‘This is a genocide’: Labor senator breaks with government over Israel war

Labor senator Fatima Payman has accused Israel of conducting a genocide in Gaza in the most strident criticism of Israel by a government MP since the war in Gaza began.

Reflecting division within the Labor caucus over the Israel-Palestine conflict, Payman also deployed the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, a slogan that has been criticised by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as provocative.

Jewish groups accused Payman of using a “vile” phrase that calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, while the federal opposition called for Albanese to demand the backbencher apologise.

Payman, who was elected to the Senate in the 2022 election, was born in Afghanistan and is the first Muslim woman to wear a hijab in the federal parliament.

Her comments came after Labor MP Josh Burns, who is Jewish, publicly criticised the government for voting in favour of granting Palestine extra privileges at the United Nations at the weekend.

“Instead of advocating for justice, I see our leaders performatively gesture defending the oppressor’s right to oppress, while gaslighting the global community about the rights of self-defence,” Payman told SBS News and other outlets at a small press conference.

“My conscience has been uneasy for far too long and I must call this out for what it is.

Labor senator Fatima Payman said Israel was conducting a genocide in Gaza.Credit: Alex Ellinghuasen

“This is a genocide and we need to stop pretending otherwise.

“The lack of clarity, the moral confusion, the indecisiveness is eating at the heart of this nation.”

Payman called for Australia to end trade with Israel, implement sanctions and immediately recognise a Palestinian state.

Addressing Albanese directly, Payman said: “I ask our prime minister and our fellow parliamentarians, how many international rights laws must Israel break for us to say enough? What is the magic number? How many mass graves need to be uncovered before we say enough? How many images of bloody limbs of murdered children must we see?”

Payman originally planned to deliver her comments at a pro-Palestine rally outside Parliament House commemorating the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, the displacement of Palestinians during the founding of Israel, but instead only watched from the sidelines.

At the protest, activists chanted “shame, shame Penny Wong” and “from the river to the sea”.

At the end of her remarks in Parliament House, Payman said: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Jewish groups regard the “from the river to the sea” slogan as a coded call for the elimination of Israel while others have insisted it is simply a call for freedom and equal rights for Palestinians.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said: “‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ is an old Arab supremacist slogan calling for the destruction of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of its Jewish population.

“This is why it has been denounced as antisemitic by both the White House and our prime minister.

“The senator should immediately apologise for stoking hatred in such a vile way.

“If she can’t refrain from using racist slogans at a time of extreme tension in our society, she should consider her position.”

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network President Nasser Mashni applauded Payman for her comments, saying: “Senator Payman’s comments should be held up as an example of speaking truth to power, in the interests of the sanctity of human life and human rights.

“We urge Senator Payman’s colleagues, across the political spectrum, to hear her voice and the voices of hundreds of thousands of conscientious people right across this continent, and to stand up for a free Palestine.”

The Prime Minister’s Office was approached for comment.

Albanese this week said that university students chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” were engaging in a “provocative act”.

“One of the really disappointing things is that I reckon if you asked those people chanting it, heaps of them wouldn’t have a clue, wouldn’t be able to find the Jordan [River] on a map,” he told radio 3AW.

“It’s beyond me why people would think that it advances their cause to engage in this sort of behaviour.”

Albanese has previously said he does not endorse the slogan because it “calls for ­opposition to a two-state solution”, which both major parties say they support.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said Albanese “must denounce what Senator Payman has said and have her apologise”.

“This slogan is inconsistent with Israel’s right to exist and is frequently used by those who seek to intimidate Jewish Australians via acts of antisemitism,” he said.

“Such statements should have no place among members of the government.”

Burns on Saturday publicly criticised the government for voting in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that declared “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” under its charter rules, saying Australia should have abstained alongside the United Kingdom.

“An abstention would have signalled we’re open to further recognition, but that we acknowledge the short-term hurdles that need to be overcome in order to achieve lasting peace,” Burns said.

The invasion of Gaza started after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Since then, Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gazan officials.

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