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Thousands gather at Australian protest calling for Gaza ceasefire,pro-Israel demand to free hostages

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Thousands protested for a ceasefire in Gaza and to free the hostages. Photo: X, formerly known as Twitter.

Sydney: Huge crowds have again flooded Australia’s capital cities in support of Palestinians, calling for an immediate ceasefire, while pro-Israeli groups converged on Sydney in a separate event calling for the release of hostages.


The pro-Palestinian rallies took place for the fifth weekend in a row since the beginning of the Israel-Gaza conflict following Hamas’s attack on 7 October and amid Israel’s subsequent bombardment of the besieged strip.


Significant crowds turned out to pro-Palestine events in Sydney and Melbourne on Sunday afternoon, while rallies were also planned for Brisbane’s King George Square.


In Melbourne, Palestine supporters gathered at the steps of the state library before moving towards the parliament.


Margaret Beavis, the vice-president of the Medical Association for Prevention of War, told the Melbourne event: “UN spokespersons have described the situation in Gaza as being a graveyard for thousands of children.”


Palestinian-Australian founder of the Burgertory restaurant, Hash Tayah, told the rally his staff had received threats before his business was destroyed by fire this week. The fire sparked clashes between pro-Palestine and pro-Israel groups in the Melbourne suburb of Caulfield on Friday night. Victoria police had said on Friday they did not believe the incident was linked to its owner’s support for Palestine.


Thousands protested for a ceasefire in Gaza and to free the hostages. Photo: X, formerly known as Twitter.

“To those who sought to silence us with hate and violence, I say, you will not succeed. Love and unity will always prevail,” Tayah told the rally.


Other speakers at the Melbourne rally included the Victorian Greens leader, Samantha Ratnam, and the Palestinian academic Micaela Sahhar.


Members of the crowd chanted “ceasefire now” and “free Palestine” as they walked down Swanston Street in the centre of Melbourne.


Also in Melbourne, Jewish community members flew kites in Caulfield Park with messages of hope for kidnapped children held by Hamas. The event was organised by Zionism Victoria, Habayit and United With Israel.


In Sydney, pro-Israel groups rallied to call on Hamas to release Israeli hostages. They held a vigil for the hostages and heard from a series of speakers at the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park.


Avi Efrat, a former Israeli soldier, told the crowd that his generation was turning out for pro-Israeli rallies because they were “braver” and “more enthusiastic”.


“This generation is different. This generation is smarter. This generation is braver. This generation is more enthusiastic. And this generation has courage. If we have to say something, we will say it loud and clear.”


Alex Ryvchin, the co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, spoke about the rise in antisemitism.


“Our generation has seen that antisemitism may slumber but it never dies,” he said. “Now it chants in our streets, it marks our businesses, it tries to terrorise us in our homes and our synagogues. And if it is not confronted by us all, it will devour once more. But we know who we are.”


NSW police said no arrests were made at either the pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian marches. Police deployed in significant numbers.


In Sydney, Palestine Action Group spokesperson Josh Lees said protesters would not stop turning out until there was a ceasefire.


Source: The Guardian




數千人聚集在澳洲抗議,呼籲加薩停火,親以色列要求釋放人質



大批人再次湧入澳洲首都城市,支持巴勒斯坦人,呼籲立即停火,而親以色列團體則聚集在雪梨舉行另一場活動,呼籲釋放人質。


自 10 月 7 日哈馬斯發動攻擊以及以色列隨後轟炸被圍困地帶以來,以色列與加薩衝突爆發以來,親巴勒斯坦集會已連續第五個週末舉行。


週日下午,大量人群參加了雪梨和墨爾本的親巴勒斯坦活動,布里斯班的喬治國王廣場也計劃舉行集會。


在墨爾本,巴勒斯坦支持者聚集在州立圖書館的台階上,然後走向議會。


預防戰爭醫學協會副主席瑪格麗特·比維斯在墨爾本的活動中表示: “聯合國發言人將加沙的局勢描述為數千名兒童的墓地。”


Burgertory 餐廳的巴勒斯坦裔澳洲創始人 Hash Tayah 在集會上表示,在他的餐廳本週被大火燒毀之前,他的員工就受到了威脅。 週五晚上,這場大火在墨爾本郊區考爾菲爾德引發了親巴勒斯坦和親以色列團體之間的衝突。 維多利亞警方週五表示,他們不認為這起事件與其主人對巴勒斯坦的支持有關。


「對於那些試圖用仇恨和暴力壓制我們的人,我想說,你們不會成功。 愛和團結將永遠佔上風,」塔亞在集會上說。

墨爾本集會上的其他演講者包括維多利亞綠黨領袖薩曼莎·拉特南(Samantha Ratnam)和巴勒斯坦學者米凱拉·薩哈爾(Micaela Sahhar)。


人群沿著墨爾本市中心的斯旺斯頓街行走時高呼“立即停火”和“自由巴勒斯坦”。

同樣在墨爾本,猶太社區成員在考菲爾德公園放風箏,為哈馬斯綁架的兒童傳遞希望。 該活動由維多利亞猶太復國主義、Habayit 和 United With Israel 組織。


在悉尼,親以色列團體集會呼籲哈馬斯釋放以色列人質。 他們為人質守夜,並在摩爾公園娛樂區聽取了一系列演講者的演講。


前以色列士兵阿維·埃弗拉特告訴人群,他這一代人之所以參加親以色列集會,是因為他們「更勇敢」、「更熱情」。


「這一代人不同了。 這一代人比較聰明。 這一代人更加勇敢。 這一代人更加熱情。 這一代人有勇氣。 如果我們必須說些什麼,我們會大聲而清晰地說出來。”


澳洲猶太人執行委員會聯合執行長亞歷克斯·里夫欽 (Alex Ryvchin) 談到了反猶太主義的興起。


「我們這一代已經看到,反猶太主義可能會沉睡,但它永遠不會消亡,」他說。


「現在它在我們的街道上高喊,它標誌著我們的企業,它試圖在我們的家和猶太教堂裡恐嚇我們。 如果我們不去面對它,它就會再次吞噬。 但我們知道我們是誰。”


新南威爾斯州警方表示,在親以色列或親巴勒斯坦的遊行中都沒有逮捕任何人。 警方部署了大量人員。


在悉尼,巴勒斯坦行動組織發言人喬許·利斯表示,在停火之前,抗議者不會停止遊行。


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