Around 90,000 people banded together on the Sydney Harbour Bridge to welcome a march for the defense of Palestine. That figure is derived from the New South Wales (NSW) Police’s own estimates. The lively scene outside The Union on a recent Saturday was convened out of opposition to Israel’s assaults on Gaza, and it drew the interest and participation of many marginalized communities across the city. The turnout blew past the 50,000 expected by rally planners, a sign of how much support has been building behind the cause.
The rally began with thousands of participants marching onto the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was subsequently closed due to safety concerns. Former Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna has called the conditions “dangerous,” “treacherous,” and sometimes “perilous.” Yet with more than 35 years of policing experience, he was one of the few to evaluate crowd behavior from a tactical standpoint as the day developed.
“At points today we were really concerned about a crowd crush,” – Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna
As tensions escalated, police threatened to arrest the marchers if they didn’t turn around. Thousands more excitedly made their way south across the bridge, as they prepared to receive additional instructions. The decision to reverse course came as authorities prioritized safety, especially given the large number of children present among the protesters.
The marchers featured many families with young children, a testament to the active commitment by the community to see this through. One of the other participants, Hanan, reminded us how important it is to teach future generations about fighting for what’s right.
“It’s very important to teach our children you stand up for what’s right. When something is unjust, you stand up for those who don’t have a voice.” – Hanan
The protest’s organizer, acclaimed activist asviq, captured the spirit of determination that prevailed throughout the crowd. They announced loud and clear that rain or shine, storm or sunshine, nothing would ever stop them from fighting for Palestine.
“Rain, hail, or shine, we will free Palestine!” – Sydney march organiser
Shadow Communications Minister and federal Labor MP Ed Husic was one of many state and federal Labor MPs who participated in the march at its very front. He mentioned the need to hold governments accountable. When they willfully disregard the world’s warnings about their abysmal treatment of civilians in conflict zones, we need to act.
“Where the Netanyahu government won’t listen to international concern about the treatment of innocent civilians, then sanctions are the appropriate way to respond.” – Ed Husic
And though Sydney saw an unprecedented number of protesters, in Melbourne the demonstration in support of Palestine faced another situation altogether. Riot police faced down protesters at the King Street Bridge, where police set up a line barricading access to the bridge. This furry defensive measure served to keep the peace during an inflammatory time in both cities.
After overseeing the crowd control at both events, Acting Assistant Commissioner Adam Johnson gave us a little background. He acknowledged, in retrospect, that parts of the protest in Sydney were extremely dangerous.
“I can honestly say in my 35 years of policing, that was a perilous situation. I’ve never seen a more perilous situation.” – Acting Assistant Commissioner Adam Johnson
Another consequence of the rallies was that the NSW State Emergency Service (SES) was put on a war footing. They mobilized deployed emergency warnings for heavily flooded-affected regions. For participants and law enforcement, this added a new layer of complexity. Yet they not only had to balance the safety with the impact of civil rights demonstrations on public outcry.