Supporters of Palestine were banned from this year’s Mardi Gras parade and thrown off floats by police, continuing the climate of repression created by NSW Premier Chris Minns’ anti-protest laws.
The Pride in Protest float was kicked out the night before the parade on 28 February, after the Mardi Gras Board demanded the group take down a social media post that suggested the Jewish float Dayenu supported Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
Dayenu had earlier announced they were withdrawing from the parade, labelling the rally against the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog a “violent riot” and saying they had safety concerns about participating in Mardi Gras as a result.
In 2024 they also claimed to be concerned for their safety after the Mardi Gras officially supported a ceasefire in Gaza, with the group blaming Pride in Protest.
In the end the Mardi Gras Board helped persuade Dayenu to participate and excluded Pride in Protest.
On the night of the parade, police assaulted and ejected members of the Drag Kings float, targeting them because some were holding political signs and one had a Palestinian flag.
As Charlotte Mac Sweeney, who was with the group, told Honi Soit, “About ten riot cops just stormed in in a line … I heard them say, ‘Go for anything Palestine’.”
As a statement from ’78ers (participants in the first Mardi Gras in 1978) and other LGBTQI+ community members to the Mardi Gras Board explained, “One person was carrying a Palestinian flag which a policeman grabbed off her. She was assaulted with four police on top of her, while calling for help.
“One participant, in their first Mardi Gras, had police grab them by the throat and throw them onto the floor. Another drag king was pushed to the ground for asking for a police officer’s name. Many others were injured.”
A number of people were then forced out of the parade for trying to stop police violence. “Fourteen people in total were ejected. All parade participants had valid permits to march as part of the Drag Kings Sydney float and had been checked in by Mardi Gras staff.”
It is another example of the efforts to silence support for Palestine—and shows why we need to keep standing up against them.
