchy of hate”. “We should have the royal commission on hate, we shouldn’t be elevating one community, one oppressive community, above others,” he said.
He mocked high-profile figures such as James Packer, Nova Peris, Dawn Fraser, Wayne Carey and Grant Hackett, who called for an investigation, describing them as “idiots” and “legates” who did not have the same power as his movement.
“We can shut down a city; 300,000 of us did.” [Sydney Harbour] Bridge. “We can close a city, a bridge, a town, wherever it is, because we are the people,” he said.
Mashni also condemned anti-Semitism ambassador Jillian Segal, calling her a partisan of one of the “worst Zionist organizations.”
Mashni, Adelaide Festival’s Palestinian writer Dr. He gave Malinauskas a “f*ck” for supporting the decision to remove Randa Abdel-Fattah from the Adelaide Writers’ Week line-up due to her “cultural sensitivity” since the Bondi massacre. Mashni called the move “shameful”.
Abdel-Fattah, an academic and award-winning author, has faced sustained criticism from Jewish groups for comments he made following Hamas’ attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. The Adelaide Festival board noted that although Abdel-Fattah had no connection with the Bondi attack, his “past statements” made his inclusion in the writers’ week “culturally insensitive”.
He was criticized on social media for saying that Jews “have no claim to cultural security” and that institutions assessing “the fragile feelings of Zionists” were abhorrent, and for saying in an interview that he did not consider Hamas a terrorist organization. Abdel-Fattah was also involved in a “doxxing” incident in early 2024 in which details of 600 Jewish creators and academics were leaked online.
But Mashni said the writer was “the best and brightest of us” and argued that his dismissal “draws a terrible line between us and that horror.” [at Bondi].”
“When the Adelaide Writers’ Week board said, ‘We don’t want you, Dr Randa, people are going to be uncomfortable’… what did conscientious writers do?” he asked. “They said, ‘F— you. F— you, Malinauskas, f— you, Adelaide Writers Week. Tuck this shit in where the sun don’t shine.’
The focus of Sunday’s rally was to protest Herzog’s upcoming visit. Albanese called on the Israeli president to provide support to Australian Jews following the Bondi attack. On Sunday, Mashni described the invitation as an anti-Semitic gesture that unites Australian Jews with the state of Israel.
Although Israel’s presidency is a ceremonial role, Herzog was also named in the genocide case filed against Israel at the International Court of Justice. The court cited Herzog’s statements as plausible evidence of genocidal intent; especially his statement that the responsibility for the October 7, 2023 attacks lies with the “entire nation” – meaning Gazans. He was also photographed signing the artillery shell to be sent to Gaza.
Herzog claims that the ICJ distorted his words and suggests that he was referring to widespread civilian support for Hamas.
Daniel Aghion, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jews, said Mashni’s comments were appalling.
“Such rhetoric is offensive and aims to incite hatred and violence against the ethnic minority in this country, namely the Jews,” he said.
Aghion said the comments underlined why the government was calling for a royal commission to deal with antisemitism.
About the Free Palestine movement’s attempts to separate Zionism from Judaism, Aghion said that Zionism “is nothing more than the right of the Jewish people to have a Jewish homeland in their traditional lands.”
He compared this connection to Greek or Ukrainian Australians who are proud of their home country.
“Zionism says nothing about political solutions for this land, including borders and coexistence; all of which can be reconciled within the Zionist philosophy and indeed be welcomed,” he said.
But Ohad Kozminsky, executive member of the Jewish Council of Australia, disagreed with Aghion and told protesters on Sunday that a “wrong choice” was being forced on the public.
“There is no choice between standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people and standing in solidarity with the Jewish people killed as a result of racist violence,” Kozminsky said.
Another speaker, Jasmine Duff, a national co-convenor of Students for Palestine, defended the controversial phrase “globalize the intifada,” which critics claimed was a call for violence.
“This word is an Arabic word and means uprising,” he said.
Duff chanted slogans such as “Long live the intifada” and “There is only one solution, the intifada revolution.” Duff also called media figures such as Eddie McGuire and Kyle Sandilands “racist scum” for their criticism of her movement.
When the rally ended, some protesters chanted “Death to the IDF” and “All Zionists are terrorists.”
Aghion said the NSW government was taking action to outlaw such chants. “These are the very hymns that are being used in Australia to incite violence against Zionists, which means Jews,” he said.
Victoria Police said there were no problems or arrests at the rally.
Albanese’s office declined to comment but stated: a previous statement We invite Herzog to Australia.
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Rachael Dexter is a journalist working on The Age’s City team. Contact her at rachael.dexter@theage.com.au, rachaeldexter@protonmail.com or via Signal at @rachaeldexter.58.Connect with: Facebook or email.
