Anti-Israel slogans mean different things to different people: Minister

Education Minister Jason Clare has declined to take a stand on slogans that Jewish leaders say call for the annihilation of Israel amid escalating tensions on university campuses.

Education Minister Jason Clare in Sydney on Sunday. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Swift

Jewish leaders have slammed Education Minister Jason Clare for saying anti-Israel slogans that they say call for the annihilation of Israel, including calls for “intifada” and chants of “from the river to the sea”, have different meanings to different groups.

The backlash comes after a week where Mr Clare did not directly condemn chants heard on Australian university campuses that have seen escalating tension as some pro-Palestine protest encampments have remained standing for more than seven days.

On Friday, Anthony Albanese told the nation’s leading rabbis in a private meeting that the government would “unequivocally fight anti-Semitism”.

On Sunday, Mr Clare was asked whether chants for “intifada” or “from the river to the sea” were intimidatory. “Any words that stoke fear in our community or make people not want to go to university are intolerable,” he said.

“I’ve seen people say that those words mean the annihilation of Israel. I’ve seen people say that it means the opposite. I’ve seen people say they’re slogans Israeli political parties have used.

“What I’d say is this. What I want all Australians to be arguing for, to be calling for, is a two-state solution: two countries, two ­people, two states side by side where people can live in peace without fear, without terrorism, without checkpoints, without occupation.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said Mr Clare’s stance “just isn’t good enough”.

“This is a thoroughly dis­appointing statement that shows a lack of empathy and understanding and plays into the hands of some of the most extreme and dangerous elements in our society,” he said.

“Jewish Australians are not taking to the streets each week and camping at universities to call for suicide bombings against civilians. They have not professed support for listed terrorist organis­ations. They have not chanted in support of the destruction of an independent country and ethnic cleansing, which is what the ‘river to the sea’ is plainly about.

“President (Joe) Biden has referred to the chants as inherently violent and anti-Semitic. We are in a time of mounting crisis on our campuses and wider society, terror threats against our community, and record anti-Semitism.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin. Picture: John Feder/The Australian

Rabbi Nochum Schapiro. Picture: Tim Hunter

Rabbi Nochum Schapiro, president of the Rabbinical Council of Australasia, told The Australian Mr Clare’s statements were incompatible with each other.

“(His) comments that ‘any words that stoke fear … are intolerable’ correctly advocates a stance of intolerance towards words that induce fear in a particular community,” he said.

“On the other hand, then he seems to argue for tolerance towards words like ‘intifada’ or ‘from the river to the sea’ by saying that … the words have different interpretations and historical contexts.

“Both statements cannot be true at once. If the Jewish community and Jewish students in particular find these statements objectionable and frankly frightening, then there should be no equivocation or any tolerance for such language to be directed at Jewish students whatsoever.”

Mr Clare declined to say whether pro-Palestine encampments should be dismantled but did identify competing interests between a right to protest and community safety. “In a free country like Australia, there is always the right to protest, but it must be done peacefully, responsibly,” he said. “There is no place for fear and intimidation and hate.

“That’s why it’s incumbent on all of us – and I include politicians, religious leaders, community leaders, student leaders, members of the media – to dial the rhetoric down, get the temperature to come down a little bit here and work together to try and bring the country together rather than letting it be torn apart.”

Pro-Palestine supporters in Melbourne march during a rally against the ongoing war in Gaza. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Diego Fedele

He said he had asked university leaders to enforce their codes of conduct in relation to those protests and drew attention to disciplinary action that had been taken or was under consideration.

“What I’ve said to vice-­chancellors is that there is nothing more important than the safety of students at our universities,” he said. “Students shouldn’t be afraid to go to university. Universities have codes of conduct. I’ve asked them to make sure they implement their codes of conduct. We’ve seen examples over the course of the last week of universities acting on that.”

He listed the University of Queensland, the Australian Nat­ional University, and Macquarie University as examples.

Macquarie University last week began an investigation into its academic Randa Abdel-Fattah, who led a “kids excursion” to the University of Sydney pro-Palestine encampment and those primary school-aged children led each other in chants for “intifada” and “from the river to the sea”.

The ANU said it had taken “disciplinary action” in a case where a student organiser said on radio that “Hamas deserves our unconditional support”.