Victorian Police - Melbourne Palestine BDS demo @ Max Brenner July 29, 2011

A month after the Victorian Police attacked a non-violent BDS demonstration at Max Brenner cafe @ QV (arresting 19 people who now face fines up to $30,000) a follow-up rally was held by the Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid (CAIA) to show support for those arrested and assert our legal right to continue protesting against those who support and fund Israeli apartheid.
Max Brenner is owned by the Israeli Strauss Group and directly funds two IDF brigades, the Golani and Givati brigades, and is therefore responsible in part for Israel's ongoing oppression and denial of human rights to Palestinians both inside Israel and in the occupied Palestinian territories, the West Bank and Gaza.
The demonstration started at the Victorian State Library, with around 500 people in attendance, an estimated 4 times as many as the rally a month earlier where the arrests occurred. We marched through the city streets first to the Max Brenner in Melbourne Central, and then onto Max Brenner in the QV courtyard.
Around 100 of "Victoria's finest" were in attendance, including 8 mounted officers as seen in the clip. In this instance the police managed to exercise restraint and no arrests were made.
Apartheid is a war crime and crime against humanity under both the 1976 General Assembly resolution on apartheid and the International Criminal Court's 2002 Rome statute, still, this meant nothing to the Victorian Police when they arrested 19 people during the July 1st rally.
Likewise, international law is apparently irrelevant to Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, who chose to visit Max Brenner in mid-July for a photo/media op and to misrepresent BDS in the Australian press as a "boycott of Jewish businesses".
Footage and article by International Women's Peace Service in Palestine (IWPS) volunteer Kim Bullimore at American blog Mondoweiss on the July 1st arrests:
http://mondoweiss.net/2011/07/australian-police-crack-down-on-bds-protest-arr...
July 29th BDS rally call:
http://boycottisrael19.wordpress.com/2011/07/12/defend-the-right-to-demonstrate/
Kevin Rudd's opportunistic and dishonest media spot at Max Brenner:
http://www.theage.com.au/national/citizen-rudds-sweet-support-for-cafe-201107...

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UPDATE 31/07/2011:
Indymedia have posted this clip and text in an article, they've also included a *much* better edited clip of the night including speeches at the State Library, Max Brenner in Melbourne Central and QV, and marching and chanting through city streets. Check it out:
http://www.indymedia.org.au/2011/07/31/five-hundred-rally-for-boycott-of-max-...

Category:

Nonprofits & Activism

Tags:

• BDS
• Melbourne
• civil
• society
• demo
• protest
• Palestine
• Israel
• apartheid
• Max
• Brenner

[62165847]

YOU GUYS ARE ASSHOLES!!!!!!

IF YOU THINK ISRAEL IS AN APARTHEID STATE YOU FUCKING WRONG!!!

WATCH THIS! /watch?v=Eupkfyd1ulc&feature

[Gazmanaust]

go get a job you fucking bums

[Wassouf10]

@Gazmanaust Fuck off zionist donk

[AUSBassat]

@missmartyjackson you are a discrace. do you really think that israel "pays" people to comment on youtube when they have to deal with 2 million palestinian refugees, their own safety from islamic extremists and a massive middle class protest over house prices.

[ManFromMelbourne]

How are these protesters "Nazis?" They're protesting against a right wing apartheid system that rules a country. In this case the country is Israel. Zionism is the new Nazism of today, so if you support Zionism then you're the Nazi and not these free Palestine protesters.

[ChaseTheDub]

who are these Nazis?? what sewer did they crawl from?? and why do we tolerate such nasty Jew haters in Australia?? i have a suggestion for all you deluded maggots of 'BDS' why don't you go and live in one of these violent, non-democratic, woman hating, child murdering, backward middle eastern countries for a few months?? then, maybe,,, just maybe,,, you might see how ridiculous and pathetic yr sad little protests are against the only free & democratic state in the middle east!

[TARASONE100]

seems like the hasbar a trolls touched tread . They sound and act like the lil zio that fillled their pampers

[melbournemate1]

Each time you decide to stage some protests, the government has to dip into taxpayer's funds to bring the police in..

You waste taxpayer's funds

You affect businesses

You affect a good night out for everyone

Its YOU who is affecting us.. NOT ISRAELI.. NOT MAX BRENNAR..

5) You can build up a successful Palestine Chocolate company and feed the Palestine soldiers

[melbournemate1]

These Palestine supporters should be deported.

1) We don't care about what happens between Palestine and Israel

2) If you care so much about the situation there, don't bring it to Melbourne

3) Your "Peaceful"protests are affecting our lives, we have no interest in it

4) Being peaceful is a load of crap, each time you carry this out, AUSTRALIAN businesses gets affected

5) You can build up a successful Palestine Chocolate company and feed the Palestine soldiers

[TheTime4solutions]

@ritchloui yah no idea since i have been a investment planner for 25 years shut up you look stupid.