It might be a long way from Melbourne’s outer-west to the Middle East, but for a new pressure group, the distance is irrelevant.
“It’s not something that I can ignore” said Wyndham Vale’s Fatima Measham, of the conflict in Gaza.
Ms Measham and fellow Wyndham residents Mehak Sheikh, Alisha Saiyed and Jazeer Nijamudeen are co-founders of Wyndham for Palestine, an organisation established to ensure Wyndham council doesn’t ignore the conflict either.
Instead, they want Wyndham to join the likes of Merri-bek, Maribyrnong and Greater Dandenong councils in calling for a ceasefire and will table a petition with over a thousand signatures, urging councillors to do just that at the final council meeting of the year.
While such motions are often criticised for distracting local governments from core responsibilities like rates and rubbish collection, Ms Measham said the response to their online petition showed the conflict in Gaza was a big issue in the municipality.
“We remind the councillors of their obligation under the Local Government Act not only to represent our concerns but to also be responsive to our needs. Right now we need them to demonstrate their sense of humanity and solidarity. Representatives at all levels of government cannot remain silent when there is a strong desire in the community for them to advocate.”
Fellow Wyndham for Palestine co-founder Mehak Sheikh concurred.
“It may for a moment feel geographically far away, but Wyndham is home to members of the Palestinian community. Our social media accounts are showing us the truth of this situation, and it can’t be denied that this is an abuse of power and settler-colonialism from the state of Israel.“
Pro-Palestinian protests and ceasefire demands have steadily grown since Israel began it’s military campaign in Gaza in response to the October 7 Hamas terror attacks.
As the protests have grown so to have accusations from Israel and some Jewish groups that they’re motivated by anti-semitism and support for Hamas, claims Fatima Measham categorically rejects.
“We take our cue from our anti-zionist Jewish friends who reject the equivalence between Judaism and Zionism,” she said. “It’s is not anti-semitic to criticise Israel.”
As for whether they support Hamas and their attacks on October 7, she was equally clear.
“Because we’re fighting for Palestinian lives it should be a given that we are against violence.”
Ms Measham said Wyndham for Palestine was a multi-faith, intercultural organisation and like the struggle for Palestinian freedom, not tied to any religion.
“Palestinian aspirations are actually secular, they want equal rights like any human being and that’s not possible at the moment.”
