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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2022-09-08 Daily Xml
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Antisemitism

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS (Black—Leader of the Opposition) (14:55): My question is to the Premier. In the spirit of bipartisanship, will the Premier join with the opposition in condemning the publication of antisemitic statements in the Adelaide University student newspaper On Dit? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.J. SPEIRS: An article was recently published in On Dit entitled, 'For Palestine, there is No Ceasefire', which concluded with the words 'death to Israel'.

In the same week that extremists defaced Adelaide's Holocaust Museum, Jewish students at Adelaide University were stunned to see a majority of their elected SRC representatives supporting the position of the author, who repeatedly shouted the statement 'death to Israel' at a meeting. These students included constituents of ours who have told members of the opposition of their experiences of increased levels of antisemitism, including physical threats that have been inspired by articles such as this one.

A strong and bipartisan statement from the government joining the condemnation offered by the opposition would be strongly welcomed by these students and the Jewish community.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:56): I most certainly welcome this question from the Leader of the Opposition, because it does present a powerful opportunity for this parliament to condemn antisemitism in all its forms.

It has been a bipartisan position of our nation for some time to support a two-state solution to the situation that we see in both Palestine and Israel, and we actively condemn as a government—and I hope as a parliament—any advocacy for death to either group. Death is never something that should be advocated for, and it should always be condemned in all its forms.

On Dit as a publication has a long history. Indeed, in many respects it has a very proud history, and we do not believe that these sentiments accord with that history. All of us in this parliament passionately believe in the virtue of freedom of the press, but it is also within our freedom as a parliament to actively condemn a view that is not consistent with Australia's values, Australia's position on this issue, or indeed the spirit that South Australians have towards peaceful resolution of disputes of this nature.

I have had the great privilege of travelling to both Palestine and Israel, and in that experience I spoke to both Palestinians and Israeli men and women, working people, business owners, parents, children and young people and almost universally everyone that I spoke to expressed a desire for a peaceful solution.

When one side or the other starts advocating death to one group or another it actively undermines the prospect of a peaceful solution. I welcome the opposition's condemning of that use of language. We support the opposition in their condemnation of that, and I hope that bipartisan spirit on supporting a two-state solution can reign for a long time to come.

The SPEAKER: Before I call the member for Heysen, I observe that a number of my own constituents have contacted me in relation to this issue. They are deeply distressed. The position of the Chair and of my office: I observe that freedom of speech does not include the freedom to threaten or intimidate.

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