Pride in Protest group banned from parade
An activist float at the Sydney Mardi Gras claiming that a Jewish float supported genocide was kicked out less than 24 hours before the parade.
The left-wing Pride of Protest group, which has previously marched in the parade with Palestinian flags and has recently claimed that the Mardi Gras organization is transphobic, was removed from the parade after failing to respond to an official warning on Friday morning.
Mardi Gras Chief Executive Jesse Matheson sent an email to Pride and Protest at 11 a.m. Friday, asking the group to remove an Instagram post that called Dayenu, a Jewish community, “pro-genocide” and claimed they “support genocide.”
“[Mardi Gras] “The nature and manner of these statements, directed at an approved participant in the parade, raise serious concerns about compliance with the code of conduct,” he wrote. The organization had received complaints about Pride in Protest’s posts.
Mardi Gras’ code of conduct prohibits parade participants from harassing, bullying, or discriminating against other participants.
Dayenu withdrew from this year’s parade, citing security concerns following the Bondi attack. But last week they announced they were rejoining walk.
A spokesman for Dayenu said he was “deeply hurt and hurt” by his social media posts.
“Dayenu is not a Zionist organization and we believe that this word is used to insult our Jewish community rather than the word Jew or Jew,” they said.
In November 2023, the Mardi Gras organization published a letter supporting a ceasefire in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Dayenu expressed concern that they were not consulted before the letter was published and later discussed the matter with the organisation’s previous director general.
Mardi Gras has stated that it wishes to support Pride in Protest’s continued participation in the parade, stating that they have until 5pm on Friday for the posts to be removed and that they have confirmed in writing that they understand and comply with the terms and conditions of the parade.
However, Pride in Protest did not respond to the email, the letter, or subsequent follow-up emails. At 9pm on Friday, Matheson notified the organization that they had been removed from the parade.
“It is disappointing that we have not received any acknowledgment of our correspondence, nor
In his overnight email, Matheson said you had read the parade terms and conditions and confirmed you would abide by them.
“We were hoping to resolve this matter constructively to enable Pride in Protest’s participation in this year’s Parade. Since no response was received within the required timeframe, the Pride in Protest entry has unfortunately been removed from the parade.”
Protesting Pride on Saturday morning harshly criticized their removal and called on Mardi Gras to immediately rescind the decision.
Spokesperson Jean Maxine said the emails went unanswered because they were sent during business hours to a person working at the organization at the time.
“This person is a full-time employee in the medical industry, so emailing during business hours to request a response from the COB is unreasonable,” he said.
“The 5pm deadline allowed the collective only six hours to respond. Telephone requests to extend this deadline were rejected.”
Matheson said Pride in Protest “was asked and refused to remove unacceptable public comments directed against another small community group.”
“This is not about censorship or the suppression of a political point of view. Pride in protest has marched under the banner ‘No Pride in Genocide’ for many years, and Mardi Gras provided that space,” he said.
“This relates to behavior that includes harassment of other participants and refusal to comply with or accept agreed terms and conditions.”
A spokesperson for Dayenu said his group was willing to meet with Pride and Protest “to find common ground and build a respectful and informed relationship with each other.” He said he supported the decision to enforce the code of conduct.
“We believe Mardi Gras has become a safer and more inclusive space for the LGBT+ community because Mardi Gras enforces basic courtesy in how it expects its members to treat each other,” they said.
NSW Greens MP Amanda Cohn described the removal of Pride in Protest as an “extraordinary act of censorship”.
“Especially when organizers are happy to include the Liberal Party, which has called for a review of the parade’s funding and continued voting against LGBTQIA+ rights in parliament,” he added.
Pride in Protest announced plans to protest the decision by marching from City Hall to the parade ground in Hyde Park at 3.30pm on Saturday.
The 48th annual Sydney Mardi Gras will kick off at 7.30pm.
NSW Police will launch a high-visibility operation to monitor the parade on Saturday, with general police and riot officers involved. Police said Friday there was no immediate threat to the incident.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
