Key Points
- Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators have gathered in Australian cities to call for an end to the Hamas-Israel war.
- Supporters of Israel held a vigil in Sydney, with many holding signs and images of those taken hostage by Hamas.
- Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said Jewish Australians have "never felt less safe" in Australia.
Pro-Palestinian supporters have rallied in Melbourne and Sydney after a suspicious fire razed a Palestinian business and
Thousands of demonstrators gathered at the State Library of Victoria on Sunday to call for an end to
Hash Tayeh, whose Burgertory restaurant in Caulfield was fire-bombed on Friday, said his staff were threatened and harassed in an attempt to silence his support for Palestinians.
"In a cruel act of arson, our store was reduced to ashes," Tayah told the crowd while draped in a Palestinian flag.
"To those who sought to silence us with hate and violence, I say you will not succeed. Love and unity will always prevail."
Melbourne rally co-chair Raphael Duffy, a Jewish man and socialist activist, said he was buoyed by the scenes of hundreds of thousands of people participating in a pro-Palestinian rally in London.
"If you want to fight against the kind of racism that caused the holocaust, you have to fight against," he said.
Other speakers included Victorian Greens Leader Samantha Ratnam, Medical Association for Prevention of War vice president Margaret Beavis and Palestinian academic Micaela Sahhar.
A nearby Starbucks closed temporarily and was plastered with stickers calling for a boycott of Israel, the coffeehouse chain has recently sued its own union after US workers expressed support for Palestinians.
Members of the crowd chanted "ceasefire now" and "free Palestine" as they walked down Swanston Steet.
Thousands more met at Sydney's Hyde Park.
Palestine Action Group spokesperson Josh Lees said protesters, who have gathered every week for the past five, would not stop
"This is a great crime, this is a massacre, this is a genocide," he said.
Thousands also gathered for a vigil in Sydney to show solidarity for Israel, with many holding "kidnapped" signs and the images of
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief Alex Ryvchin called for the destruction of the terrorist group, the safe rescue of every hostage and peace "for the land of Israel".
"Today, the Jewish people are one. There is no Israel and the diaspora," he told a crowd at Moore Park.
"If before October 7, the world did not know what we as Jews, as Zionists, were fighting for, now at least they know what we are fighting against."
But independent Jewish journalist and author Antony Loewenstein said it was untrue to suggest there was uniformity in the Australian Jewish community towards Israel and Palestinian territories.
Thousands also gathered for a vigil in Sydney to show solidarity for Israel. Source: AAP / Flavio Brancaleone
Loewenstein said Ryvchin's comments showed "no understanding and no sympathy for Palestinian suffering".
"This kind of sentiment actually contributes to rising anti-semitism," he said.
Victoria Police Inspector Scott Dwyer said he was confident the Caulfield restaurant fire was not religiously or politically motivated but security footage showed two people setting the shop alight and fleeing in a car parked nearby.
Jewish Australians have 'never felt less safe'
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said Jewish Australians have "never felt less safe" in Australia.
Marles condemned , a clash between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups on Friday sparked the evacuation of a nearby synagogue, which protest organisers have apologised for.
"This demonstration on behalf of Palestine in the heart of the Jewish community was unacceptable," he told Sky News on Sunday.
"Right now, Jewish Australians have never felt less safe, and this is a real problem and we need to be moving to fix that."
Calls have grown for a ceasefire in the conflict, as Palestinian officials said two babies had died and dozens more patients were at risk from .
Marles urged greater social cohesion in Australia, describing the events in the Middle East as an unfolding tragedy.
"People have a right to put pressure on their country's government, on us, but there shouldn't be demonstrations which are aimed at other members of the community," he said.
"Jewish Australians, as all Australians clearly, have a right to feel safe within their country."
The defence minister also denounced Islamophobic comments and acts aimed at Australia's Muslim community following the latest outbreak of violence in the Middle East.
"There are Muslim Australians I've spoken to ... who feel a sense of isolation in this moment," he said.
"That's unacceptable as well."
Opposition defence spokesperson Andrew Hastie also condemned Friday's protest in Melbourne, labelling it as "thuggish behaviour".
"It was a power grab and it was an assertion of one group over another for primacy in the public space," he told Sky News.
"The government has to lead, has to be clear about what is acceptable and, if necessary, use the law to move these people on, or indeed prosecute and take care of it."
Hastie said Israel had shown "great restraint" in its response to the conflict following the 7 October attacks by Hamas, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Australia.
"(Israel) have had people from across the globe calling on them for restraint, and they've sent millions of warnings to people living in Gaza to evacuate, reminding them that there might be an attack imminent," he said.
Australia 'complicit' in conflict, UN human rights expert says
In Adelaide, a visiting United Nations human rights expert reiterated calls for an embargo on arms supply to the Hamas-Israel war, singling out Australia as complicit.
Francesca Albanese, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, warned there was a risk violence could escalate in the weeks and months ahead.
Albanese said she would discuss an arms embargo to prevent future violence when she meets with Australian MPs.
"(Australia) is complicit," she said during a speech on Saturday night.
"I really need you to remind your political leadership they need to stop reciting the mantra of negotiation to end the conflict.
"The occupation must cease."
