Israel supporters take to Melbourne streets
ABOUT 150 anti-Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigners gathered in Melbourne on Sunday to show their support for Israel at a Liberal Party-endorsed rally.
ABOUT 150 anti-Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaigners gathered in Melbourne on Sunday to show their support for Israel at a Liberal Party-endorsed rally.
At the demonstration, which moved from the QV Max Brenner chocolate shop to the steps of the Victorian State Library, they encountered pro-BDS campaigners in a non-violent, but vocal confrontation.
Liberal politicians from the Victorian and federal parliaments, together with Jewish community leaders, sipped hot chocolate from the Israeli-owned shop, waved Israeli flags and chanted: “We love you, Maxi, yes we do, we love your hot chocolate, too.”
Their chants were followed by the banging of pots and the chanting of a different tune from BDS supporters.
Banners and placards accusing Israel of terrorist activities and of committing genocide flanked the pro-BED group’s Jewish spokesman, John Zelig, a grandson of Holocaust survivors and a one-time member of Zionist youth movement Hashomer Hatzair. Zelig is among a number of Jewish BDS supporters.
As the two groups moved to the steps of the State Library, they faced off – waving placards, flags and chanting for their cause. Police encircled the BDS campaigners, splitting the two protest groups and the respective protests proceeded simultaneously.
One of the organisers of the anti-BDS demonstration, Victorian Young Liberals president Gideon Rozner welcomed the 150 protesters and Liberal politicians.
Talking about Israel, Max Brenner and the protest itself, Rozner pointed to 30 opposing protesters and shouted “we’re not going anywhere”.
Federal Member for Kooyong Josh Frydenberg, asked the protesters: “Where is your Boycott, Divestment, Sanction about the butchers in Syria, about [Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad in Iran and what about the perils of Hezbollah?”
Dr Danny Lamm, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry denigrated the BDS protesters, casting their arguments as “bogus”, while John Searle, president of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria accused the BDS protestors of being “anti-peace”.
David Southwick, Member for Caulfield, invited the BDS protesters to Parliament House, stating that any “serious” group would be willing to discuss these issues in a civil manner.
Zelig told The AJN he did not feel he was betraying his family and his heritage, identifying himself as a “socialist”, which cannot also mean “Zionist” at the same time.
“I am here to show that there is a quiet minority of Jewish Australians who do not accept what Israel is doing,” Zelig said.
But the Victorian president of Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) Dana Harel said that students, both Jewish and non-Jewish, have stood up against the BDS campaign.
“It doesn’t make sense to boycott a private company. It creates more violence and attacks, it doesn’t do anything for their cause,” Harel said.
Other politicians present at the rally included Higgins MP Kelly O’Dwyer, Senator Mitch Fifield, Senator Scott Ryan and Bentleigh MP Elizabeth Miller.
TIMNA JACKS
There were about 150 anti-BDS protesters in Melbourne CBD last Sunday. Photo: Peter Haskin
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