ZIM Shipping Boycott campaign and the right to protest

The Palestinian community has been protesting non-stop since the start of the genocide in Gaza more than 6 month ago. Palestinian voices and demands for a permanent cease fire are falling on deaf ears by the Australian government who continues to provide Apartheid Israel with political, economic, and military support.

As part of the international movement ‘Boycott Divestment and Sanctions’ (BDS), the boycott campaign against ZIM shipping is gaining momentum across the world and in Australia as a tool to pressure the Apartheid state of Israel to abide by its obligations under the international law towards the Palestinians.

NSW police violence against protesters has been out of control!

NSW police has arrested approximately 20 protestors at the Port Botany protest on the 24th of March 2024. The protest was part of the ZIM Shipping boycott campaign. Amongst the arrested are Maritime Union Australian (MUA) officials including the Sydney branch secretary Paul Keating.

Legal Observers New South Wales have reported that several NSW police officers on the night were allegedly wearing an “Australian flag patch with a thin blue line through it” that has been associated with right wing extremism.

A previous peaceful protest against ZIM Shipping at Port Botany late last year also saw 16 protesters being arrested.

NSW Police have also arrested three protestors on a Saturday's rally for Palestine, on the 23rd of March 2024, allegedly as a result of Police officers being unintentionally sprayed with drops of red dye as part of a “die in” at the front of the march to resemble the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has congratulated the NSW Police force for their actions!

The forum will explore the right of Palestinians to protest the complicity of ZIM Shipping and the Australian government in Israel’s war crimes against Gaza. It will also look into NSW Police excessive repression and the draconian anti-protest laws which are actively suppressing Palestinian voices in the face of the genocide in Gaza. The forum will attempt to answer the following questions and provide the audience with practical guidance on how to move forward in the Palestinian solidarity movement and combating anti-protest laws in NSW:

What are the ways forward to pressure our government and bolster campaigns for BDS?
What more can pro-Palestine advocates and the people of NSW do to push back against anti-protest laws?

We will be joined by Sue Higginson, a Greens MP in the NSW Parliament, who's been very vocal in her demands for an end of Anti-protest Laws in NSW. We're also joined by Lydia Shelly, the president of NSW Council for Civil Liberties which was among the 37 organisations and 1000 individuals who wrote to the attorney-general this week demanding a review. The forum will also host the the Sydney branch secretary of the Maritime Union Australia (MUA) Paul Keating, and Member of Palestine Justice Movement Sydney (PJMS) Ahmed Abadla.

The conversation will be mediated by Erima Dall, an MUA delegate and a member of Trade Unionists for Palestine, Sydney (TU4P).

The forum is hosted by Palestine Justice Movement Sydney (PJMS) and the Trade Unionists for Palestine (TU4P).

It will be an engaging discussion and will have many practical outcomes that aim to galvanise the public into action.

Admission to this event is free.

However, donations are encouraged which will go to helping Gazan families resettle in Sydney.