Nasser Mashni

Nasser Mashni is a Palestinian-Australian property developer, best known for his political activism as the president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN). Mashni has helped organise numerous pro-Palestinian protests with large followings. APAN has awarded an award called the Jerusalem (Al Quds) Peace Prize each year since 2018.

Early life Nasser Mashni was born in Australia, the son of a Palestinian refugee. His father, Shaher Hussein El-Mashni (1926–2007), was a Palestinian activist who was frequently absent from home due to his political work. El-Mashni had been a member of the Palestinian resistance led by Palestinian leader Abdel-Kader al-Husseini, and moved to Jordan after Al-Husseini's death in 1948. He migrated to Australia in 1959, and formed the Australian wing of the Fatah movement. He was active in Yasser Arafat's Palestinian "parliament-in-exile", the Palestinian National Council. He died in Melbourne in March 2007.

Mashni has two brothers. He has worked for the organisation since around 2017. Its patrons were retired Major General Ian Gordon and unionist Wendy Turner, with Bishop George Browning as president in the early 2020s. Mashni became president in January 2023. Past members of the executive board include Labor politician Claire Moore (who was also vice president for some time), child psychiatrist and academic Jon Jureidini, and writer Claudia Hyles.

The organisation condemned the 2025 Bondi Beach attack and said "perpetrators of this horrendous attack do not represent our movement or the values we uphold".

Jerusalem (Al Quds) Peace Prize

APAN awards the Jerusalem (Al Quds) Peace Prize, to recognise individuals who have been significant advocates of "Palestinian freedom, justice and self-determination". The inaugural recipient in 2018 was Stuart Rees, and since then, recipients have included Anthony Loewenstein, Gary Foley, Melissa Parke, Helen McCue, Wendy Turner and Randa Abdel-Fattah.

Views Mashni has been critical of what he calls "the Zionist lobby", and has said that he considered the October 7 attacks by Hamas on Israel as "a fight against oppression". He considers Israel to be a settler colonial state. Mashni has emphasised that he believes in quality and humanity for all people in the region of Israel and Palestine, not just the Jewish people, and stating he opposes supremacy. In his role as president of APAN, Mashni has helped organise numerous pro-Palestinian rallies that have garnered between 50,000 and 100,000 protester participants. In 2022, Mashni filed a racial discrimination complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission concerning the federal government's stance on Israel.

Mashni has been critical of Donald Trump's plan for a ceasefire in Gaza, and critical of the fact that Israel is allowed keep its weapons, while Palestinians are being told to disarm.

Mashni and APAN have been influential in the Australian pro-Palestinian advocacy space, where they have sponsored and hosted weekly and later monthly rallies and protests since October 2023 across Australia. Mashni has said the drop in frequency of events is due to how much time and energy it takes to put the events together, but also emphasised that their exhaustion is nothing compared to what ordinary Palestinians in Gaza endure on a daily basis. Following one of these rallies, charges were brought against Mashni under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 by Jewish community activist Menachem Vorchheimer based on the fact that rally participants were allowed to chant "all Zionists are terrorists".

In June 2024, a pro-Palestinian rally marking the 35th week of consecutive demonstrations against the war in Gaza in Melbourne attended by around 3000 protesters turned violent after protesters clashed with Melbourne police. Police alleged that the demonstrators had been hostile toward authorities, including having objects thrown at officers and being spat on.

In May 2025, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) removed an interview with Mashni, which had been briefly available on the broadcaster's website and its streaming service, iview. In the interview, Mashni expressed support for Albanese's stance and described Israel as a "rogue, apartheid, genocidal state". The incident attracted attention amid ongoing international scrutiny of Israel's military actions in Gaza.

Mashni does not consider all of Hamas to be a terrorist organisation and has advocated to un-designate certain parts of the organisation as such. Mashni has also advocated to change Australian racism laws. Mashni has also been critical of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the Australian Government's antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal. Stating that there should be a royal commission into hate, not just the elevation of one community. Mashni described the decision as "anti-Palestinian racism" and said that linking her to 2025 Bondi Beach shooting, in which she had no part, was "deeply irresponsible and discriminatory". He called for structural changes to ensure similar actions do not happen again.

Other activities Mashni founded the charity Olive Kids, that sends aid to Palestinian children in Gaza. Australian Jewish News and The Australian have alleged that Olive Kids may be linked to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine; However, there is no independent corroboration of this.

Mashni has appeared as a guest on a number of local, commercial, and international TV and radio networks, and has also written articles for news outlets. He co-produces and co-hosts a weekly radio show and podcast called Palestine Remembered, broadcast on Australian Community Radio Network stations.