From Gadigal to Gaza: The March across the Sea Cliff Bridge
After more than a decade of silence on the Sea Cliff Bridge, protesters successfully and peacefully returned to close the bridge on the 7th of December 2025. Hundreds crowded the streets to rally against Israel’s ongoing illegal occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, and to demand more action from Australia. Attendees of all ages, backgrounds, political alignments, and even species gathered to stand in solidarity with Palestine.
Credit: Nikolai Andjelkovic
The initial speeches commenced at 1:30pm with an energetic Welcome to Country from Uncle Mark. Thanking the Wollongong Friends of Palestine action group who organised the event, and the young people in the crowd whom he called “our future leaders,” Uncle Mark stated, “In my eyes, the Palestinian people are always welcome here and especially in the Illawarra.”
Lena Mozayani expressed concern over the efforts by world leaders to silence the voices of the people, and explained that the day’s protests, a coordinated national day of action, were calculated to occur across iconic locations to ensure that the message is near impossible to ignore.
Another speaker passionately expressed our need to “take up every single space to resist on behalf of the Palestinians.”
Wollongong Councillors Kit Docker, Andrew Anthony and Senator David Shoebridge were in attendance and marched. Mr. Shoebridge, of the Greens, affirmed that “our government has failed us.” He revealed that $8 billion is currently going towards building a U.S. nuclear submarine base in an unknown location that remains between Port Kembla, New Mantle and Brisbane under the AUKUS deal. Shoebridge called upon the Labor government to terminate the deal, and expressed his desire to live in an independent Australia with “a government that will represent our values.”
Credit: Nikolai Andjelkovic
Local medical professional and pharmacist Yossra Aboulfadl took the stage with horrific descriptive accounts of the living situation in Palestine.
"... emergency rooms without electricity; intensive care units without oxygen; surgeries done with no anesthetics; and, limbs amputated on floors ... the sound of drones instead of ambulances; the smell of fire and blood instead of medicines and hand sanitisers ... and, children arriving, not in time for help, but rather in pieces put together in bags for parents to collect. Shame!"
She finishes by stating that “solidarity is not a slogan. It is lived, it is shared, it is earned.”
Finally, Ryan Chapman from the Socialist Alternative political group and NUS delegate, mentioned the influential Palestine movements happening across Italy. He declared that the resistance in Rome “was not built in a day” and that we too must “scream from the top of our lungs [demanding] that the Labor party sanctions Israel immediately.”
Once the speeches were finished – hastened by the police – the organisers of the event led the march, and chants were heard from every corner. About halfway along the bridge, the march was met with counter-protesters holding up a large Australian flag and showing their bare posteriors to the crowd. Police scurried them over to the side of the bridge and stood between the opposing protesters. Both the police and the counter-protesters were soon met by the hundreds of Palestine supporters, clearly offended by such an insensitive display.
With a few final chants at the end of the bridge, the protesters gathered once more at Rube Hargrave Park. After about 5 of their most patient minutes, police decided to open the roads immediately, whilst hundreds of people still walked around the streets.
Despite this potentially dangerous end to an effectively peaceful protest, no one was harmed, and the day went safely and smoothly. The atmosphere was triumphant, although the knowledge of the horrors in Palestine and our own government’s contribution to them weighed on all.
Coming together in moments of resistance such as these sends a powerful message to our supposed leaders. Yet, the fight isn’t over until we see the change.
For more information visit: Wollongong Friends of Palestine Instagram page or website.
Photos by @orangejoe.png
