Palestine activists vow to disrupt election campaign, with Greens backing

Melbourne’s pro-Palestinian activists have vowed to disrupt election campaigns with the Greens having their back, as a key protester brands Peter Dutton a ‘racist Temu-Trump’ and another is investigated for threatening to kill.

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Pro-Palestinian activists in Melbourne have vowed to resume weekly demonstrations following the collapse of the Gaza ceasefire, describing this period as a “critical” time to maximise disruptions before the federal election.

After two months of stalled demonstrations in Australia’s protest capital, activists will once again march in the streets of the CBD every Sunday.

Hard-line activist Mohammad Sharab, who is facing a kidnapping and assault trial, called Peter Dutton a “racist” knock-off version of Donald Trump in front of the hundreds of people gathered on Sunday and said there needed to be a change in politics.

“This is a very critical time for us to go and disrupt those election campaigns,” Sharab said.

“We have a Temu-Trump and that’s Dutton. That’s someone we definitely don’t need in power because he’s a racist Temu-Trump. We don’t need a more racist government than the one we have.”

Mohammad Sharab and wife Tasnim Sammak at a pro-Palestine Protest at Flinders Street Station. Picture: Brendan Beckett

‘Parliament is a racist … institution’

Greens federal candidate for the Victorian seat of Fraser, Huong Truong, also took the stage in an attempt to gain support from activists.

Ms Truong, who told the crowd she was an organiser for a pro-Palestine group called ‘We Vote For Palestine’, said if elected she would take the movement to parliament.

“Can you imagine how different this would be if I was standing here as an MP that can go into parliament and bring this grassroots voice into parliament,” she said.

“Parliament is a racist, white supremacist, colonial institution that still has not grappled with the fact that it is illegitimate until it recognises sovereignty for First Nations people”.

Burgertory boss Hash Tayeh was charged for saying “all Zionists are terrorists”. Picture: Wayne Taylor

Also among those in attendance was the high-profile businessman Hash Tayeh, who was recently charged for allegedly stating that “all Zionists are terrorists”.

Mr Tayeh had urged people to vote in candidates who “care about humanity”.

“We need to make sure that our electorates win … We need to make sure that we are voting in people that care about humanity, people that care about equality, people that care about justice,” Mr Tayeh said.

Speaking on his legal fight for chanting “all Zionists are terrorists,” Mr Tayeh said he was a “test case” and alleged others could be charged if he was convicted.

“It is important that we show up to every court case, not just mine, but every other activist so we do not get bashed behind closed doors,” he said.

“My court case will determine whether the rest of you are charged with using the same language that I used. I am a test case, but they made a mistake because this test case is going to bring them down.”

‘I will kill you’

Another hard-line activist, Ihab Al Alazhari was also among the contingent of prominent protesters.

The Australian can reveal that Victoria Police is investigating an alleged threat at last week’s protest where Mr Al Alazhari was heard yelling “I’ll kill you” at one Jewish state supporter.

Footage of the incident on social media shows Mr Al Alazhari saying: “In a free world, you have no hope. You have no hope.”

“Every child in Palestine born (was) born to come and kill you.

“I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you.”

“I’ll kill you, I’ll kill you”

shouted at Jews & their supporters in Melbourne

The person allegedly making threat - “I’ll kill you” - is Ihab Al Azhari@VictoriaPolice failed to act

Shameful@theheraldsun@ZionistFedAus@theage@3AW693@OzraeliAvi@australian@SkyNewsAusthttps://t.co/yNnBBzweUTpic.twitter.com/wTsFwiDLRX

— Menachem Vorchheimer (@MenachemV) March 27, 2025

One other woman who was wearing a mask could be heard saying, “Free Palestine from the disgusting people” and “Hamas is a resistance fighter”.

In a statement, a Victoria Police spokesperson said they were aware of the video circulating on social media, adding the protest that day was dynamic and tempers fuelled by opposing parties.

“Victoria Police had a highly visible presence with a focus on ensuring public safety and at the time of this video, were actively engaged in keeping the two opposing groups apart to ensure there was no breach of the peace,” the spokesperson said.

“A complainant attended Springvale Police Station on 28 March and reported an alleged threat at the protest and the matter is being investigated.”