‘Disgusting’: Fake Body Bags Placed Outside MP Offices in Pro-Palestinian Protest

A Jewish leader described it as a ‘disgusting shock tactic’ out of the Hamas playbook.

Fake corpses placed outside the office of Immigration Minister Andrew Giles in Melbourne, Australia, on Nov. 15, 2023. Courtesy of No More Bodies In Gaza

Fake, bloodied corpses were placed outside of the offices of several Victorian Labor MPs to protest the government’s support for Israel.

Senior federal ministers who were targeted include Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, and NDIS Minister Bill Shorten.

Offices for MPs Ged Kearney, Peter Khalil, and Kate Thwaites were also swept up as part of the publicity stunt.

Bloodied body bags of various sizes, from child to adult-sized, were put at the entrance of their offices along with signs saying “Free Palestine” and “End the Occupation.”

The group No More Bodies in Gaza was responsible for the protest.

They said many Labor ministers in the past had expressed their support for Palestine but have been silent during the current Israel-Hamas conflict, triggered by an unprovoked attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

They added that the deaths of Palestinian people did not start on Oct. 7, but dated back to 1948.

“We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people’s right to sovereignty and freedom, and their call for an end to the violent occupation of their homeland,” the activist group said in a statement.

“This is a defining moment in our collective humanity. The rallies, the actions, the letters, the phone calls will not stop until the Australian government stands with its people.”

Demands were put forward to the government to call for an immediate ceasefire, to “stop arming Israel,” and to halt all diplomatic and economic support for Israel.

Nasser Mashni, president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network, said all protests, including this one, were legitimate and believed it was not a hateful demonstration.

“This is provocative in the sense of, ‘Are you gonna do anything?’ I mean it’s challenging representatives of constituents that have relied on [the] Palestinian, Muslim vote to get office,” he told 3AW radio.

He admitted that the demonstration sat “uncomfortably” with him.

“But that’s the job of protests; is to make the place uncomfortable for discussion to be had,” he added.

Mr. Mashni also acknowledged that the recent rising tensions between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian supporters needed to cool down.

But Dvir Abramovich, chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission, decried the protest, calling it “disgusting shock tactics taken out of the Hamas playbook.”

“At a time of skyrocketing anti-Semitism, when the Jewish community feels under siege, this latest incident by the anti-Israel forces, will only increase tensions,” he told Daily Mail Australia.

“I hope that police are able to prosecute the perpetrators of this unvarnished expression of hate.”

Albanese Government Under Pressure From Both Sides

It comes after the Albanese government was criticised by the Opposition for being unable to suppress anti-Semitism in the Australian community.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of failing to strongly lead the Labor Party amid an ongoing split internally—many Labor MPs preside over electorates with large Muslim communities.

Mr. Dutton’s accusation was made in relation to Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s comments that she wanted both Israel and Hamas to take steps towards a ceasefire, noting that it “cannot be one-sided” as Hamas continues to hold over 200 hostages.

“We know Hamas is a terrorist organisation, it’s demonstrated that it has no respect for international law, but Australia is a democracy and so too is Israel, and the standards that we seek and accept are higher, and international humanitarian law is very clear about the principles that need to be applied by Israel,” she told ABC radio on Nov. 12.

When pressed in Parliament by Mr. Dutton about this division within the Labor caucus, Mr. Albanese said Ms. Wong’s comments were consistent with the motion put forward in October, which gained bipartisan support, that condemned Hamas.

“[The motion] asserted Israel’s right to defend itself. It also called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. It condemned anti-Semitism,” the prime minister said in his response to Mr. Dutton.

“It acknowledged the devastating loss of Israeli and Palestinian life and that innocent civilians on all sides are suffering as a result of the attacks by Hamas and the subsequent conflict.”

“This was backed up by the foreign minister yesterday,” he said.