Vienna Protest Condemns Israeli Strikes in Southern Syria
Vienna, Austria— Nearly 500 demonstrators gathered outside the Austrian Parliament on july 20th, to denounce what they called Israeli military aggression in southern Syria. The protest, organized by the National Syrian Society in Austria, came amid rising tensions following reported Israeli airstrikes in the Syrian province of Suwayda.
Waving Syrian flags and holding banners calling for peace and sovereignty, the demonstrators voiced solidarity with the Syrian people and opposition to what they described as violations of Syrian territorial integrity. The protest featured impassioned speeches from Syrian community leaders, activists, and invited international guests.
Among the speakers was Michael Pröbsting, International Secretary of the Revolutionary Communist International Tendency (RCIT), who delivered two addresses to the crowd. Pröbsting condemned the Israeli strikes and characterized Israel as a “fundamentally expansionist and warmongering state,” calling it an enduring adversary of the Palestinian cause and broader Arab resistance.
In his remarks, Pröbsting expressed full support for the Syrian military’s efforts to defend national sovereignty. He also criticized figures such as Hikmet al-Hijri, a Druze leader perceived by some as aligned with Israeli interests in the region.
Looking ahead, Pröbsting called for a democratic and united Syria in which all communities—Arabs and Kurds, Sunni and Shia, Alawites, Druze, and Christians—can coexist as equals. “Our vision is a Syria where power lies with the laboring masses, not external powers or sectarian elites,” he said.
The demonstration ended peacefully but underscored the lingering volatility in the region and the growing international response to escalating hostilities. The rally was part of a broader call across European cities for solidarity with the Syrian people amid deepening geopolitical fault lines in the Middle East.
