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Byron Shire
April 27, 2024

Richmond MP again called on for immediate Gaza ceasefire 

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Protest outside Justine Elliot’s office. Photo supplied

On Saturday, March 16 Northern Rivers Friends of Palestine unfurled a 20m scroll with the names of murdered children and host a ‘die-in’ action at the office of the federal Member for Richmond, Justine Elliot (Labor).

Co-organiser, Subhi Awad, says, ‘Together, we can make a difference. Let’s stand for peace, justice, and the fundamental right to life’.

Another co-organiser, Annie Pfingst, said, ‘Jewish people around the world say “Never again to genocide and ethnic cleansing” – Israel must stop its horrific slaughter in Palestine now’.

They are demanding action an ‘end to the violence that has claimed thousands of innocent lives, including over 12,000 children’.

Political failure

‘Despite the urgent need for action, our elected representative has failed to take a stand for peace. 

‘We refuse to remain silent while children suffer and die. 

‘During the die-in event, we will honour the memory of every child lost in this conflict and send a powerful message to our leaders: the killing must stop, and peace must prevail’.

Following the die-in action, the group say they will embarked on a convoy to join a Gold Coast rally.


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13 COMMENTS

  1. Is anyone running a roster on which group is allowed to demonstrate outside Justine Elliot’s (Labor) office each Friday?

    Honestly this stuff is getting beyond the pale: “Despite the urgent need for action, our elected representative has failed to take a stand for peace.” Much of the world has been trying to solve this implacable situation since 1948 and further back. What’s the story here: should Justine fly immediately to Israel and shirtfront Netanyahu? Should Albo and Penny go with her for backup or she she solve all this on her own?

    In her absence of action is she personally responsible for every child that dies from injury or malnutrition. Shame, shame on her!! Let’s let Bibi and Hamas totally off the hook!

  2. What an appalling demonstration from an appalling rentacrowd, I’m betting that 90% of these layabouts would not even have a good understanding of the history of the State of Israel. There are no good guys here, both sides have committed appalling acts, there will be no peace there until Hammas has been defeated because they, like their masters in Iran, are committed to the destruction of Israel, you can understand why the Israeli’s are a little sensitive about that. On the Israeli side there will be no peace while Netanyahu and his extreme right wing Govt. is in power, so I’m not very optimistic that meaningless demonstrations, Justine Elliott, or the Australian Govt are going to resolve this long running conflict. Maybe these bleeding hearts would be more successful protesting outside the Iranian and Israeli embassies.

  3. Palestinians were driven from their homes at gunpoint 75 years ago and have suffered a liteny of massacres since whether they rise up or peacefully protest
    80% of hamas militants were orphaned by the IDF what do you expect them to do .. send Israel a thank you card

    • No I don’t, I expect them to provoke the Israelis by murdering over a thousand innocent Israeli people with the full knowledge that the IDF will retaliate with the ferocity that it did and in retaliation kill thousands of innocent people in Gaza; what did you think the Israelis were going to do, send Hamas a thank you card?

      • True Keith, and I think the real point is: what do you expect lying outside Justine Elliot’s office to achieve where decades of international diplomatic efforts have failed?

  4. In response to the Hamas terrorist attack thousands of Israeli Palestinians have volunteered to join the Israeli army, including 1500 Israeli Palestinian Bedouins, and are fighting Hamas in Gaza. Across the Islamic world fanatic Muslems are crapping their pants at the web post of the funeral of an Israeli army Bedouin who died fighting Hamas in Gaza, as the congregation of his Muslim, Jewish and Christian Israelis joined in with his family’s Muslim prayers over his Israeli flag draped coffin.
    Note the protest sign above FROM THE RIVER TO THE SEA. That is a direct quote from the Hamas Charter that goes on to state that Hamas will takeover Israel and confiscate all land that wasn’t in private ownership before the establishment of modern Israel. That’s not a peace rally, it’s a rally for an Islamist war against Israel. There are two genuine sides to this issue where even who is talking for Palestinians is not cut and dried

  5. Quite sad to see that the community is unable to unite behind the cause of stopping a genocide, because of political points to be scored. In terms of calling for a ceasefire, this is an important goal, but it is worth bearing in mind that soon the numbers of lives lost to Israeli bombardment will be exceeded by those lost to starvation. Hunger appears to the next phase of Israel’s clearly stated genocidal intentions, and it is perhaps significant that its evidence-free smears against UNRWA, leading to some de-funding, took place as hunger was starting to become an issue.

    • Martin, most intelligent people in the community do not support terrorist organizations like Hamas for a very good reason, their prime commitment, as their creators in Iran also is, is for the destruction of the only western aligned democracy in the middle east, at the shocking expense of the Palestinian people. For better or worse the Israeli people do have the ability to hire and fire Govt’s, the poor buggers living in Gaza living under the extreme islamic laws of Hamas do NOT have that right, so please don’t try and lecture us on political extremism, you seem to have an awful lot to learn.

      • When Palestinians do it, they are called terrorists. When Israelis do it, they are called commandos.
        You want to bomb anyone that isn’t ‘western aligned’, AKA, flatten their country then invite them into ours?

        • This wasn’t the proposal either.

          The question is: “ How appropriate is blaming this mess on our local federal member?” A rather long 🏹?

        • Mr/Mrs CVS, that is nothing but leftist ideologist crap, I have not exonerated the Israelis for any appalling act, but your twisted small mind didn’t seem to notice that. And yes I would prefer a western aligned country anyday to an autocratic, extreme religious regime that subjugates and even murders women for not wearing a headscarf. If people like you think that is a great country why don’t you go and live there, I can assure you that you will not be missed.

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