On Friday May 15, protesters gathered in front of Sydney Town Hall in commemoration of the 78th anniversary of Nakba Day.

Nakba, meaning ‘Catastrophe’ in Arabic, is the day of recognition of the mass displacement of Palestinian peoples during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war.

Organised by the Palestine Action Group and emceed by Dalia Qasem and Yasmine Johnson, the event began at Sydney Town Hall where the crowd heard speeches from Jamil Sawalmeh (ActionAid Palestine Country Director), Senator Mehreen Faruqi (Greens), Nakba survivor Fouad Shriedy and others.

“…It’s obviously the biggest day of commemoration after the Pro-Palestine movement every year, but I think it’s been, you know, strengthened by the increased community support for Palestine,” Yasmine Johnson told City Hub.

Sydney joined ten other cities across Australia in the Day of recognition, using the event to protest the current Israeli-Palestinian conflict, US-Iranian conflict and attacks on Lebanon.

“…Nakba has never ended, and what is accelerating alongside it globally, and here as well, is the attempted erasure of Palestinian identity, of Palestinian Indigeneity, of even the right to tell history or to speak the Arabic language with governments wanting to criminalise words like ‘intifada,’” said Faruqi, regarding the NSW Government’s attempts to ban the phrases “globalise the intifada” and “from the river to the sea” in some contexts.

The speeches emphasised the importance of organisation and commitment to express their desire for Palestinians in Gaza, referring to the Freedom Flotilla, as well as the arrested protesters from the Isaac Herzog rally last February, whose charges have been withdrawn by police last week.

“The message I would like to send to you today is a message of solidarity and continued support, which is deeply important. It has been felt, heard and appreciated by the Palestinian people…” said Jamil Sawalmeh in his address.

Among the criticism of the Israeli Government, and the United States’ involvement, speakers also took the opportunity to criticise the Albanese Government.

“The Labor Government is shamefully doing the dirty work for Israel… Labor laments the killing of civilians but then supplies the weapons that kills them,” said Senator Faruqi.

Nakba rally attendees tell City Hub more needs to be done

Talking to City Hub, attendees shared this sentiment towards the Albanese government, believing that not enough is being done to end the war.

“I want them to sanction Israel. I want them to stop supplying weapons. I want them to speak out with courage. I want them to support our Australian activists who are on the Samud flotilla. I want them to stand up for Australians, for the oppressed,” one attendee told City Hub.

Others felt that whilst efforts like the Royal Commission into Antisemitism are important, the Government is losing focus on the war.

“It’s also concerning that our government feels it’s more of a priority to ban words and to actually stop a genocide or stop our complicity in a genocide. I just think it’s a deflection and I think it’s ridiculous personally,” said another protester.

Following the speeches, crowds joined to march down George St, down Bathurst St and up Pitt St, before returning to Town Hall via Market St, with a police presence escorting the march.

The crowd held Palestinian flags and various signs expressing their solidarity for the movement, whilst others holding megaphones and drums chanted “free Palestine”, as well as “…from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which could be heard throughout the CBD.

Many of the attendees, though expressing the day’s importance in the global pro-Palestinian movement, numerous attendees when asked admitted to not knowing about the day prior to the PAG’s announcement of the rally on social media on April 15.

“I think the issue has been kind of put aside for a lot of decades; and hopefully since the genocide, people [have] become more aware,” one protester shared with City Hub while participating the march.

In November 1947, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution partitioning Palestine into two states, one Jewish and one Arab, with Jerusalem under a UN administration – a proposal which the Arab world rejected.

In effect with the departure of British forces from the region, and the declaration of independence of the State of Israel, minor conflicts in the region led to the beginning of the 1948 war and the displacement of approximately 700,000 Palestinians.

Today, Palestinians continue to be dispossessed and displaced by Israeli settlements, evictions, land confiscation and home demolitions.