Banyule City Council has become the eighth metro council in the Melbourne area to formally call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Nachshon Amir looks like a military man. It’s decades since he served in the Israeli military, but with his shaved head, fit physique and rugged demeanour, it might also seem that he has just been demobbed.
The Banyule Palestine Action Group has collected more than 600 signatures on a petition calling on Banyule City Council, in Melbourne’s north-east, to pass a motion supporting an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, in line with motions passed in other councils across Australia.
In the face of overwhelming horror, it can seem almost impossible to fight back in any meaningful way. Many people are feeling like that now in response to Israel’s unrelenting and murderous attacks on the Palestinian populations of Gaza and the West Bank.
The political establishment in many imperialist Western countries is worried that young people are not buying into the narrative that Israel is the victim in the current wave of Middle East violence. Students are often on the frontlines of protest in many cities around the world. In recent days, they have taken to the streets and campuses to protest in solidarity with the Palestinian cause. This has been met with repression—from banning marches or campus meetings, disciplinary action against students who speak out, and moving to outlaw pro-Palestine groups.
Editorial staff from the Fairfax newspapers took wildcat strike action last week to protest against the latest round of job cuts at the financially challenged publishing company.