Justice for Palestine Magan-djin (JFP) on July 28 announced it had launched a High Court challenge to Queensland’s so-called hate speech laws. The law prohibits expression of the phrases “From the river to the sea” and “Globalise the Intifada”.
On August 1, JFP joined Northern Rivers for Palestine in an action on the Queensland border to highlight “six words” that are legal in New South Wales but banned in Queensland.
Remah Naji, spokesperson for JFP and the lead plaintiff in the High Court case, said: “This is about a genocide and our right to protest a genocide”. She highlighted that Pew Research polling which shows that a majority (79%) have an unfavourable view of Israel and that this rises to 87% among younger people.
She described the laws as “frankly stupid” and said that protesting Israel’s crimes is “our right”.
“I want to be able to say ‘From the river to the sea’ without fear of getting arrested,” Naji said. She was, however, not arrested for saying these words, highlighting the inconsistency with which Queensland Police are enforcing the law.
Michael Bradley of Marque Lawyers, which is mounting the legal challenge, said that the laws are a “massive overreach” and that it is the first time in Australia that a government has attempted to “criminalise specific words”.
He said the High Court challenge has a high chance of winning and that the Court should declare the laws invalid.
Two hundred people rallied at the NSW/Queensland border on August 1 to highlight the absurdity of the Queensland law. Queenslanders had the chance to chant “From the river to the sea” while marching from the Tweed River to the sea.
