Ben Fordham has lashed out after demonstrators at the Mardi Gras Fair Day were heard chanting ‘Queers for Gaza’.
The 2GB host vented his frustration over the slogans shouted at the demonstration in Sydney on Sunday.
Hundreds called for stronger anti-discrimination laws, improved access to gender-affirming healthcare, and an end to police violence.
Footage of the demonstration showed protesters shouting ‘Queers for Gaza’ and ‘Globalise the intifada’.
Fordham questioned whether participants understood the reality of LGBTQ rights under Hamas.
‘Do these people know what happens to queers in Gaza?’ he asked.
‘Under Hamas rule, LGBTQ rights are non‑existent. If you’re gay, trans or bisexual, you’re prosecuted.’
He told listeners that chanting such slogans may not have the intended effect.
Ben Fordham has lashed out after demonstrators at the Mardi Gras Fair Day were heard chanting ‘Queers for Gaza’
Rally attendees were heard saying ‘Queers for Gaza… globalise the intifada’ while marching
‘If they think that chanting “Queers for Gaza” is going to solve anything, think again,’ he said.
The group also chanted a phrase similar to one used by former Australian of the Year Grace Tame at last week’s protest against Israeli President Isaac Herzog.
‘From Gadigal to Gaza, Long Live the intifada.’
One of the flyers handed out at the event mentioned intifada.
‘Intifada means uprising,’ it says.
NSW Premier Chris Minns and Queensland Premier David Crisafulli have both called for the phrase to be banned, arguing it can be interpreted as a call for violent uprising.
Last week, Foreign Minister Penny Wong was questioned by Liberal Senator Michaelia Cash during Senate estimates about the government’s interpretation of ‘globalise the intifada’.
Wong referenced Australia’s Envoy for Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, who said the phrase ‘was used to whip up hatred against Jews’ and agreed: ‘I think [Segal] is right.’
A flyer slamming the NSW Government following Minns’ criticism of the use of ‘intifada’
The rally was organised by activist group Pride in Protest, with current and former Greens candidates present.
Greens candidate for Fowler, Avery Howard, was at the front of the march; Hannah Thomas, who stood in Grayndler against Anthony Albanese in 2025, addressed the crowd.
Thomas gained widespread media attention after sustaining a serious eye injury during an arrest at a protest last June; the police officer involved has since been charged.
Before marching to Mardi Gras Fair Day in Victoria Park, protesters gathered at Pride Square in Newtown, opposite Newtown Station.
One banner read ‘Queers for Gaza.’
The rally also included heavy criticism of NSW Police, with chants such as: ‘I smell bacon, I smell grease, I smell NSW Police.’
Pride in Protest has criticised Mardi Gras organisers for inviting NSW Police to attend festival events since it was formed in 2018, a stance that intensified after the Herzog protest at Sydney Town Hall.
Footage from the rally shows protesters being punched and pushed to the ground during arrests, including a 76-year-old man.
The group also chanted ‘From Gadigal to Gaza, long live the intifada’ during the protest
Minns has defended police after the state’s police watchdog announced an investigation into alleged misconduct at the rally, saying officers had been placed in an ‘impossible situation.’
A video of police issuing a move‑on order to a group of Muslim men while they were praying drew widespread backlash.
Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon later clarified that the direction was not directed at any religious group and apologised for ‘any offence taken for interfering with that religious process.’
The matter is now being handled by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC), the independent body overseeing the NSW Police Force.
Once the investigation is complete, the LECC will table a public report to the NSW Parliament.
