A Melbourne council has voted to fly the Palestinian flag on a local government building and condemn the words of “senior Israeli politicians and military officials.”
But Zionism Victoria, representing the Jewish community, has described the motion as “completely” one sided, fuelled by either ignorance or malice, and criticised it for failing to mention and condemn Hamas’ atrocities.
Hamas launched a surprise attack against Israel on Oct. 7, killing Israelis and abducting women and children, prompting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare “we are at war.”
The ‘War in Gaza’ motion was moved by socialist alliance councillor for Merri-bek, Sue Bolton, who argued there is precedent for local government to debate issues like this one.
Merri-bek City Council covers suburbs in Melbourne’s inner northern areas including Brunswick, Coburg, and Pascoe Vale.
The supported motion condemned the words of Israeli politicians and military officials that “seek to dehumanise Palestinians in Gaza.”
The Council also voted to write to the prime minister and foreign minister to call for an immediate ceasefire and an immediate lifting of the “siege on Gaza” to allow Palestinians in the area to have unlimited access to food, water, fuel, electricity, and medical supplies.
The motion claimed the conflict did not start on Oct. 7, but with the occupation of Palestine.
Ms. Bolton said some people say it is not Council business to have a position on this, but it is not surprising that she moved the motion.
She said there is a lot of community emotion because “what we are seeing is a genocide happening in front of the world’s eyes.”
‘No Value for Ratepayers’: Councillor
Councillor Oscar Yildiz opposed the motion, saying debating the issue has “no value for ratepayers” within the City of Merri-bek. He said local residents are tired of local councillors using their elected positions and the Council to push their own political agenda and ideologies.“We were not voted to campaign on international issues. We are all no doubt shocked. Councillors should use other platforms to raise social issues,” he said.
Mr. Yildiz said he worked out the cost of the motion for the city was about $15,000 (US$9,600).
“Our motto is one community proudly diverse. This motion does not promote one community. This motion damages our image, and our reputation. It doesn’t promote harmony. And it does not promote diversity,” he said.
He said residents are calling on councillors to focus on local issues such as “rates, roads, rubbish, and services,”
“We are not the United Nations,” he said.
Labor aligned Councillor Lambros Tapinos also opposed the move, saying it was problematic, divisive, and very one-sided.
“We don’t need to take a side here tonight. Australia’s response should be left to the federal government, not Merri-bek Council,” he said.
‘Playing Politics’
Mr. Tapinos said the motion before the Council was “playing politics” and would not achieve anything or stop the war.“What it will do, is make some people in our community feel very unsafe,” he said.
Mayor Councillor Angelica Panopoulos, also spoke in support of the motion, arguing that this conflict is “nothing new” and did not just start on Oct. 7.
Cr. Panopoulos said she would not just stand in a position of “power and privilege” and abstain on such a vote, as Australia did recently regarding a UN motion that just called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. She said she would not “pretend this has nothing to do with Council business because it does.”
“We stand up for human rights issues, both locally and internationally, all the time,” she said.
“This motion is about us using our power as a local council to further the calls for a ceasefire, for de-escalation, for peace and for human rights, and so I urge everyone here to please vote in favour of this motion tonight,” she said.
The mayor, who was just 23 when she was elected youngest ever mayor of the Council in November 2023, is a member of the Greens.
Response from Zionism Victoria
Zionism Victoria said the motion did not mention anything that offers any kind of context to the current conflict, and claimed that those who supported the motion are “ignoring reality.”The group supports Jewish and Zionist activity among the Victorian Jewish community and promotes Israel’s interest and Victoria’s relationship with Israel.
Zionism Victoria said the motion did not mention that Israel accepted the creation of a Jewish State and an Arab State back in 1947, which was rejected by the Arab world.
In a recent post on X, the Israel Defense Force said they are currently working to destroy Hamas terrorist infrastructure in Gaza, including tunnels.
