Firebrand senator Lidia Thorpe addresses pro-Palestine rally

Firebrand senator Lidia Thorpe has addressed a pro-Palestinian rally in Melbourne on Sunday.

The rally was held two days after the firebombing of the Adass Israel Synagogue in Melbourne’s south east.

Speakers at the rally were at pains to distance themselves from the attack, which was being investigated by ASIO and Victorian Police.

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni addressed the crowd, condemning the attack.

“Whoever set fire to that synagogue is a racist, is a fascist, is a Nazi,” Mr Mashni said, the Herald Sun reported.

There have been weekly protests in Melbourne’s CBD since the start of the armed conflict in the Gaza Strip following the October 7 attacks in southern Israel.

There was a heavy police presence inside the Bourke Street Mall for Sunday’s protest.

In a video posted online, Senator Thorpe condemned the war in Gaza.

“The love we have for one another is what maintains our strength and our resistance,” she said.

“You are my family. You are part of who we are in this country.

“You understand what it’s like to protect country, to protect water, to protect each other. The colonials around the world are scared for the love we have for each other, they are scared of our connection around the globe.

“You have connected us internationally. And the racists are becoming the minority because we are building and strengthening.”