Supporting war against Hamas ‘isn’t a crime’, says singer Deborah Conways

Jewish singer-songwriter Deborah Conway has hit out at pro-Palestinian activists planning to protest at her performance in Melbourne, saying people should not be ostracised for believing a Jewish homeland should exist.

Singer-songwriter Deborah Conway. Picture: Alex Coppel

Jewish singer-songwriter Deborah Conway has hit out at pro-Palestinian activists planning to protest at her performance in Melbourne, saying people should not be ostracised for believing a Jewish homeland should exist.

The singer has had to battle online abuse and cancellations for publicly stating her support for Israel’s mission to destroy the terror group Hamas following the massacre of 1200 Israelis on ­October 7 last year.

An activist group calling itself Hobson’s Bay for Palestine says it will protest against Conway and her husband and musical partner Willy Zygier when they perform in Altona in Melbourne’s west on Thursday.

The group wrongly accuses Conway of supporting “the killing of innocent children” in Gaza and says “we reject Hobsons Bay City Council welcoming and hosting Zionist Deborah Conway”.

Contrary to the group’s claims, Conway has expressed concern about the deaths of children in Gaza but says Hamas, rather than Israel, bears responsibility.

“The reason this is happening is because Hamas has embedded itself beneath its civilian population knowing, cynically and horribly, that high civilian ­casualty figures will be part of the conflict,” she says.

Her views are considered mainstream within the Jewish community and among pro-­Israel supporters, but they have led to her being targeted by anti-Israel activists.

Conway has written to the Hobson’s Bay for Palestine group, saying “I do not support genocide” and that “labelling supporters of Israel as unsympathetic to Palestinians and supporters of genocide is not helpful to Australian society and certainly not the Middle East”.

“If you wish to characterise Jews who believe that the Jewish homeland, Israel, should exist, as beyond the pale, then obviously you have rendered all discussion about this as beyond the pale too,” she wrote.

“We all have our views and this intractable conflict drags on and on but I believe people of good faith should be able to voice their opinions and feelings in this democracy we all share and hopefully nurture.”

Conway, best known for her 90s platinum-selling albums String of Pearls and Bitch Epic, has vowed to fight attempts by anti-Israel activists to cancel her.

“I am not prepared to shut up and go away, I think that would be a shameful thing to do,” she told The Australian.