Greens leader Adam Bandt has been called out for his party’s perceived sympathy with Hamas by an Australian Jew who accused him of sending the message ‘death to Israel’.
Paul Roberts raised the issue during Monday night’s Q+A panel program on the ABC, as the Israel-Hamas war enters its third week after the terrorist group’s assault on Israel on October 7.
‘As an Australian Jew, I’ve been comforted in recent weeks by concern and support I’ve been given by the Australian public and by the government and opposition,’ Mr Roberts said.
‘Adam Bandt, are the Greens able to differentiate between terrorism and those fighting terrorism, and will the Greens dissociate themselves from the Australian protesters which call for a Palestine to replace Israel, rather than to live in peace with Israel?’
Mr Bandt said the Greens have condemned the actions of Hamas.
Pictured: A pro-Palestinian rally outside the Sydney Opera House in Sydney, October 9, 2023
‘We did that immediately. The taking of hostages is a war crime and the perpetrators need to be held to account and they need to be brought to justice. So we are crystal-clear on that,’ Mr Bandt said.
But he went on to say that the occupation of Palestinian territories had ‘pushed them into this open-air prison.’
‘We need a peace process so that both Palestinians and Israelis can live in the just peace and security that they are entitled to.’
Q+A host Patricia Karvelas asked Mr Roberts if he was satisfied with Mr Bandt’s denouncement of anti-Semitism and some of the extremist things you’ve heard at these rallies.
‘No, because we are not going to be back here in five years, we will be back here in months if Hamas is not dismantled. Their sole existence is to kill all Israel worldwide,’ Mr Roberts said.
‘When you hear people speak at rallies, where they say ‘from the river to the sea, people should be free’ – the river is the Jordan and Israel is the sea.
‘You are sending me a message as an Australian Jew that you are political bed fellows with organisations that seek the death of Israel.’
Mr Bandt said that was not his position nor the Greens’ position.
Fellow panellists Larissa Baldwin-Roberts, a Widjabul Wia-bal woman from the Bundjalung Nations and CEO of progressive activist group GetUp, said she did not see the ‘from the river to the sea’ phrase the same way.
Greens leader Adam Bandt has been called out for his party’s perceived sympathy with Hamas by an Australian Jew who accused him of sending the message ‘death to Israel’
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Palestinians inspect a destroyed area after Israeli air strikes in Gaza City, 23 October 2023
She wore a Palestinian scarf to show support for Palestinians trapped in Gaza.
‘For First Nations people, there is an incredible solidarity that exists here. We are talking about securing a free future for Palestine,’ she said.
‘ We are talking about the freedom of continuing your language, your culture, not just to survive but to thrive as people.’
She received applause for the answer, but groans later for her response on the slogan and why Jewish people could find it offensive.
‘I don’t believe that it is hate speech,’ she said.
‘I understand why people say this, and people see this as a call to freedom. I understand that you can see this in a different way as well.’
Sydney teenager Saim Saeed, who lives in a predominantly Palestinian community area, said have felt betrayed by the government, believing ‘the response has been very one-sided and unfair towards them’, especially with the lighting of the Opera House in support of Israel.
‘Could the Government have been more sympathetic towards the Palestinian people in a time of heightened tension?,’ he asked the panel.
Albanese government minister Matt Thistlethwaite said the government had condemned Hamas, not the Palestinian people over the attack.
Q+A host Patricia Karvelas asked if Mr Roberts if he was satisfied with Mr Bandt’s answer, which he wasn’t
‘I think most Australians were quite shocked and horrified at the brutality of the Hamas invasion, and we’ve certainly made the point in the parliament that our condemnation was directed to Hamas, the terrorist organisation, not to the Palestinian people who, in many respects, are innocent victims in this whole conflict.’
But he deflected on the lighting of the Opera House, saying that was a matter for the NSW government and its guidelines for when the icon is used to show support.
‘I think in the circumstances it was probably appropriate given the expression of support that existed in the Australian community for Israel and the motions that was passed in the parliament,’ he said.
Ms Baldwin-Roberts also weighed into the issue.
‘It is symbolism, but I would say people want substantive rights, not pretty lights,’ she said.
