PM says October 7 ‘not a day for demonstrations’ ahead of anniversary rallies

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called for “decent human behaviour” to mark October 7 as Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan condemned “deeply disrespectful” plans by pro-Palestinian groups to protest on the anniversary of the Hamas massacre that incited the war in Gaza.

With Israel and Hamas inching towards acceptance of a US-brokered peace plan to end a catastrophic conflict that has razed the Gaza Strip and killed an estimated 67,000 people, Albanese warned that any protests on Tuesday would undermine support for the Palestinian cause in Australia.

“[Tuesday] is not a day for demonstrations,” Albanese said, as the premiers of Victoria and NSW condemned the protests organised in both states to mark the second anniversary of the atrocities in which Hamas militants murdered 1200 people and took another 250 captive.

Israel’s ensuing invasion of Gaza was labelled a genocide in a landmark United Nations inquiry a fortnight ago.

In Melbourne, the Free Palestine Coalition Group has urged people to gather on Tuesday near the National Gallery of Victoria, an institution previously targeted by anti-Israel protesters because of its association with the prominent Jewish Gandel family, and march through the city to state parliament.

Organisers of the Melbourne event, titled Honouring Palestine, describe October 7 as a “large-scale assault” by Hamas fighters. It instructed those attending not to bring signs, posters or flags.

In Sydney’s Bankstown, the Stand4Palestine organisation linked to Islamic fundamentalist group Hizb ut-Tahrir has organised a “Glory to Martyrs” demonstration to coincide with October 7.

A prominent Stand4Palestine supporter, Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun, said a day after the Hamas atrocities that he was “elated” by the attacks and later accused Israeli intelligence group Mossad of manufacturing antisemitic attacks in Australia.

Both groups are on the fringe of a broad-based Palestinian protest movement supported by trade unions, the Greens and academic, student, media, human rights and Aboriginal activists that peaked in August when an estimated 90,000 people walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Allan said anyone who protested on October 7 did not want peace in the Middle East or social harmony in Australian cities. “I condemn that behaviour,” she said. “It shouldn’t be occurring, and those who are choosing to mark this day with protest clearly are not acting in the interests of peace or supporting our great multicultural state.

“Behaving this way on the anniversary of the biggest single loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust on October 7, 2023, is deeply disrespectful, it is deeply inappropriate.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns said police would have no tolerance for hateful or intimidatory behaviour. “There is no place for anyone celebrating terrorism,” he said. “What happened on October 7 was a brutal terrorist attack, and no one should glorify or excuse that kind of violence.”

Albanese said it would be a sombre day for Jewish Australians. The date will be commemorated privately by observant Jews, who have postponed public events until after the Sukkot holidays.

Zionist Federation president Jeremy Leibler said any protests held on October 7 were a glorification of murder and abduction.

“This protest is nothing but a disgraceful celebration of Hamas’ October 7 massacre of 1200 people in Israel,” he said of the planned Melbourne event. “It is not about peace or ending the war; it’s about glorifying the murder and hostage-taking of Jews.”

Leading Palestinian activist Nasser Mashni said people had a right to mourn the slaughter in Gaza. “To suggest that vigils or protests are ‘inappropriate’ is itself a form of anti-Palestinian racism. What’s inappropriate is our government’s silence and complicity, condemning commemoration while ignoring the ongoing genocide in Palestine,” he said.

In a statement on their website, organisers of the Melbourne protest noted the prime minister and state leaders “offered no words of compassion to the Palestinian community” when they held a vigil last year.

Two weeks after Australia formally recognised Palestinian statehood at the United Nations General Assembly, Albanese and Opposition Leader Sussan Ley will mark the anniversary with speeches to parliament that outline the political divisions on the war in Gaza, although both leaders support US President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

On Monday, Albanese took aim at Greens leader Larissa Waters for linking anti-Jewish hatred of the kind that motivated last week’s fatal attack on worshippers at a Manchester synagogue in Britain to the Australian government’s refusal to sanction Israel for suspected war crimes in Gaza.

During an interview with the ABC Insiders program, Waters was repeatedly questioned about the Yom Kippur attack that left two Jewish people dead and three seriously injured in hospital and the rise of antisemitism in Australia. In response, she kept deflecting to Australia’s position on the war.

Albanese said he was stunned by Waters’ response, which he described as “undignified and not worthy of a senator”.

While the Coalition is also critical of Waters, Ley’s speech to be delivered on Tuesday will take aim at the Albanese government for failing to stand with Israeli people and its own Jewish citizens.

“We have allowed hateful harassment and division to take root, and we have imported conflict from overseas onto our streets and into our communities,” Ley will say. “To our great shame, we have allowed unending and divisive vilification of Australia’s Jewish community.”

In his address on Tuesday, Albanese will remember the Australian killed on October 7, Galit Carbone, whose brother is due to watch the speeches in parliament.

“Two years on, we remember all those who were lost on that day, the largest loss of Jewish life on any single day since the Holocaust,” Albanese will say, according to an advance copy of his speech, calling for a ceasefire and release of hostages.

The prime minister’s special envoy on antisemitism, Jillian Segal, this year reported that a “wave of hate” had crashed over Jewish people since October 7, 2023, particularly those working in academia, creative industries and media.

There are further national protests planned for next weekend, to mark “two years of genocide” since the war in Gaza began.

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