Bridges of Protest

Bridges of Protest

Australia’s Gaza Solidarity Marches Signal a Shifting Civic Landscape

Thousands of people gathered on Sunday, August 3, 2025, and took to the rain-soaked streets of Sydney and Melbourne in a spectacular demonstration of their support of the Palestinian people. The most dramatic but peaceful confrontation between pro-Palestinian protesters and law enforcers marked the culmination of the protests, which were among the largest pro-Palestinian protests in the country in years and the debate about their limits and civil freedom as well as global justice had again raged in the country.

Out of a coalition of civil rights groups, unions, leaders of the Indigenous population, and political leaders organized by the Palestine Action Group, the marches gathered a broad range of Australians demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and more responsibility over what they term as the humanitarian disaster taking place in the region.

In Sydney, the march assembled in Lang Park and headed to the Sydney Harbor Bridge with its obvious symbolism, unity, and connection. The enormity of the crowd which was reckoned at surpassing 15,000 was represented by a wide array of individuals in society such as school kids, religion leaders, the art mongers as well as activists. Some of the most prominent guests were journalist and activist Julian Assange, Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi, and former New South Wales Premier Bob Carr.

Demonstrators held up banners that said, “End the Siege” and “Justice in Gaza” and the streets were filled with slogans and pans and pots thumping in honor of Malian protest traditions where people use pans and pots to signify unrest and hunger. Although it was wet and windy, morale was good.

But this sudden development occurred as NSW Police, in the name of fear of crowd crash, brought the march to a stop moments before the crowd was to arrive at the northern end of the bridge. A mobile alert was sent to protesters with geo-targeting to turn back. There was a peaceful de-escalation negotiated by the organizers and the crowd dispersed without any problem, still frustrated, however. There were a lot of curiosities as to why the road that was just a few days occasionally confirmed by the NSW Supreme Court had been suddenly shortened.

Protester Mariam Qureshi, 23, a student, said,

I was here to make my voice heard and we were not allowed to say everything we wanted to say. It seems unbelievable that this was not a political agenda.

The behind the scenes legal tug of war added more to the levels of scrutiny. Police in NSW had already attempted to shut down the protest by a last-minute court challenge, because of safety concerns. The Supreme Court however, defended the right to protest hence entitled it to protection as provided in free speech provisions. The sudden action on the march day elicited accusations against the authorities accusing the critics of subverting civil liberties.

Melbourne had its own version of that. Ten thousand of them were outside the State Library of Victoria and then went towards King Street Bridge. There was also deployment of police over there in response to the protest there also. The situation got heated when protesters made an act to break through the security line, they were scattered by the police. The Greens MP Samantha Ratnam, who attended the protest, said the state government was engaging in an aggressive and unnecessary display of force.

These protests are not taking place in empty spaces. There has been a greater polarization of global opinion regarding violence in the state of Gaza since mid-2024. Australia, which is geographically remote to the Middle East, has experienced an increasing amount of grass-root mobilization on the issue. In the first half of this year several states’ unions made motions denouncing the Israeli military actions and demanding an arms embargo. These calls have been intensified by the recent protests.

Meanwhile, the rallies have brought back into center stage of discussion the limits of political expression. Those who opposed the demonstrations include a few opponents in the federal opposition who state that the protest has the potential of causing distress in the community and eroding Australia’s multicultural harmony. There are also allegations of antisemitic crimes committed during preceding demonstrations — although they are not stated on August 3 acts, they still loom around the conversation.

Political leaders have acted in a cautious manner. The Prime Minister Anthony Albanese admitted the strong distress of many communities but publicly called Australians to express their feeling with dignity and respect. In the meantime, Federal Labor Party members such as Ed Husic who took part in the protest in Sydney, have been outspoken in their request that Australia should recognize Palestinian statehood, which is an idea gaining in popularity within the Labor Party itself, but which is still diplomatically very delicate.

There is more than politics to the protests, however. Young Australians, especially those whose ancestors have migrated and Indigenous Australians, find similarities between injustices encountered elsewhere in the world and injustices that they experience in Australia.

Tahlia Gordon, an Indigenous activist and one of the participants of the protest, said,

this is not only about Gaza. It is about the construction of definitions of justice, solidarity and whether certain voices are heard.

While both cities are getting back to business as usual, the echoes of August 3 have not yet subsided.

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are exclusively those of the author and do not reflect the official stance, policies, or perspectives of the Platform.