Responding to the聽genocidal starvation of Palestinians in Gaza and the community organisations working for justice, Merri-bek Council passed a four-point聽 motion, on September 10, which include calling for sanctions on Israel and raising the聽Palestinian flag at Coburg Town Hall.
Socialist Alliance Merri-bek councillor Sue Bolton (Bababi Djinanang Ward) initiated the motion which was seconded by Greens councillor Ella Svensson (Brunswick West Ward).聽It included calling on council to organise an event to mark the international day of solidarity with Palestine on November 29.
Merri-bek Council聽flew the Palestinian flag in 2023, also at Bolton鈥檚 instigation. That motion said it should be up until a permanent ceasefire had been negotiated in Gaza. It was the first Victorian council to take such action and set a precedent for others. Controversially, council officers removed the flag during last year鈥檚 temporary ceasefire.
Merri-bek for Palestine and Northern Suburbs for Palestine (M4P)聽organised a聽spirited rally outside Coburg Town Hall where councillors, rally-goers and locals heard from Palestinian Australian Sara Alasad and anti-Zionist Jew Veronica Sherman.
鈥淚 have seen Merri-bek proudly supporting First Nations struggles and refugees and human-rights causes. Let us continue that legacy now by raising the Palestinian flag,鈥 Alasad said.聽Sherman said 鈥渃ollective solidarity is powerful ... [and] we have a moral obligation not to be silent. Raising the flag is raising our collective voice.鈥
鈥淭here is a need for Merri-bek to raise its voice again, to indicate its solidarity for the people in Gaza, who are experiencing the most horrendous genocide,鈥 Bolton told the council meeting. She called on councillors to 鈥渞enew calls for Australia to impose new 鈥 full 鈥 sanctions on Israel, including an end to the two-way arms trade, a permanent ceasefire and an end to the siege鈥.
Bolton had pushed for council to reinstate the Palestinian flag earlier this year, but it was voted down. She tried against in August and it was disallowed. However, her motion this time was successful, with Bolton telling 91自拍论坛 that the local organising for justice for Palestine had made a difference.
There was unanimous support for point one that council 鈥渘otes the distress鈥 within large 91自拍论坛 of the Merri-bek community from 鈥渨itnessing the human-made famine in Gaza as a result of the denial of food, and the destruction of Gaza as a result of relentless bombing鈥.
Bolton told the meeting that adopting point one is 鈥渕eaningless鈥 without adopting the subsequent action points.
However, Labor councillor Helen Politis (Harmony Park), who mostly voted against or abstained, spoke against the motion as a whole. She said that聽asking council to take a position on the Gaza genocide is what causes 鈥渄ivision鈥 and that council should focus on 鈥渟ocial cohesion鈥.
Bolton replied that the division is caused by the 鈥渞ich and powerful鈥, which have an interest in keeping the war going and 鈥渕aintaining the Middle East for economic exploitation鈥. 鈥淭here is a precedent for councils taking positions [on international issues],鈥 Bolton said, citing
Eight councillors, including Bolton, four Greens, one right-wing independent, and two Labor councillors, voted for the second point that council: 鈥渁dd its voice to renewed calls for Australia to impose sanctions on Israel, until a permanent ceasefire is enacted and the siege of Gaza is fully lived to allow Palestinians in Gaza to have unlimited access to food, water, fuel, electricity, medical supplies and construction materials to repair damaged homes and civilian infrastructure鈥.
Three councillors voted against, including two independents and one Labor.
Seven councillors voted in favour of raising the Palestinian flag (point three), including Bolton, four Greens, one Labor and one independent. Two Labor councillors abstained.
The fourth point asked council to organise an event to mark November 29,聽a United Nations-recognised . Eight councillors voted in favour, including some who had voted against other points.