Socialist Councillor Looks to Reinstate Palestinian Flag Over Victorian City Hall

Following news of a ceasefire, the Palestinian flag over Coburg Community Hall came down after more than a year. Now, it looks like it will be flown again.

Palestinian men join in solidarity with Aboriginal people during the Invasion Day Rally in Melbourne, Australia on Jan. 26, 2024. Tamati Smith/Getty Images

A Socialist Alliance councillor’s plans to reinstate the Palestinian flag over a Melbourne local government building just days after it was removed has earned the ire of the Jewish community, who say they feel unwelcome.

Councillor Sue Bolton first put forward a motion to fly the Palestinian flag over the Coburg Town Hall in November 2023, just over a month after Hamas invaded Israel, murdering 1,139 people and taking hundreds more hostage.

The motion called for an immediate ceasefire, so the flag was removed following the Israel-Hamas agreement made shortly after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump.

Under the agreement, both parties would agree to a ceasefire, with Hamas releasing Israeli hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held in Israel.

But Bolton now says the flag needs to remain in place to maintain the “integrity” of the resolution.

“Council took down the flag on the mention of a ceasefire ... it’s important to put it back up until there is a permanent ceasefire, which hopefully will happen soon,” she told the Herald Sun.

The flag had originally been intended to remain for a six-month period.

A decision to reinstate the flag will be made at the Merri-Bek council meeting on Feb. 12.

Bolton, who used the colours of the Palestinian flag on her how-to-vote card in the October council elections, listed one of her achievements as a local Merri-Bek councillor as “opposing the genocide in Gaza.”

The Palestinian flag was placed on the council’s “fourth flag pole,” a pole reserved for placing different flags that sit beside the Australian, Aboriginal, and Torres Strait Islander flags.

The council has, for the time being, replaced the Palestinian flag with the LGBT flag.

Jews Made to Feel Unwelcome

The decision to fly the Palestinian flag has left many members of the Jewish community feeling alienated, according to Australian Jewish Association (AJA) CEO Robert Gregory.

Gregory told The Epoch Times that flying the flag was divisive.

The move comes amid a soaring rate of anti-Semitic crime in Australia, especially in Victoria, where the Adass Israel Synagogue was firebombed.

“Merri-Bek Council should focus on the needs of local residents and not engage in divisive political games,” Gregory said.

“Local councillors are elected to represent local residents, not to push extremist political causes or waste ratepayers’ funds on international conflicts.”

Gregory said if Bolton did not want to stick to local issues, she should resign from her position.

“At a time of surging anti-Semitism, stunts like this inflame communal tensions and make Jewish residents feel unwelcome,” he said.

Merri-Bek council was contacted for comment.