PM says Labor senator Fatima Payman’s use of Israel ‘genocide’, ‘river to the sea’ was inappropriate

Anthony Albanese says WA Senator Fatima Payman’s defiant use of ‘river to the sea’ is not appropriate, as the Coalition pressures the PM to take action against her.

Fatima Payman says Israel’s operation in Gaza is genocide, sparking a rebuke from the Prime Minister.

Anthony Albanese says it’s “not appropriate” a WA Labor senator used a controversial chant when she broke ranks with the government’s position on Palestine, as the Coalition heaps on pressure on him to “take action” against her.

Fatima Payman on Wednesday accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and questioned how many more deaths would be needed before the Prime Minister declared “enough”.

In a significant split from the Labor Party’s position, the Muslim senator called for sanctions and divestment from Israel, and declared “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a phrase Mr Albanese has previously condemned as a violent opposition to a two-state solution.

She said the phrase was a call for “freedom from the occupation, freedom from the violence, and freedom from the inequality”.

Senator Payman criticised Mr Albanese and her Labor colleagues for failing to condemn Israel and “stand up for what is right”, accusing her government’s leaders of making “performative gestures” while defending the ­“oppressor’s right to oppress”.

Mr Albanese on Thursday morning was asked if he had spoken to Senator Payman since she made the comments, to which he gave an emphatic “no”.

He said he did speak to her regularly, as he does all his Labor Party colleagues, and their last conversation was “very pleasant”.

But he said her use of the politically charged phrase was “not appropriate” and did not reflect the Labor Party’s position.

“What is appropriate is a two-state solution, where both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in security and peace and prosperity,” he told ABC Radio.

“It is not in the interests of either Israelis or Palestinians to advocate there just be one state. That is a forerunner of enormous conflict and grief.”

Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the Prime Minister “has to take action”, noting Senator Payman had “laid down the gauntlet” to Mr Albanese.

“She’s used a phrase the Prime Minister himself has agreed is a violent statement. She’d endorsed the phrase, and in the Prime Minister’s own analysis, people who make this statement are in opposition to a two-state solution,” Senator Paterson told Sky.

“She’s not just undermined decades of bipartisan foreign policy, she’s undermined decades of Labor Party policy.

“The Prime Minister has said this phrase has no place in Australia. Surely he cannot (have) a member of his caucus saying this.”

Senator Payman gave a statement to a small selection of media on Wednesday on Nakba day – the anniversary of Israel’s 1948 establishment – where she acknowledged there was “disillusionment” in the community with the political parties.

“Today, more than ever, is the time to speak the truth – the whole truth – with courage and clarity,” she told SBS News and Capital Brief.

“My conscience has been uneasy for far too long. And I must call this out for what it is. This is a genocide and we need to stop pretending otherwise.”

Mr Albanese said the scenes coming out of Gaza were “very traumatic”, but said Jewish Australians were also experiencing “a lot of trauma” due to rising anti-Semitism.

“People who happen to be Jewish are being held responsible here for the actions of the Netanyahu government. I don’t believe that is appropriate,” he said.

Senator Paterson said Senator Payman’s call for Australia to end trade with Israel especially at a time of rising anti-Semitism would “further undermine and test social cohesion”.

27-year-old Muslim senator Fatima Payman is parliament’s youngest member. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Beach

Former Labor MP Mike Kelly. Picture: AAP

Former Labor MP says senator’s comments ‘completely wrong’

Former Labor minister and ALP Friends of Israel co-convener Mike Kelly labelled Senator Payman’s comments “disappointing” and “completely wrong”, while opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the slogan had “no place” being ­uttered by members of the ­government.

Jewish leaders have repeatedly sounded the alarm about the “river to the sea” chant, which they argue calls for the destruction of Israel.

In a small press conference at Parliament House on Wednesday to which only a handful of journalists were invited, Senator Payman said Australians should no longer “shy away” from standing up to “face evil … My conscience has been uneasy for far too long and I must call this out for what it is,” she told SBS.

“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.”

Senator Payman claimed ­Israel was “gaslighting the global community about the rights of self-defence” in its justification.

She addressed her Labor colleagues directly, demanding to know “how many international rights laws must Israel break for us to say enough”.

“What is the magic number?” she said. “How many mass graves need to be uncovered before we say enough? How many images of bloody limbs of murdered children must we see?”

The 27-year-old Muslim senator, parliament’s youngest member, was also approached for comment.

A government spokeswoman said Australia’s position has been “clear and consistent” and it “unequivocally opposed the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7”.

“The government is using Australia’s voice to advocate for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and humanitarian access, the release of hostages, and for the protection of civilians,” she said.

“The government supports a two-state solution with the right of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, security and prosperity.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the slogan used by Senator Payman to close her address was an “old Arab supremacist slogan” that advocated for the destruction of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of its Jewish population.

“This is why it has been denounced as anti-Semitic by the White House and our Prime Minister,” he said.

“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.”

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich criticised Senator Payman for invoking the controversial phrase, lamenting that the ­nation was seeing the “monster of anti-Semitism running wild across the country”.

“The trafficking in slurs, ­peddling the word genocide, when Israel is trying to ensure that the depravities of October 7 are not to be repeated, as Hamas as vowed to do, is beyond offensive,” he said.

“What happened to the compassion and humanity that our elected representatives are expected to showcase for the sanctity of human life, or does that not extend to Jews and Israelis.”

Senator Birmingham said the slogan was “inconsistent with Israel’s right to exist and is frequently used by those who seek to intimidate Jewish Australians via acts of anti-Semitism”

— Additional reporting: NCA NewsWire