Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras chief Gil Beckwith has called for an immediate and enduring ceasefire in Gaza and committed the organisation to not accepting any funding from organisations “which are complicit in the ongoing violence in Palestine”.
It comes after activist group Pride in Protest put pressure on the organisation to rule out accepting funds from Israel and the country’s corporate supporters and demanded it declare a stance on the ongoing war.
It also comes after the group protested with a megaphone outside the Mardi Gras annual general meeting earlier this month with a banner that said “Queers for Palestine”.
The call for a ceasefire was made in an open letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Thursday. In the letter, Beckwith wrote that the Mardi Gras organisation believed all life is precious, and every person has the right to live without fear.
“In this belief we join, alongside global LGBTQIA+ communities, in supporting the international call for an immediate ceasefire, the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the immediate release of all hostages in the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” she said.
“We urge that the Australian government intervene and call for the Israeli forces to make every effort to protect the lives of civilians.”
Beckwith said Mardi Gras was also concerned at the divisions the conflict was causing in Australia after a reported increase in Islamophobia and anti-semitism.
“We support actions that promote peace, and the preservation of human life. We support the Australian government’s call for an immediate and enduring ceasefire,” she said.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Mardi Gras held a minute’s silence for Ukraine during the 2022 parade and the country’s flag was shown on the Sydney Cricket Ground scoreboard.
The CEO’s letter comes amid pressure from Pride in Protest and other parts of the community who said the Mardi Gras organisation was “staying silent” on the events in the Middle East.
The issue of the war was raised by Pride In Protest at the Mardi Gras annual general meeting this month both in a motion and speeches.
There, the group submitted a motion calling on Mardi Gras to bar any future partnerships with – or donations from – certain companies they said were associated with the war; commit to accepting no partnership or donations from the state of Israel; and condemn the Albanese and Minns governments for their various responses to the war.
The motion was voted down, with 178 voting for it and 318 against.
Following the annual general meeting, Mardi Gras’ Instagram was flooded with comments criticising the organisation for “staying silent” on the issue of the war. This prompted Mardi Gras to respond to what it called misinformation regarding the motion.
“War, violence and oppression are something that we stand against. However, the motion put forward did not ask members to vote on supporting a ceasefire in Palestine,” it said at the time, adding that there were already mechanisms in place for addressing all corporate partnerships.
Pride in Protest member Charlie Murphy described the CEO’s letter as a “backflip” by Mardi Gras that “shows that community pressure works”.
Murphy accused Israel of committing genocide (the Israel Defence Force and Israel reject this) and said the only way for the violence to cease was “to end Israel’s occupation of Palestine”.
Gay Sydney News reporter