Australian leaders condemn pro-Palestine vigils planned for 7 October anniversary amid Jewish commemorations

Jewish Australians will mark the third anniversary of the 7 October attacks on Wednesday as Labor state governments condemn pro-Palestinian vigils to be held the same day.

Peak Jewish bodies have organised commemorations across the capital cities but avoided publicising locations as community members report ongoing fears for their safety since the Bondi terror attack in December.

Hamas militants killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 251 others hostage in the surprise attack on Israel in 2023, triggering the ongoing Israel-Gaza war in which 74,000 Palestinians have been killed.

On the night before the anniversary, people at a Melbourne event were expected to hear a first-hand account from an Israeli soldier who was in the country during the attacks. Zionism Victoria has planned an outdoor evening ceremony on Wednesday.

Sydney’s eastern suburbs will host a dawn commemoration starting at 6.29am, to mark the time at which Hamas’ attack began and an evening community event run by the Zionist Council of NSW and backed by the United Israel Appeal, the local arm of Keren Hayesod.

“United in remembrance and resilience, we stand with Israel and the Jewish people, joined by our fellow Australians against hatred and extremism,” the evening event’s description reads.

A documentary exploring experiences of Israeli trauma professionals, After Never Again, will be screened in Canberra and Perth. The film has been produced by Kehilot to Australia or K2A, a group set up to bring Israeli youth to Australia for relief from the stress of living near active conflict.

All details, including registration, have been kept private for events planned in Brisbane and Adelaide. JWire has reported the Zionist Council of Queensland has organised a gathering open to Nepalese, Filipino and Iranian communities.

Pro-Palestine groups have also planned to mark the day, with a gathering planned at Sydney’s town hall on Wednesday evening. An organising group, Jews Against The Occupation ‘48, said their event would not be a protest but a vigil to mark Israel’s retaliatory airstrikes on Gaza on 7 October 2023, in a post on social media.

Wollongong Friends of Palestine, south of Sydney, has planned its own vigil.

A Melbourne “sit-in vigil” is planned from 10am to 5pm outside the state library of Victoria. The Victorian premier, Ben Carroll, has said police would act to “protect the public” if the event breached the state’s anti-vilification laws.

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, has said the planned vigils on the anniversary of a “horrible and violent” event were “obscene”, speaking to reporters last Wednesday.

“To choose that day, I think it’s designed to antagonise large sections of our community,” Minns said. “I’m obviously distressed on their behalf.”

Minns said supreme court and high court decisions on political communication prevented him from shutting down the Wednesday gatherings.

“They’re very difficult … for us to shut down static protests, particularly ones, as I think they’re describing it as a vigil, a silent vigil. We’ll see if it is a silent vigil.”

Further pro-Palestine rallies to mark the anniversary are planned in more than a dozen Australian cities on Sunday as part of a “global day of action” led by activist groups overseas. A Friday rally is also scheduled outside the electorate office of Australia’s deputy prime minister, Richard Marles.