Hundreds of thousands of people marching on the Sydney Harbour Bridge on 3 August 2025
(Photo: Adam Farrar)
The March for Humanity on 3 August 2025 over the Sydney Harbour Bridge now feels like a political earthquake. Reverberations are spreading far and wide, witnesses to that include my friends from overseas that have sent me messages congratulating, marvelling and asking, “how did Sydney do that?”. For this reason, I want to share my experiences of the day with SEARCH members who are not from Sydney or were not able to attend. To convey what I saw as a marshal at the rally, and what I think is its political significance.
Neither police, Premier nor grey skies stopped the crowd turning out.
(Photo: David Pink)
First, of course, just the sheer magnitude of the crowd (estimated by an independent crowd management professional at between 200,000 to 300,000) is finally being acknowledged by the mainstream media. It was a great lump of humanity that came together under the most challenging conditions of cold weather punctuated by heavy downpours of rain. And yet… people huddled down, pulled up their hoodies, raised umbrellas and marched into it with what seemed ever greater determination. It was a case of adversity making the crowd stronger in its commitment. As the scale of the crowd dawned on people, and we started telling them we were sure we had more than 100,000, great cheers went up. Heads lifted, and smiles came across people’s faces. Fists were pumping, not in anger, but in triumph. And this was the big difference from all the previous Palestinian rallies. I think for many people, Sunday August 3rd will be remembered not as a day of protest, but as day of victory for the Palestinian cause in Australia. We broke through the glass barrier that sought to keep the carnage and destruction in Palestine as something visible, but ultimately separate, from the Australian people and our sense of justice and care for humanity. August 3rd smashed through that barrier and the political class of this country is trying to process that and contain its fallout.
Second, we should not under-estimate the profound significance of this day for the Arabic and Islamic communities. It would be hard to understand the intense distress they have been experiencing as they watch profound violence and destruction unleashed upon the Palestinian population by Israel. Yet the majority of our political class continues to recognise that country as an unimpeachable ally and friend even while it bombs schools, hospitals and kindergartens and shoots to kill children waiting in line for scraps of food. There were more than a few Arabic people who squeezed my arm as they went past and mouthed ‘thank you’. Many others simply had tears in their eyes (of what to me) looked like relief that finally, finally they were not alone. August 3rd was a day that felt like Sydney finally embraced our Islamic and Arabic speaking communities and we said to them ‘ your lives matter, too’.
Third, how do we follow up on that remarkable day? There is every indication from Tel Aviv and Washington they want the expulsion of the Palestinian population from Gaza. Indeed, the Israeli regime now seems to have developed a taste for carnage. How else to describe their willingness to tolerate killings of defenceless people that have already been starved through orchestrated and calibrated famine? Our demands of the Australian government must be resolute and clear:
- Demand an immediate, permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the unconditional flow of humanitarian aid to end the catastrophic suffering of Palestinian civilians. Israel’s siege has caused mass starvation and destruction – Australia must unequivocally condemn these violations of international law, as well as calling for the release of all hostages held by Hamas.
- Impose targeted sanctions on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his cabinet ministers, and officials responsible for obstructing aid and targeting civilians, aid workers and journalists as well as the destruction of key infrastructure such as hospitals, schools and shelters. Australia must hold individuals accountable for actions that violate human rights and undermine peace.
- Implement a comprehensive two-way arms embargo on Israel, including parts and components, whether supplied directly or via third countries.
- Formally recognize the State of Palestine within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. Recognition affirms Palestinian self-determination and aligns with UN resolutions, reinforcing Australia’s commitment to a just two-state solution.
Finally, 3 August 2025 will go down as the day a lesson was given to all politicians and police - the Sydney Harbour Bridge belongs to the people of Sydney. They will not deny us, as we go there almost by instinct when the big moments call us. It is our place to express and affirm our humanity. It is the site of a secular communion with each other, the city and the world. When we go there, and meet each other on that bridge, we breathe more freely. Our lungs fill with hope, we breathe in the city, and we know it belongs to us. The rich and the powerful seem less powerful when we look down on them from the bridge that workers built for the people of Sydney.
The crowd stretched back to Wynyard Station and beyond
(Photo: Adam Farrar)
It would be great to hear from others who were there on 3 August. How you experienced it, what you felt and what you want to see going forward. Please write to us and share your thoughts. Indeed, the thoughts and comments of all members (irrespective of their attendance) would be very welcome on the subject of a growing movement for justice and peace in Palestine. In particular, your response to the vital question “How do we grow and broaden the movement even further so that decisive action becomes a political necessity (not a delayed choice) for all Australian governments?”.
The history of great moments should include accounts from the protagonists!
Great to hear about activity on this in Alice Springs. If someone can write a short piece telling us about what is happening with Mparntwe for Palestine, their concerns and activities (past & future) that would be great to publish and get it around.
Reply to Paul Norton:
Hey Paul, hope you well. Yes I too have heard commentary on supporters of various radical Islamist groups that were in attendance. I guess we all know the reality is that any large manifestation of humanity will likely include the full spectrum of humanity. I remember an old school principal of mine used to point at us pimply boys in secondary school at Monday assembly and shout “its the 3% moronic element that ruins it for the rest of you!”. Even if we take 1% as the magic number, that would give us about 2,000-3,000 who might fit the mad, bad or politically ugly for the August 3 March. Its clear, they did not define us or our cause. The great, overwhelming mass of people went there head held high demanding a ceasefire, release of aid, banning military support for Israel and recognition of Palestine. We left that afternoon standing a little bit taller. The shame was on the Minns government and the rest of the political class that was scared and wanted to hide from the people.
We know from history that reactionary forces will deploy a fairly predictable set of strategies to contain the threat posed by a growing movement for change. So in this case, in the first instance, they tried to suggest it was marginal, and the bulk of the Australian people were indifferent to the plight of the Palestinian people and supportive of Israeli actions. That has now been demonstrably smashed, not only by opinion polls, but the determination of such large numbers that turned out on August 3 and since then in other cities.
That leaves reactionaries with two key strategies – (i) divide us, and (ii) TINA (there is no alternative).
You identify the first strategy, and the Murdoch press are masters at this of course. They are now joined by disparate forces in the bigger ecosystem of social media. Let us not follow them down their rabbit holes. I say we should keep on the big message – the people in their multitudes want peace and justice for Palestine.
Their second strategy (TINA) will come more into play as the issue of ‘how to reconstruct Gaza?’ comes to the fore. I think we have to wait for the Palestinian voices to lead and we support what is credible/feasible/possible. For now, ‘there is and must be an alternative to genocide’, I think that should be our unshakeable immediate claim.
Reply to Kate:
I agree Kate, people I feel are generally proud of our efforts as a country where we provide aid to (i) help in development, or (ii) for emergency relief in case of disasters. In the case of Palestine, the attacks on the aid workers and the systems of emergency relief have been deeply disturbing. For Australians, I think the violence unleashed against these emergency workers became more relatable with the killing of Australian Zomi Frankcom and her six co-workers in April 2024. Everyone knew this was a cold-blooded killing, and everyone watched as Israeli authorities tried to dance away from responsibility. Part of the pent up anger is also that our government has stayed with a foreign policy position of general support for the Israeli regime. All the while, we have watched their killings of innocents including women and children as well as aid workers trying to stem the suffering.
More power to you Kate and APHEDA for the great work your organisation does.
On some social media I am seeing posts and comments from people I would characterise as broadly progressive who are concerned at reports of e.g. Hamas flags and a poster of Ayatollah Khamenei being displayed by some participants in the march. It would be good to know the facts regarding such claims so that these comments can be answered.