A forum hosted by Free Palestine Melbourne on “Resisting Repression: Defending Palestine Solidarity” drew anti-war activists to the State Library Theatrette on March 24.
The forum featured panelists from the pro-Palestine movement, who addressed federal Labor’s repressive laws brought in under the pretense of concerns about the rise of hate speech and cultural insensitivity.
Nick Hanna, a criminal defence lawyer who is providing pro-bono legal aid in civil liberties cases, criticised the obscurity of the federal government’s new hate speech laws. He said the language would be used to target Muslim and pro-Palestine groups.
“We need to avoid the trap of doing what the Zionists want,” Hanna said, criticising its deliberate conflation of Judaism with its own violent ideology that only serves to undermine Jewish safety in Australia.
Bart Shteinman, community organiser and executive officer of the Jewish Council of Australia, spoke about the influence of Zionism in Australia. He urged attendees to reject the idea that Jewish people are a monolith and well represented by pro-Israel interest groups.
Hannah Thomas, a survivor of police brutality and member of the NSW Greens, spoke about the levels of repression against working class people, ranging from verbal warnings about keffiyehs to censure over social media posts.
Thomas called for support for constitutional challenges against the new hate speech laws. She said we must name repressors, including the federal government.
The discussion included support for multi-pronged protest approach, including strong legal resistance while simultaneously building an anti-war movement to challenge the bipartisan Labor-Liberal support for the state of Israel.