Minns won’t block ‘heartless’ pro-Palestinian October 7 vigils

Premier Chris Minns cannot guarantee none of his Labor colleagues will attend a controversial pro-Palestinian Gaza vigil organised on the anniversary of the October 7 terror attack in Israel, despite publicly urging them to stay away from what he called a “heartless” demonstration.

But despite this uncertainty, Minns has won a surprising ally in his opposition to the two Palestinian vigils planned for Sydney and Wollongong tomorrow, with one of his chief Labor antagonists, upper house MP Anthony D’Adam, labelling the demonstrations “unnecessary” and confirming he will not attend.

Two protest groups – Jews Against the Occupation 48 and Wollongong Friends of Palestine – have organised separate vigils to be held on Wednesday. The events have been widely criticised by Jewish groups, including Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin, as well as Minns and NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane.

Sloane on Tuesday labelled the vigils “sickening” and “provocative”, while demanding Minns “show some leadership” by ensuring his Labor colleagues did not attend the events.

“To do it on this day shows their true motivation, which is to provoke, which is to make people feel uneasy, and that is not on, and at a time when we all need to be coming together and respectfully sharing opinions, this is the antithesis of that,” she said.

While Minns has criticised the vigils, he has conceded he is powerless to stop them going ahead. He labelled it “heartless” to hold the events on the anniversary of the terror attack in Israel and accused the vigil organisers of attention seeking.

“There are some people suggesting it can be stopped,” he said. “The Constitution doesn’t allow that.

“They can certainly do that – it’s not against the law – but as a citizen, I’ve got a right to make a judgment on it too.

“I think these organisers, in many cases, thrive on the notoriety and the attention they get,” he said.

Minns has consistently faced opposition within his own government over his hardline stance against the pro-Palestinian movement. His repeated attempts to ban protests against Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza (in which the health ministry in the enclave estimates some 74,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed) has seen him publicly clash with MPs from within his own government.

After his government tried, and failed, to ban a “March for Humanity” in which an estimated 90,000 pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched across the Harbour Bridge last year, a group of Labor MPs defiantly joined the front of the procession. Some ministers, including the energy minister and the government’s leader in the upper house, Penny Sharpe, were also spotted at that march.

On Tuesday Minns said while he was sure none of his “senior colleagues” would attend the vigils, he could not guarantee no MPs would attend.

“History has proven I can’t speak for all of them,” he said.

However, D’Adam, the Labor MP whose defiant support for the pro-Palestinian protest movement has seen him repeatedly clash with Minns and other senior colleagues, including in a fiery caucus meeting last year in which he was loudly berated by multiple ministers, said he would not attend any of the vigils, labelling them “unnecessary”.

“What happened on October 7 was a war crime and a violation of human rights, so it’s not something to celebrate,” he said.

“Obviously, there is context and what happened on October 7 doesn’t justify Israel’s actions, but there is no political point that needs to be made on that day. That doesn’t mean I support stopping people’s right to protest, but I just don’t think there is any value in it. My position has always been about human beings.”

Jews Against the Occupation 48, a Sydney-based Jewish group which has held numerous protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza, including one at Bondi Beach last year that saw violent clashes between demonstrators and pro-Israeli counterprotesters, has promoted its Town Hall vigil with the slogan “don’t let Israel steal the date”.

In posts on social media the group has said it was holding the event on October 7 due to “retaliatory airstrikes” conducted by Israel on the same day as Hamas fighters killed 1200 people and took more than 200 hostages.

Jewish groups will hold a dawn commemoration of the October 7 attack starting at 6.29am, to mark the time at which Hamas’ attack began.

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