WEBVTT - The ‘fantasy’ behind Palestine protests 

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<v Speaker 1>From The Australian. Here's what's on the front. I'm christanaming it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's Monday, October thirteenth, twenty twenty five. Climate Change and

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<v Speaker 1>Energy Minister Chris Bowen wants China and India to invest

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<v Speaker 1>in Australia's renewable energy rollout. He says that's because they're

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<v Speaker 1>two of the biggest carbon emitters in the world and

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<v Speaker 1>Australia's efforts are unlikely to move the dial on emissions

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<v Speaker 1>reductions without their input. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will

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<v Speaker 1>join US President Donald Trump and other world leaders at

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<v Speaker 1>a signing ceremony for the Middle East Peace Steel in

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<v Speaker 1>Egypt on Monday. Trump is expected to arrive in Jerusalem

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<v Speaker 1>to a hero's welcome. He'll address Israel's parliament and visit

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<v Speaker 1>the Western Wall as the nation prepares to welcome home

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<v Speaker 1>at least twenty living hostages taken captive during the October

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<v Speaker 1>seven attacks by Hamas in twenty twenty three, or is

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<v Speaker 1>alive right now. At the Australian dot Com dot a U,

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<v Speaker 1>members of Australia's Jewish community gathered to remember Israelis killed

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<v Speaker 1>and captured by her Maas over the weekend. That's as

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<v Speaker 1>thousands of pro Palestine activists marched through the streets of

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<v Speaker 1>Australia's biggest cities. But as the gunfire quiets in the

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<v Speaker 1>Middle East, the question becomes what are they marching for?

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<v Speaker 1>That's today's episode. In Gaza City on Saturday, there was

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<v Speaker 1>an unfamiliar quiet. For only the second time in more

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<v Speaker 1>than two years, a ceasefire was in effect, and as

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<v Speaker 1>Palestinians streamed back into the northern parts of the Gaza Strip,

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<v Speaker 1>there was hope that, thanks to a historic peace deal

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<v Speaker 1>between Israel and Hermas, it would stick. But around fifteen

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<v Speaker 1>thousand kilometers away in Sydney, thousands gathered to protest. At

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<v Speaker 1>a rally in Melbourne, Senator Lydia Thorpe made a stunning declaration.

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<v Speaker 2>Parlament have the Huppine I am not then to make plan.

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<v Speaker 1>And in Brisbane organizers urged hundreds to escalate their demonstration efforts.

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<v Speaker 1>The Sydney march, organized by the Palestine Action Group, proceeded

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<v Speaker 1>despite a ruling by the New South Wales Court of

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<v Speaker 1>Appeals that a planned march from Hyde Park to the

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<v Speaker 1>Opera House was a public safety risk. Cam the Peace

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<v Speaker 1>Plan agreed to by Israel and Hamas has seen Israel's

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<v Speaker 1>defense force drawback significantly in the Gaza Strip and Palestinians

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<v Speaker 1>able to return home this weekend. That is ostensibly what

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<v Speaker 1>pro Palestine groups have been demonstrating for over the past

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<v Speaker 1>two years. So why did these marches in Sydney, Melbourne

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<v Speaker 1>and Brisbane go ahead on Sunday?

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<v Speaker 3>I think Christian that these marches have almost become institutionalized

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<v Speaker 3>and ritualized to a degree.

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<v Speaker 1>Cameron Stewart is the Australian's chief international correspondent.

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<v Speaker 3>And they're morphed from calling for a cease fire, which

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<v Speaker 3>of course they were calling for, and now as cease

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<v Speaker 3>far has been delivered, they're not particularly comfortable with that.

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<v Speaker 3>A lot of the more activist rump of the pro

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<v Speaker 3>Palestinian movement, which a lot of those were the ones

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<v Speaker 3>we did see marching this weekend, really have a far

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<v Speaker 3>broader agenda and that is really they just don't want

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<v Speaker 3>Israel to exist. I think that is really the only

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<v Speaker 3>summary you can have.

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<v Speaker 2>A ceasefire is not peace.

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<v Speaker 3>A cease fire does not unbury the dead. They want

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<v Speaker 3>a peace plan that gives complete sovereignty to a Palestinian state,

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<v Speaker 3>a whole lot of conditions which Israel would never accept,

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<v Speaker 3>and part of their agenda is to try to persuade

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<v Speaker 3>countries to agree with their concept that a genocide has

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<v Speaker 3>been committed in Gaza. They really want a whole series

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<v Speaker 3>of conditions that simply are just not going to be

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<v Speaker 3>met by Western countries. And so they're sort of living

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<v Speaker 3>in a bit of a fantasy world to a degree,

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<v Speaker 3>and it's a world that's not the reality of the

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<v Speaker 3>Middle East. The Middle East is so complex, it is

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<v Speaker 3>so difficult to make any sort of successful peace deal

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<v Speaker 3>or resolution. And I think it's quite ironic that after

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<v Speaker 3>calling for a cease fire for so long, there is

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<v Speaker 3>a cease fire now. And this is a cease fire

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<v Speaker 3>which overwhelmingly benefits the Palestinian people of Gaza. It stops

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<v Speaker 3>the bombs, it lets in third aid, it has an

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<v Speaker 3>interiant government that is neither harmus nor Israel. It's overwhelmingly

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<v Speaker 3>in their favors. And here we are, We've actually got

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<v Speaker 3>one which, fingers crossed on all sides, will succeed. And

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<v Speaker 3>yet it has been criticized rather than celebrated.

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<v Speaker 1>Is the pro Palestine movement splintering? Do you think into

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<v Speaker 1>one group who believe their goal has been achieved and

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<v Speaker 1>that this peace deal is what they wanted, and those

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<v Speaker 1>with more extreme views.

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<v Speaker 3>Since the October seven massacre, we've had two types of

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<v Speaker 3>Palestinian protesters. One of the ones I call Mum and

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<v Speaker 3>Dad protesters. They're the ones who came along to protest

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<v Speaker 3>the very high Seville and death toll in Gaza ant

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<v Speaker 3>Corp for a ceasefire. Now that group no longer has

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<v Speaker 3>a reason to march. The other half of the protesters

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<v Speaker 3>were what I call the more activist rump, and they're

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<v Speaker 3>the ones who are calling for the eradication of israel

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<v Speaker 3>trants from the river to the sea, coining Israeli genocidal state,

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<v Speaker 3>et cetera, et cetera. I mean, these are activist demands

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<v Speaker 3>that are extreme and we're completely unrealistic. But that is

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<v Speaker 3>the group we are seeing on the streets now. And

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<v Speaker 3>these activists are generally incredibly unpleasant, and I think that

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<v Speaker 3>the vast majority of Australians, I really think Middle Australia

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<v Speaker 3>are a sick of it and be quite revolted by it.

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<v Speaker 1>In the wake of their court loss, organizers of Sunday's

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<v Speaker 1>protest in Sydney said their case has significant implications for

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<v Speaker 1>protest laws across Australia, and they've called for legislative reform

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<v Speaker 1>to protect their right to demonstrate. The thing is, they've

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<v Speaker 1>never been stopped, and the Albanese Labor government has largely

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<v Speaker 1>supported freedom of assembly. But as threats of burning Parliament

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<v Speaker 1>in support of the cause are banded about, is the

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<v Speaker 1>political response adequate.

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<v Speaker 3>I think there's a lot more pressure now on politicians

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<v Speaker 3>and the police to restrict these protests in a way

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<v Speaker 3>that of course in normal Australian society, no one wants

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<v Speaker 3>protests restricted. But I've really got to say that some

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<v Speaker 3>of the pro Palestinian organizers would have only themselves to

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<v Speaker 3>blame if there is a curtailing of their freedom. For example,

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<v Speaker 3>they of course wanted to march on Sunday to the

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<v Speaker 3>Opera House, and that was a symbolic attempt to remind

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<v Speaker 3>people of that disgraceful protest on October the nine, twenty

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<v Speaker 3>twenty three, two days after the October seven massacre, where

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<v Speaker 3>of course Jews were villified and flags were burnt in

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<v Speaker 3>front of the Opera House. Now that was a provocative

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<v Speaker 3>thing to ask to have that protest on Sunday go

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<v Speaker 3>to the opera house. But I think that does show

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<v Speaker 3>the dark intent and the dark heart of some of

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<v Speaker 3>the pro Palestinian activists. So if they are accorded less

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<v Speaker 3>freedom in the future, they only have themselves to blame,

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<v Speaker 3>I think.

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<v Speaker 1>On Friday, the head of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network

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<v Speaker 1>told British TV host Piers Morgan the October seven attacks

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<v Speaker 1>were an act of resistance. Twelve hundred Israelis were killed

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<v Speaker 1>in the twenty twenty three assault and two hundred and

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<v Speaker 1>fifty one civilians and soldiers were taken hostage by Homas militants.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm not going to call it an acted terrors would

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<v Speaker 2>you call it? I'm going to call it part of

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<v Speaker 2>the Palatinian resistance. The Zionist experiment failed in ethnically cleansing

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<v Speaker 2>and extinguishing all of the Palestinians, and the Palestinians for

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<v Speaker 2>an oppressor pieces when the oppressed isn't resisting, when they're silent.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you make of this conflation of what is

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<v Speaker 1>essentially a death cult in Hamas with the Palestinian people

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<v Speaker 1>they've oppressed for almost twenty years. What does that do

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<v Speaker 1>to an already fraught discourse about this conflict.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, it's just an incredibly vicious interpretation really of what

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<v Speaker 3>was a horrific terrorist attack on twelve hundred Israelis. It's

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<v Speaker 3>almost beyond the pale to not call that a terrorist attack.

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, basically by saying it's an active resistance effectively

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<v Speaker 3>justifies it. I mean, this is the problem. You've got

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<v Speaker 3>absolutely not even a sceric of objectivity or frankly humanity

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<v Speaker 3>in that sort of comment. It's very hard starting point

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<v Speaker 3>to even talk sense and logic to these sort of

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<v Speaker 3>groups when that's where they're coming from. And of course

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<v Speaker 3>that really does fuel antisemitism in Australia. It basically says

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<v Speaker 3>this laughter of Jews is justified if there's a political

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<v Speaker 3>motivation behind it. I mean, that's of course disgraceful thing

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<v Speaker 3>to say, and very sadly, in the last two years

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<v Speaker 3>we have seen over and over how this has bled

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<v Speaker 3>into attacks, abuse, the burning of synagogue's, general harassment of

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<v Speaker 3>Australia's Jewish community. They are words that literally do lead

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<v Speaker 3>to anti Semitism and so they should be condemned.

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<v Speaker 1>Coming up. Australia's Jewish community remembers October seven gatherings of

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<v Speaker 1>a different kind took place across Australia on Sunday as

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<v Speaker 1>the Jewish community came together to remember those lost in

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<v Speaker 1>the October seven attacks, and.

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<v Speaker 3>Stuart I went to one on Sunday morning in the

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<v Speaker 3>Melbourne suburb of Corfield. Hundreds of Jewish people turned up,

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<v Speaker 3>wrapping Israeli flags around themselves and singing songs, having prayers.

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<v Speaker 3>And it was interesting Christian because I've gone to a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of these protests on both sides of the last

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<v Speaker 3>two years. But the first Jewish gathering where everyone was happy,

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<v Speaker 3>people were crying. They were crying with happiness and hope

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<v Speaker 3>and anticipation that the hostages were going to finally be

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<v Speaker 3>brought home, that the war was over, hopefully permanently, but

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<v Speaker 3>the guns had fallen silent. There was really a happy

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<v Speaker 3>tone to it, and that's just so vastly different to

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<v Speaker 3>all of the other protests that I've been to. And

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<v Speaker 3>it was very dignified, very polite. There was no abuse

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<v Speaker 3>of politicians. There was just gratitude in a way that

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<v Speaker 3>Donald Trump, Benjamin et Yahou and international community had helped

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<v Speaker 3>us forge this peace deal. It was a very peaceful

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<v Speaker 3>and respectful occasion.

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<v Speaker 1>How is Australia's Jewish community feeling. Knowing these demonstrations are

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<v Speaker 1>taking place on or so close to the two year

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<v Speaker 1>anniversary of the October seven attacks, a.

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<v Speaker 3>Lot of the Jewish community was horrified that specific protests

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<v Speaker 3>were actually planned and occurred on October seven. And you know,

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<v Speaker 3>for the Jewish community, people I've spoken to, they just say, look,

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<v Speaker 3>it's more of the same, It's what they've experienced over

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<v Speaker 3>the past two years. And the indignity of having that done,

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<v Speaker 3>I think was just very in sensors. To be fair,

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<v Speaker 3>the numbers, thankfully were not very big at these protests.

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<v Speaker 3>It's not like, you know, thousands and thousands of people

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<v Speaker 3>turned out, so clearly that message was heard by a

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<v Speaker 3>lot of people and they didn't turn up. But nevertheless

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<v Speaker 3>the activists again didn't care, and they just went ahead

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<v Speaker 3>and did the protests.

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<v Speaker 1>Cameron Stewart is The Australian's chief international correspondent. You can

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<v Speaker 1>read the latest from the Middle East and around the

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<v Speaker 1>world at the Australian dot com dot au