Chicago – August 09, 2025
When Australia wants to put on a show, it turns to the sweeping expanse of Sydney Harbour, home to the Opera House and the iconic bridge that connects the city with its northern suburbs.
So, when organizers of usually small pro-Palestinian protests held every two weeks since Israel’s 2023 invasion of Gaza detected a shift in community attitudes towards the grinding conflict – at home and abroad – they chose the bridge to make a global statement.
“We thought that the kind of bold and somewhat audacious idea that we were going to march over Sydney Harbour Bridge would capture the imaginations of everyone out there who was horrified by what we were seeing,” said protest organizer Josh Lees, from the Palestinian Action Group.
The group had been emboldened by artists making pro-Palestinian statements at Glastonbury and the victory of Democratic New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, who received backing from some of the city’s Jewish population despite his criticism of Israel.
“We felt it here in Australia, too,” said Lee, adding that the “real uptick in horror and anger” had translated into pledges of support from church groups, unions and members of parliament representing “a much broader section of society” than had previously engaged in the group’s protests.
Last Sunday, at least 90,000 people marched across the Sydney Harbour Bridge clutching umbrellas, signs and flags, lashed by cold winds and heavy rain, according to police estimates. Organizers put the figure at closer to 300,000. That so many people braved the elements for the hastily organized event – conceived just seven days before – suggests that Australians want their government to act, Lees said.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Tuesday she wasn’t surprised about the scale of the turnout.
“I think the distress of Australians on what we are seeing unfolding in Gaza, the catastrophic humanitarian situation, the deaths of women and children, the withholding of aid, I anticipated that we would see marches of this scale,” she told ABC Radio National.
“They do reflect the broad Australian community’s horror at what is going on in the Middle East, and the desire for peace and a ceasefire, which is what the government is seeking.”
