‘Deeply Troubled’: Pro-Palestinian Protest for School Children Planned in Melbourne

Supporters gather for a rally to free Palestine on the steps of the Victorian parliament in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 15, 2023. Sam Tabone/Getty Images

Coalition shadow foreign affairs minister Simon Birmingham has raised concerns about the ‘Free Palestine’ strike and protest planned for Australian children.

Free Palestine Melbourne has promoted a city-wide school strike for Palestine, including a protest on the Flinders Street station steps in the city next week.

Senator Birmingham said he is “deeply troubled” by the idea, highlighting that children should not be drawn into sensitive activities.

“Schoolchildren really shouldn’t be dragged into sensitive activities and areas of, I think, great complexity in terms of how this conflict, its history, its origins, and ultimately, of course, the fact that some will seek to use them as voices,” Senator Birmingham told Sky News.

Mr. Birmingham said there should be “great caution” in mobilising children in this way within an Australian context.

“We’ve seen that at the worst of all levels in terms of the way Hamas uses children, sometimes as voices. It just is something that should not be occurring,” he added.

Free Palestine Melbourne Promotes School Strike

Free Palestine Melbourne advertised the “school strike for Palestine” through a Facebook Post, encouraging students to pick up posters and leaflets to hand around at school.

“Join the city-wide school walkout at lunchtime on November 23. Students are walking out of class at 12:30 and heading to the city to meet at Flinders St Station steps for a protest at 1:30,” the post stated.

Similar walkouts involving school students have recently been held in New York City. On Nov. 9, hundreds of New York City Public School students held a walkout, calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

After walking out of their classrooms, the students rallied outside the New York Public Library in Midtown.

Commenting on the Melbourne rally, Senator Birmingham said while it is a free country and everybody in Australia is free to peacefully protest, he would urge everyone to do it in respectful ways, which “we haven’t seen lately.”

“The protests that have clearly been designed to intimidate Australia’s Jewish communities are shameful. They need to be condemned at the highest levels of our country, and they should never have been allowed to occur in those locations in the first place,” Mr. Birmingham said.

Police look on as participants of a Free Palestine rally react outside the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, on Oct. 9, 2023. AAP Image/Dean Lewins

The news of the protest for children in Melbourne comes after a “violent clash” in the Jewish heartland of Melbourne received widespread condemnation.

Free Palestine Melbourne apologised to the Jewish community for the protest location, in Caulfield, Melbourne, that led to the evacuation of a synagogue on Nov. 10.

In Sydney, pro-Palestinian protesters entered the water on jet skis to try to block an Israeli ship from reaching the Port of Botany on Nov. 11.

Signs reading “block the boats” were seen among activists on the land, while people on boats were heard chanting “Free, free Palestine.”

Pro-Israel Rally Held at Parliament House

Meanwhile, Jewish Australians held a “bring them home” pro-Israel rally at Parliament House on Nov. 14, displaying posters of Israelis who are being held hostage by Hamas.

Deputy Liberal Party leader Sussan Ley said the “Coalition stands resolutely with Israel in its right to defend itself. Hostages must be released and we must bring them home now.”

“In support of the safe return of all citizens who have been taken hostage by Hamas terrorists, I attended a vigil on the front lawns of Parliament House,” Ms. Ley said.

On Oct. 7, Hamas launched an attack on Israel, murdering 1,200 people and holding more than 200 hostages. This led to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declaring war.

Shorten Weighs In

Minister for Government Services Bill Shorten was also asked about the student protest planned for Nov. 23 in an interview with Sky News.

Mr. Shorten said he thinks community leaders need to “dial down” some of the protests at the moment, suggesting that kids should go to school.

“I really get that for the people involved, this is a crucial existential issue, but those hoons who went over to Caulfield to intimidate people in their own streets, that’s just so stupid it’s beyond words.

“As for kids not going to school, I think what this world needs is people with more knowledge, not less. I think they'll probably be better if, during school hours, kids just go to school. That’s what I’m sure most parents think too.”