Thousands attend Israel, Palestine rallies in Brisbane

Thousands of Israel and Palestinian supporters have rallied in Brisbane on Sunday, with calls of “genocide” and a group surrounded by police performing the haka, as the war enters its sixth week. VIDEO

Thousands of Israel and Palestinian supporters have rallied in Brisbane on Sunday, with calls of “genocide” and a group surrounded by police performing the haka, as the war enters its sixth week.

Similar rallies were held around the country, with about 50,000 attending in Melbourne and Sydney.

A group performs the haka at the pro-Palestine rally while surrounded by police. Picture: Liam Kidston

Thousands gathered at King George Square in Brisbane around 2pm for a pro-Palestine rally, just hours after a pro-Israel rally in the city.

The pro-Palestine rally kicked off with hundreds of people chanting “free, free Palestine”.

“From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” they chanted.

Attendee Henry Davidian referred to the conflict as “genocide”.

“I’m against genocide and this is what it’s looking like,” he said.

“A small country the size of a barrel just being binned is not right.”

Palestine supporters at the rally Sunday afternoon as a church group performs the haka. Picture: Liam Kidston

Meanwhile crowds chanted “free free Palestine” against a church group from Coomera as they performed the haka while surrounded by police.

The church group performed the haka while holding up Jewish and Maori flags.

The rally chanted “free, free Palestine” against the group before they were escorted away by police.

Thousands gather for the pro-Palestinian rally and march through Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

Soon after, co-chair of the rally Oula told the crowds change was needed.

“Today we want out children to lead the march,” she said.

Another speaker at the vigil, Anas Abdullah, said we had “failed Palestine”.

“Palestine, we are sorry,” he said.

“The world remains silent watching this catastrophe unfold.

“In the face of it personally we must remember the power of hope, it was hope that carried the dreams of civil rights leaders,”

“The people of Palestine yearn for freedom and dignity,” he said.

The rally was a sea of flags. Picture: Liam Kidston

The speaker called Palestine the beaker of resilience.

The march in Brisbane began on Adelaide Street, travelled down Edward Street and through to Mary and George streets before returning to Adelaide St.

Crowds chanted “Albanese you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide” as they marched down George St about 4pm.

Children began speaking at the vigil as crowds sat on the road around 4.15pm.

“I believe that if we stop all this genocide, the world can be a better place,” one child said.

Another child told everyone to pray for Palestine.

“How many kids have died. Kids, babies, adults, old people have died. Free Palestine,” a child said.

A sign held at the rally. Picture: Liam Kidston

An adult speaker said it was shocking that the children had a better understanding of the conflict than our political leaders.

Spokesperson for Justice for Palestine Dr Jamal Nabulsi said the rally was to call for a ceasefire.

“We are joining here today to call on the Australian government to demand a ceasefire and also to call for an end to Israel’s siege on Gaza.”

“It’s a very emotional time at the moment obviously, alot of people have lost friends and loved ones,” he said.

Amelia Khan, 14, said she was attending to stand up for her fellow Muslims.

“I’m here to stand up for basic humanity and basic rights against the genocide that is happening,” she said.

She described it as an emotional day.

“There’s so many deaths that are happening, children, mothers,” she said.

“It’s not a war it’s a genocide.”

Scenes from the pro-Palestine rally in Brisbane on Sunday.

Pictures: Rose Innes

Ms Khan said people needed to open their eyes.

“This needs to be talked about everywhere, globally, not just in Brisbane,” she said.

Greens Lord Mayoral Candidate Jonathon Sriranganathon and Greens MP Amy MacMahon were in attendance.

The pro-Palestine rally came after hundreds of protesters gathered in Brisbane city Sunday morning in support of Israel.

The pro-Israel rally, organised by the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies Incorporated (QJBD), was held at Queen’s Park and saw protesters hold signs that read “condemn Hamas terrorism” and “indigenous homeland of the Jews”.

Pro-Israel march at Queens park on Sunday. Picture: Liam Kidston

The conflict has resulted in the deaths of thousands of people, with Hamas taking more than 200 hostages.

Israeli woman and Brisbane resident Gil shared a harrowing story of seeing Palestinian tradies she used to work with side by side in Gaza, carrying guns and ripping people from their homes in footage of the Hamas attack.

She said “they knew all of us” and had warm smiles and kind eyes.

“We used to go to the central dining room for lunch while they were praying for Allah on the main grass area, and then joined us to eat,” she said.

The pro-Israel rally at Queens park. Picture: Liam Kidston

“It was a daily ritual. I knew how they took their coffee, they were great.

“And I remember having the sense they are just like us, one of us, until the seventh of October.

“I saw them. I saw those tradies, with the kind eyes we used to work with, carrying a gun. I saw them carrying people out of their home.”

Gil said seeing the men she used to peacefully work with “broke her completely”.

Hannah and Emily at the pro-Israel march. Picture: Liam Kidston

“Each terrorist was promised 10 grand and a home for bringing in an Israeli hostage,” she said.

“I don’t know if I could ever trust people like I trusted them before.”

Gil recalled the moment she and her family learned of the Hamas attack on October 7, and her desperate attempts to stay in touch with relatives in the hours that followed.

“The tension and the fear that we might not get a text in return was unbearable,” she said.

“After long hours in the middle of the night here, they were rescued by the army while they were running under fire, from one burned house to another, seeing and smelling sites of horror.”

Judith Daniel at the pro-Israel march. Picture: Liam Kidston

While her immediate family was safe, Gil soon received word that many other relatives had died or were kidnapped by Hamas.

“My great cousin and her husband protected their beautiful three kids ... (who) lost their father knowing he was murdered while he took the bullets so his family could leave,” she said.

“(He) was such a positive, gentle, loving person. I always thought he was a smiley teddy bear.

“My other cousin lost her 16-year-old boy, such an amazing boy, who was burned to death in their home and her 13-year-old gorgeous girl was kidnapped by Hamas.

“She has lost her only two kids. What does she have in this world left to live for?”

Hundreds attended the pro-Israel march. Picture: Liam Kidston

Shaina, whose grandparents were holocaust survivors, said she was living “constantly on edge” and that for many, it no longer felt entirely safe to publicly express Judaism.

“I’ve got friends who are scared to say their name because it sounds Israeli or Jewish,” she said.

“I have a friend who can’t go for a walk in her favourite place because she sees a swastika in the cement.

“I can’t even imagine the lived experience that my grandparents have and then having to witness this again, it’s just absolutely horrific,” she said.

“I didn’t really understand intergenerational trauma until now … it really is sort of an existential threat, on our identity on our people, and it affects all of us, whether you’re Israeli or not, it affects every single Jew around the world.

“We feel sick, it’s honestly like, another holocaust.”

Shaina’s grandparents are holocaust survivors. Picture: Lachie Millard

Another descendant of holocaust survivors, Maya Glassman, addressed the crowd, recounting the trauma she felt when finding out her relative was a victim of the Hamas attack on the Israeli music festival, which she described as the “blood party”.

“(I’m) constantly thinking about the dead, about those colourful souls, who just like me and many of my friends enjoys a sunrise dancing session in nature, before being slaughtered by those monsters,” she said.

“Hostages are also constantly in my mind, pumping my heart with strong longings for people I’ve never met but are deeply engraved in my heart.”

Ms Glassman asked the crowd if they felt scared like her: “Thinking to yourself, is it really safe for me to publicly support Israel right now?”

“On Monday, a Jewish protester was murdered in LA in California, for being a Jew for waving the Israeli flag.

“You have so many hate crimes these days and anti-semitism, and people are really ignorant about what’s happened.

“And it’s making me angry because they want to support they want to be politically active, they don’t want to be silenced, but they don’t have the basic information and what they actually do is to fuel the conflict with more hate and violence.”

Hundreds gathered for the pro-Israel march at Queens park, Brisbane. Picture: Liam Kidston

The peaceful protest was initially scheduled to march through Brisbane towards King George Square but that was abandoned after violent outbreaks at a pro-Israel rally in Melbourne this weekend.

The community is asking for peace in Gaza, for the release of the hostages and for the “elimination” of Hamas.

QJBD President Jason Steinberg said the Jewish community was standing up for Israel and saying no to antisemitism and violence.

“We are advocating with the government, we are liaising with Queensland police, who are doing an absolutely amazing job,” he said.

“We do not want what we’ve seen in Sydney. We do not want what we’ve seen in Melbourne, or Adelaide or Perth or Los Angeles or any other city around the world. We don’t want it (violence) here.

“We don’t want our children to be scared at school. We don’t want them to be bullied. We don’t want people to go to work and feel that they’ve got to hide their Judaism. That is the state we do not want to live in.”