2023 October , Australia, 15 October , Australia, 21 October On the night of 9 October, around 1,000 protesters attended a pro-Palestinian rally in
Sydney, calling on the Australian
government to end support to Israel. The protestors marched through the city's
central business district to the
Sydney Opera House, which had been lit up with the colors of the Israeli flag to create a space "for Jews to mourn victims of the attacks in Israel". The
Premier of
New South Wales,
Chris Minns, claimed that the Sydney Opera House had been "overrun with people that were spewing racial epithets and hatred". The government later apologised for the protests, with police confirming that they are investigating the participants and seeking to press charges. Jewish people were advised to avoid the area, and a man near the protest with an Israeli flag was detained to prevent a breach of the peace. Several witnesses claimed that they also chanted "
Gas the Jews", although according to a police expert audio analysis of video from the event that was initially believed to have shown that call instead showed chants of "Where's the Jews". Another similar rally took place in the south-western suburb of
Lakemba. Reports of violence and antisemitism emerged from the protests, which were criticized by politicians including Minns and
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. On 11 October, thousands gathered for a vigil held in Sydney showing support for Israel which was attended by a number of government officials. On 31 October, a group of Jewish activists occupied Defence Minister
Richard Marles' office in
Geelong, demanding an end to military support for Israel. On 12 November, thousands attended pro-Palestinian rallies calling for an immediate ceasefire in several Australian state capitals including Sydney, Melbourne, and
Brisbane. In addition, pro-Israel rallies were held in Sydney and Melbourne calling for the release of Hamas-held hostages and to oppose anti-semitism. On 21 November, 23 anti-war activists were arrested at Sydney's
Port Botany for blocking its major roads. On 26 November, Senator
Lidia Thorpe spoke at a rally in support of Palestine, stating
Aboriginal Australians were sympathetic to the struggles of Palestinians. Teachers in
Victoria were warned against participating in any pro-Palestine related protests. Protesters held a
die-in outside the offices of
The Age. A group of several dozen pro-Palestinian protesters in Melbourne prevented a delegation of families of victims of the 7 October attacks from entering their hotel. In response, the delegation sought assistance at the local police station. In late December 2023, cabin crew on a
Qantas flight between Melbourne and
Hobart donned
Palestinian flag badges; which went against the airline's policy of wearing unapproved badges on their uniforms. Dvir Abramovich, the chairman of the
Anti-Defamation Commission, criticised the cabin crew's conduct as intimidating, harassment and a violation of "every rule of air travel". An online petition calling for the dismissal of the cabin crew attracted 2,000 signatures. In response to media coverage, Qantas reiterated its policy against employees wearing unapproved badges on their uniforms. On 2 February, protesters in Melbourne blocked the entrance to the factory that produces parts for Israel's F-35 military jets. , 26 April 2024
April – June On 25 April students of the
University of Sydney put up tents and shouted pro-Palestine slogans. After that,
multiple other Australian universities set up encampments. On 18 May, Trade Unionists for Palestine organised a protest at Melbourne's
Moonee Valley Racecourse, which was hosting the
Victorian Labor Party's State Conference. The protest action delayed planned speeches by Albanese and
Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan. On 19 May, Palestinian solidarity protesters and the
Christian Zionist group
International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (ICEJ) held competing rallies outside the
Victorian state parliament in Melbourne. Police estimated that 7,000 people attended the Nakba Sunday Rally and ICEJ's Never Again is Now Rally. Police separated the two groups and arrested six protesters.
July – September On 11 September, Melbourne saw protests
outside the Land Forces Expo, a military technology event. Victoria Police claimed it was the largest deployment of police against a protest since 2000. In May 2025, thousands of people in the cities of Melbourne, Adelaide, and Brisbane joined demonstrations to commemorate
Nakba Day. In June 2025, a picket at SEC Plating in Sydney saw multiple protesters injured by police. Former
Greens candidate Hannah Thomas was severely injured in the eye. On 3 August, a
large pro-Palestinian protest occurred on the
Sydney Harbour Bridge and in
Melbourne across the CBD and the
King Street Bridge. On 24 August, following Israeli prime minister
Benjamin Netanyahu escalating his personal attacks on Australian prime minister
Anthony Albanese over the government’s decision this month to recognise a Palestinian state, more than 40 pro-Palestinian rallies were held nationwide. Organisers claimed about 350,000 attendees (including ~50,000 in Brisbane), while police estimated Brisbane’s crowd at closer to 10,000; police gave no figures for Sydney or Melbourne. Another series of nationwide protests were held on 12 October. Despite
a ceasefire coming into effect two days earlier, the marches criticised the ongoing
Israeli occupation of Gaza and the
West Bank.
2026 In the
December 2025 Bondi Beach shooting, which was, despite claims by some Israeli and Australian politicians, not linked to prior protests in Australia, NSW Premier Chris Minns to proposed new laws enabling police to refuse to authorise protests or mass gatherings, which passed
New South Wales Parliament on 24 December 2025. The attack also led to a
highly controversial state visit from Israeli President
Isaac Herzog, with the alleged intention of consoling the grieving Jewish community; Herzog had been invited by the
Zionist Federation of Australia, and then prime minister Albanese elevated this to a
state visit. In response to widespread objections, Albanese claimed that he also used the opportunity to speak to the president about issues such as the need for
criminal prosecution of the
Israel Defense Forces personnel who killed
Zomi Frankcom, an Australian
aid worker, who was
killed by an Israeli airstrike on the World Central Kitchen aid convoy in the Gaza Strip. On 9 February 2026, Herzog arrived in Sydney. The same day, the
NSW Supreme Court dismissed a challenge to the new legal powers given to police to disrupt protesters. Protests against Herzog's visit were held in cities across the country. Herzog's visit was opposed by many Australians due to his well-documented support for the
Gaza Genocide, including attributing the
October 7 attacks to "an entire nation", and handwriting a message on an
artillery shell that was about to be fired on Gaza. Protests in the area around
Sydney Town Hall, which was within the declared exclusion zone, were met with a violent response from police, including use of
pepper spray, punching protesters, and forcibly removing a group of Muslim protesters while they were
praying on the ground. On 13 February, the
Law Enforcement Conduct Commission launched an investigation into the conduct of NSW Police personnel during a pro-Palestine rally outside the Sydney Town Hall on 9 February. On 12 February, 5,000 pro-Palestine protesters marched through Melbourne's CBD to the
Parliament of Victoria to protest against Herzog's visit. A smaller group of pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside an event hosting Herzog in
Southbank, Victoria, where they faced counter-demonstrators from a pro-Israel group called "Lions of Zion". This group of pro-Palestine protesters rejoined the main group in the Melbourne CBD. Unlike the Sydney Town Hall protest, the police response to the Melbourne protest was peaceful, with police only making one arrest. == Melbourne Land Forces Expo protests ==