Andrew Bolt
Monday, July 04, 2011 at 12:04pm
I never dreamed I’d live in a country in which Jewish businesses were boycotted and blockaded.
The shame. The utter shame.
But then I’d never dreamed, either, that I’d be taken to court for expressing my opinion. Or that a news organisation would be denied a government contact for being politically unsympathetic. Or that news outlets would be banned by government ministers for asking basic questions. Or that academics could protest against free speech.
UPDATE
And that a letter such as this could appear in the Sydney Morning Herald:
The wise and timely essay by Samantha Selinger-Morris (’’Old hatreds in a new medium’’, July 2-3) raises an issue that should make Jewish community leaders in Australia rethink their attitudes to the growth of anti-Semitism.
Tragically this upsurge of racism is attributable directly to the perceived suffering the Israeli government has imposed on the Palestinian people. The current Israeli government is more responsible for the spread of anti-Semitism worldwide than any ratbag racist groups waving symbols of Germany in the 1930s…
Vincent Matthews Forestville
(Via RWDB.)
by damiansmash on Jul 2, 2011
BALLIEU'S VICTORIAN POLICE VICIOUSLY ATTACK PEACEFUL PRO-PALESTINE DEMONSTRATION
The Victoria police have viciously attacked a peaceful pro- Palestine demonstration in Melbourne's CBD this evening. In the largest political arrest in a decade, twenty protesters were arrested during the action against Israeli-owned Max Brenner store. The chocolateria in the Queen Victoria mall is owned by the Israeli conglomerate 'Strauss group'; a company that provides "care rations" for one of the most brutal sections of the Israeli military, the Golani brigades. The protest occurred as part of the global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the apartheid Israeli state. The peaceful picket was 'kettled' before leading activists were individually targeted, in what seems to be a new tactic from Ballieu's riot squad.
Civil liberties lawyer Rob Stary said "Tonight's arrests show the new Victorian government is prepared to criminalise legitimate dissent."
Demonstrators maintain that the offensive by the police was entirely unprovoked. Melbourne University student Abdul Aziz described the scene: "I was horrified by the police's unprovoked behaviour. All we were doing was speaking out against a corporation which boasts about their support for one of the most brutal militaries in the world. Then they just started grabbing people around the neck and dragging them away."
Coalition against Israeli Apartheid member Omar Hassan, one of the arrestees, remains defiant. "The aim of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement is to draw attention to the racist and militaristic policies of the apartheid state of Israel. It came as no surprise to me that the Police would use violence against critics of Israel. Pro-Palestine activists face serious repression around the world, just last year the Israeli navy
murdered nine activists on the Mavi Mamara peace ship."
Protesters vow to return on the 29th July.
The Victoria police have viciously attacked a peaceful pro- Palestine demonstration in Melbourne's CBD this evening. In the largest political arrest in a decade, twenty protesters were arrested during the action against Israeli-owned Max Brenner store. The chocolateria in the Queen Victoria mall is owned by the Israeli conglomerate 'Strauss group'; a company that provides "care rations" for one of the most brutal sections of the Israeli military, the Golani brigades. The protest occurred as part of the global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the apartheid Israeli state. The peaceful picket was 'kettled' before leading activists were individually targeted, in what seems to be a new tactic from Ballieu's riot squad.
Civil liberties lawyer Rob Stary said "Tonight's arrests show the new Victorian government is prepared to criminalise legitimate dissent."
Demonstrators maintain that the offensive by the police was entirely unprovoked. Melbourne University student Abdul Aziz described the scene: "I was horrified by the police's unprovoked behaviour. All we were doing was speaking out against a corporation which boasts about their support for one of the most brutal militaries in the world. Then they just started grabbing people around the neck and dragging them away."
Coalition against Israeli Apartheid member Omar Hassan, one of the arrestees, remains defiant. "The aim of the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement is to draw attention to the racist and militaristic policies of the apartheid state of Israel. It came as no surprise to me that the Police would use violence against critics of Israel. Pro-Palestine activists face serious repression around the world, just last year the Israeli navy
murdered nine activists on the Mavi Mamara peace ship."
Protesters vow to return on the 29th July.
Video description:
The Victoria police have viciously attacked a peaceful pro- Palestine demonstration in Melbourne's CBD on July 1st. In the largest political arrest in a decade, twenty protesters were arrested during the action against Israeli-owned Max Brenner store. The chocolateria in the Queen Victoria Shopping Centre is owned by the Israeli conglomerate 'Strauss group'; a company that provides "care rations" for one of the most brutal sections of the Israeli military, the Golani brigades. The protest occurred as part of the global Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against the apartheid Israeli state. The peaceful picket was 'kettled' before leading activists were individually targeted, in what seems to be a new tactic from Ballieu's riot squad.
Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid BDS Melbourne Victoria video 1
Anti-Israeli protest outside Max Brenner photo chronology + videos
This is the chronology of the anti-Israeli protest at QV Square.
At first it was like this.
I went back to Old Town Kopitiam Mamak and returned later. Didn't know the time interval, sorry.
Much larger crowd watching from upstairs.
I don't know since when, the police charged towards the protesters...
The crowd upstairs started to chant: "This is not a police state."
I saw people dragged out from the protest.
Went back to my eating place again. When I left, I saw the police corner protesters to the places where QV escalators are.
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