There’s two important trials of political activists going on in Melbourne at the moment. The first, which commenced in March, involves members and supporters of Occupy Melbourne; trial begins again later this week (May 4). The second, which targets 19 individuals associated with the protests against Israeli-owned Max Brenner, began proceedings in the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday (May 1).
You can read more about the ‘Boycott Israel 19’ here; one of the 19, Benjamin Solah, shares some of his thoughts on the matter here. At 6pm this Friday (May 4) a public forum on the trial and the right to protest is being held at Trades Hall, with speakers including Kevin Bracken (MUA), Sinai Inbal (Boycott from Within), Jeff Sparrow (Overland) and more.
Inter alia, Jeff Sparrow will be talking about “the connection between Israel’s mainstream defenders and their far right counterparts”. This will presumably include the loons belonging to the ‘Australian Protectionist Party’ (APP), members of which last year joined local Zionists in counter-protesting outside the chain in Newtown, Sydney.
Curiously, APP member and IT wizard Martin Fletcher once celebrated the Holocaust on his website ‘Down Under Newslinks’, while on Stormfront leading APP (and ex-Australia First) member Darrin Hodges once touted his collection of Hitler videos. Joining them on the barricades was folks like Hajnal Black. At the same time as the arrests last year (July 2011), Hajnal addressed a meeting of supporters of 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley during his tour of The Colonies, claiming that The Greens want to gas her to death because of her opposition to The Carbon Tax and climate change denial.
Politics sure does make for strange bedfellows…
Hear also : Human rights, protest and police surveillance: a forum on intelligence gathering and monitoring of public protest, 6pm, Thursday, May 17, 2012, Melbourne City Conference Centre Chapel, 333 Swanston Street, (Cnr Little Lonsdale and Swanston Streets), Melbourne.
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