Pro-Palestine Protesters Demonstrate In Front of ABC’s HQ in Sydney

Dozens of pro-Palestine demonstrators gathered outside the headquarters of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in Sydney on Friday (November 17) to protest the public broadcaster's coverage of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The Daily Mail made the exclusive report regarding the protest, highlighting the protesters holding large pro-Palestine banners and chants outside the ABC's offices in Ultimo, in Sydney's CBD, at about 17:00 local time (09:00 UTC).

Protesters Accuse ABC of Allowing IDF 'Propaganda'

Footage and photos uploaded to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, by the account "ASU members for Palestine" showed supporters waving Palestine flags while chanting "Shame, shame The Guardian," "Shame, shame SMH [Sydney Morning Herald]," and "Shame, shame ABC."

A woman with a megaphone was also heard shouting "Shame, shame Albanese" - referring to the Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese - while supporters chanted "In our thousands in our millions, we are all Palestinians."

"I wonder if ABC will report on the protests outside their studio holding them to account for parroting IDF talking points, for their silence in the face of the deliberate killings of journalists and their complicity in genocide?" the tweet read.

In another tweet, the group also accused the ABC of allegedly allowing the Israel Defense Force (IDF) a platform where they could post their "propaganda."

"Anyone can see Israel is deliberately killing civilians, cutting them off from medical aid and communications. Collective punishment and war crimes," the group added. "Yet our national broadcaster trots out IDF talking points or [let] them go unchallenged."

Later that night, the protesters moved to the Grand Concourse inside Sydney's Central Station, where they called out Albanese for his government's response to the war.

The ABC has not immediately responded to Daily Mail Australia's request or comment, while a representative of the New South Wales Police said they were not alerted regarding the protest.

Protests in Reaction to ABC's Weekly Panel Talk

It was reported that the protest was a response to ABC's controversial episode of its weekly panel discussion program "Q&A" on Monday night (November 13), when it tackled the Israel-Gaza War without a live audience, with program presenter Patricia Kavelas acknowledging at the beginning of the show the "difficult and sensitive discussion" that would take place.

The panelists invited to the program instead heard questions from audience members via video link.

Kavelas also mentioned that a "very significant police contingent" was also stationed outside ABC's Melbourne studios, where the program was broadcast.

The discussion became tense as national chair of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council Mark Leibler and Australia Palestine Advocacy Network head Nasser Mashni clashed over protests being held in Australia.

The panel was asked if a popular chant heard at pro-Palestine rallies, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," was actually a call to "eradicate Israel."

Leibler said the saying was a "racist comment" and implied there was "no room for a state of Israel." He further accused pro-Palestine protests of celebrating violence, including the slogans "Gas the Jews" and "F*** the Jews," which were uttered in the first few hours after Hamas's attack on southern Israel.

On the other hand, Mashni rebuked Leibler's comments as "besmirching" the Palestinian people.

"We are killed, we're blamed, we're smeared," he said. "The reality is what we have is 75 years of oppression, 75 years of denial. Palestinians are human beings too."

Tags

Australia, ABC, New South Wales, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, Hamas, Antisemitism, IDF