Australian officials knew perfectly well that inviting Israel’s president to visit would provoke unrest and intense backlash. Nevertheless, they extended the invitation and dispatched police forces to violently suppress the demonstrators.
I witnessed a video where two officers restrained a young person wearing a keffiyeh by holding him face down, then continued to repeatedly punch him long after he was subdued.
Another video showed police repeatedly striking a middle-aged man who kept his hands raised until he collapsed to the ground.
In yet another clip, officers continuously sprayed pepper spray directly into the face of a protester who was clearly complying and offered no resistance.
There was also a video capturing police forcibly handling Muslim men who were kneeling in prayer and posed no threat whatsoever.
Indeed, this is the reality in Australia, where the government warmly welcomes the leader of a genocidal apartheid state, only to respond to dissent with brutal police violence.
The resilience and bravery demonstrated by the pro-Palestine movement in Australia remains remarkable, as people persist in attending anti-genocide protests despite the authorities’ intense efforts to intimidate and deter them.
Moreover, Queensland is currently planning to criminalize using pro-Palestinian slogans such as “from the river to the sea” or “globalise the intifada,” with offenders facing up to two years imprisonment. This legislation represents perhaps the most extreme example of speech suppression in Australian history, surpassing even the highest previous standards of overreach.
To be perfectly clear, no genuine person interprets “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as a genocidal or antisemitic message. This is yet another case where supporters of Israel feign belief in such claims solely to justify further restrictions on criticism of Israel.
Their goal is to make opposing Israel’s actions so legally fraught that people feel compelled to consult lawyers before speaking out, effectively creating a chilling effect on pro-Palestine activism nationwide.
This crackdown follows the recent enactment of harsh new “hate speech” laws under the guise of “combating antisemitism,” which significantly ease the process of labeling activist organizations as “hate groups.” Australian officials have not clarified that these regulations will refrain from targeting groups critical of Israel, a silence revealing the true intent behind these measures.
Simultaneously, New South Wales is intensifying its crackdown on protests, banning demonstrations in selected regions and attempting to outlaw the use of “globalise the intifada” to satisfy Australia’s powerful Israel lobby. Premier Chris Minns is currently standing by the police actions that resulted in violent suppression at the Herzog protests last Monday.
Just two months ago, a leading figure in the Australian Israel lobby publicly called for a nationwide ban on pro-Palestine demonstrations, asserting that the problem lies in criticism of Israel itself, not solely antisemitism. Joel Burnie, Executive Manager of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council (AIJAC), explicitly stated his demand: “No more protests! No more protests!” in Australia.
“I for one as a Jewish leader will no long talk about antisemitism in isolation from Israel, because it’s the rhetoric and language on Israel that motivates the people to come and kill us,” Burnie declared during a video meeting, later adding that “language on Israel invading all of our social spaces in Australia have made this country a very unsafe space and place for Jews.”
Step by step, individuals like Joel Burnie have realized their objectives. Australian civil liberties are steadily eroding in order to safeguard the interests of a genocidal apartheid government.
As I frequently remind my readers, Australia is the sole so-called democracy globally that lacks any national charter or bill of rights. Great trust has been placed in state and federal legislators to act rightly, which has proven misplaced and ineffective. Professor George Williams explained in a 2006 Melbourne University Law Review article:
“Australia is now the only democratic nation in the world without a national bill of rights. Some comprehensive form of legal protection for basic rights is otherwise seen as an essential check and balance in democratic governance around the world. Indeed, I can find no example of a democratic nation that has gained a new Constitution or legal system in recent decades that has not included some form of a bill of rights, nor am I aware of any such nation that has done away with a bill of rights once it has been put in place.”
This approach clearly fails. Australians urgently require constitutionally guaranteed speech rights because we cannot depend on our leaders to safeguard our voices when they conflict with the demands of powerful individuals and lobby groups.
The more vehement the attempts to silence us, the louder our voices must rise. Opposing Israel and its supporters is more crucial than ever, as they now target us and our fundamental freedoms. This struggle transcends opposing genocide, war, and apartheid—it has become a fight for our own rights and future.
Original article: caitlinjohnstone.com.au
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