Transcript
My client came to today’s hearing with one clear objective and that was to set the record straight.
This commission was set up in response to the horrific Bondi terror attack, and was sold to the public on the basis that it was going to try to work out what the root causes of that horrific attack were, so that we don’t see an event happen like that again.
But instead of examining the root causes of the Bondi terror attack or of antisemitism generally in this country, what have we seen?
Witness after witness coming to the commission to smear the peaceful pro-Palestine movement and to falsely suggest that it contributed to antisemitism and even to the Bondi terror attack when in reality it had nothing to do with it.
Today’s hearing is titled Protests and Policing and it was the perfect opportunity to undo the damage that we’ve seen at the Royal Commission over the past few months. But regrettably, in my view, the situation has only gotten worse.
With all the witnesses that we’ve heard from, we didn’t hear from a single Palestinian/Australian, didn’t hear from a single member of Palestine Action Group, or any organiser of the peaceful protest movement, the largest continuous protest movement in Australian history, where hundreds of thousands of people have come together from all walks of life with a common call, and that is for an end to the Holocaust of our time.
And with the evidence only being one sided, it’s inevitable that there is risk that the findings and recommendations will only be one sided.
Moreover, my concern is that the Royal Commission is failing to address what, in my view, is the single most important cause of antisemitism in this country, and that is the genocide that’s been live streamed onto the phones of everyday Australians for the past three years by a state that claims to represent the Jewish people. That has the unconditional support of organisations that claim to represent the Jewish community here.
And until the Royal Commission addresses that elephant in the room, I don’t think we’re seriously going to understand how we can effectively tackle antisemitism and promote social cohesion in this country. Thank you.
– Nick Hanna
Article title and altered images by Editor
