IN BRIEF
- About 300 people gathered in Brisbane to protest Qld’s ban on two phrases associated with pro-Palestinian advocacy.
- A day earlier, pro-Palestinian demonstrators had attempted to test the laws with a John Farnham flash mob.
Pro-Palestinian protesters have been arrested for chanting “from the river to the sea”, a day after a John Farnham flash mob sang a similar phrase.
About 300 gathered in central Brisbane on Saturday afternoon to protest the state government’s decision to ban two phrases associated with the pro-Palestinian movement: “globalise the intifada” and “from the river to the sea”.
Those who recite or display those terms could face up to two years in jail, but that didn’t stop the crowd from chanting them in front of police.
Officers arrested 20 people for 14 charges of displaying a prohibited expression and seven charges of reciting a prohibited expression.
Queensland Police acknowledged protesters were overall peaceful.
A day earlier, pro-Palestinian demonstrators had attempted to test the laws with a John Farnham flash mob, in which several hundred people belted out the 1988 classic Two Strong Hearts.
The song contains the lyrics “reaching out forever like a river to the sea”, but no one was arrested for singing along on Friday evening.
“Politicians and police have been bullying artists and activists for simply displaying the lyrics of this classic Australian song, and we let them know tonight that we won’t stand for it,” said Deb Cleland, who choreographed the dance.
Queensland’s banning of contested phrases
Earlier this year, Queensland passed legislation banning the phrases “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada”, categorising them as hate speech against Jewish people.
Queensland Attorney-General Deb Frecklington said in February that the laws were a “common sense” response to the 14 December terror attack, when 15 people were killed after two gunmen opened fire on Jewish Hanukkah celebrations in the Sydney suburb of Bondi.
Premier David Crisafulli said in early February that the laws were “about drawing a clear line — and stamping out the embers of hatred that were allowed to burn unchecked for too long — to ensure we protect Queenslanders”.
However, the chants — both of which are widely used at pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Australia and other nations — have contested meanings.
The full saying “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is a reference to the land between the Jordan River, which borders eastern Israel, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west.
Jewish organisations such as the Executive Council of Australian Jewry say the phrase “rejects Israel’s right to exist and denies Jews the right to self-determination in their ancestral homeland”.
However, some activists and advocacy groups say the phrases are calls for Palestinian freedom and human rights, rather than violence or the destruction of Israel.
Following the Bondi shooting, NSW has also said it would ban the phrase “globalise the intifada”.
Though the state has received similar backlash, NSW Premier Chris Minns on Thursday confirmed his government was still pursuing the legislation.
“We can see how it operates in Queensland, but in many respects I think that hateful phrase has been exposed as exactly what it is,” he said.
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