Opinion
It looks like Chloe Swarbrick is fast running out of threadbare excuses to hide behind: even a bog-standard lefty like Anthony Albanese admits that her favourite genocide chant is “violent” and “has no place on our streets”.
Still think it has a place on the streets of Auckland, Chloe? Do you still want to argue that it’s a phrase “used worldwide by peace activists”? Still want to hide behind claiming that “there are different views on what this statement means”, when nearly everyone else is agreeing that it now means one thing only:
The complete destructive of the Jewish state and the violent eradication of the Jews of Israel.
This is not some “far-right” interpretation: it’s what even most of the leadership left are finally admitting.
The US Democrats voted overwhelmingly to agree that it is antisemitic and calls for the total eradication of the Jewish, democratic state of Israel and the annihilation of the Jewish people. UK Labour leader Keir Starmer sacked one of his own MPs for using it.
The phrase is banned in Germany, along with Nazi slogans and symbols.
Now, even notoriously washy Anthony Albanese has finally been forced to take a stand, and back one of the nation’s leading leading security and intelligence experts. Former ASIO chief Dennis Richardson, who also previously headed up the Department of Defence and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, bluntly states that “from the River to the Sea” is a “very violent statement” that poses dangers to Australian communities.
In the documentary – titled “Never Again: The Fight Against anti-Semitism” – [former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg] interviews the Prime Minister who acknowledges that the chant “from the river to the sea” is an extremely violent statement that has no place on Australia’s streets […]
In his interview with Mr Albanese to be broadcast later this month, Mr Frydenberg put to the Prime Minister the view of Mr Richardson that the statement “from the river to the sea” was a violent one.
“It is,” Mr Albanese said.
“And so it has no place on our streets,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“I agree,” Mr Albanese said.
For months, Albanese has wavered and dragged his heels in condemning outright the surge in anti-Semitism led by “pro-Palestine” protesters. With one eye on Muslim voters in Western Sydney, Albanese has dodged visiting Israel since the October 7 massacre, as well as avoiding visiting synagogues. But even Albanese clearly realises that Labor is playing with matches.
Especially Labor MPs like Jason Clare, whose job relies on the 35% Muslim voters in his electorate.
Mr Albanese was this week forced to overrule his Education Minister Jason Clare’s characterisation of the anti-Israel chant “from the river to the sea”.
Speaking on Monday, Mr Albanese said the statement was opposed to a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine – a long-held government position.
The day before, Mr Clare said calls for “intifada” and chants of “from the river to the sea” could mean different things to different groups.
And swastikas can be good luck symbols, too. That doesn’t mean that anyone scrawling a hakenkreuz doesn’t know exactly what it means. “Intifada” — violent resistance — is no different. Nor is anyone under any delusion what “from the river to the sea” really means.
The former ASIO chief has also warned that statements of violence against Israel had the potential to “very easily flow over into actions of violence against communities” within Australia.
The Australian
Nor is anyone seriously buying this sham argument of “anti-Israel, not anti-Jewish”. That’s about as cheap and nasty as the Alice Springs publican who told me that he doesn’t ban Aborigines, he only has a dress code (“And I haven’t seen a well-dressed Abo yet”). I didn’t buy his racist bullshit, and I’m not buying Swarbrick’s genocidal bullshit, either.
Maybe, like George Costanza, Swarbrick doesn’t think it’s a genocidal war cry if she says it isn’t, but she’s fast running out of fellow travellers.