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Every year since 1938, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have taken to the streets on that date demanding action on the issues of Indigenous justice and sovereignty.
The claims of an Israeli genocide towards the Palestinians are currently being argued before the International Court of Justice in the Hague. The charge has been vehemently denied.
Speakers plan to draw parallels between Israel and Australia
“And so it’s pretty pretty obvious that there is a parallel.”
Palawa man Michael Mansell says it is incumbent upon January 26 rallies to acknowledge the situation of the Palestinians in Gaza. Source: AAP
Dr. Adel Yousif is a Palestinian academic at the University of Tasmania.
“So they have a permit system and you need a permit for everything: to visit a holy place [or] to move between one [place] to another.”
Some fear alienating Jewish allies
Ms Peris also pointed to modern examples of Jewish-Aboriginal solidarity, such as the Executive Council of Australian Jewry’s support for the Voice, and lawyer Ron Castan’s pursuit of the Mabo case in the High Court.
‘International solidarity is very important’
Independent senator Lidia Thorpe speaking at a Free Palestine event in November last year. Source: AAP / JOEL CARRETT/AAPIMAGE
However comments like Ms Peris’, which have been expressed elsewhere, notably by Professor Marcia Langton, are rejected by others as a conflation of the actions of the Israeli government with the attitudes of Jewish people everywhere, including in Australia.
“The relationship that Jewish people had, particularly with William Cooper and the support that we showed back in 1938, shows that international solidarity is very, very important,” the DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman told NITV.
“We could hardly put our head in the sand, and say, ‘The importance of changing the date takes precedence over the loss of 20,000 Palestinians at the hands of the … Israelis,” said Mansell.