‘I couldn't stay silent': Pro-Israel group accused of racial vilification
The 58-page complaint points to nine alleged acts of racial vilification and seven acts of religious vilification, in social media posts by AJA on X, Facebook and Instagram.
Kassem Chalabi, a Palestinian-Australian Muslim based in Sydney and chief executive of the Palestinian Australians Welfare Association, alleged the posts incited hatred, contempt and ridicule of Palestinians and Muslims.
'As a grandfather, father, a husband, and a proud Palestinian Muslim, I couldn't stay silent,' he said.
'These are cruel, disgusting attacks on who we are. They came while Palestinians here and around the world are mourning the immense suffering in Gaza.'
One of the posts mentioned in the complaint called the Palestinian flag a 'flag of terrorism' while another accuses Islam of including a 'worship of death'.
Another post includes a photo of a man and his child, who is wearing toy grenades. The post says that 'perhaps this father wishes for his child to be a suicide bomber and kill Jews or other infidels'. The post goes on to accuse refugees from Gaza of being exposed to 'decades of jihadist brainwashing'.
Another post mentioned in the complaint focuses on Senator Fatima Payman, who defected from Labor in 2024 over the party's perceived lack of support for Palestinians. The post makes several 'constructive suggestions' to Payman, including mentioning that there were 'some openings now available in the governance of Hamas' and that she 'could go back to Afghanistan to help the Taliban with human rights challenges'.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
42 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Dean Cain joins ICE
Dean Cain has signed up to work for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Lois + Clark: The New Adventures of Superman actor will be signed up as an agent "ASAP" amid the federal agency's recruitment drive in order to support US President Donald Trump's scheme to boost immigration raids. Dean told Fox News host Jesse Watters he had decided to join ICE after the presenter shared a recruitment video on his Instagram. He said: 'I'm actually a sworn deputy sheriff and a reserve police officer – I wasn't part of ICE, but once I put that out there and you put a little blurb on your show, it went crazy. 'So now I've spoken with some officials over at Ice, and I will be sworn in as an ICE agent, ASAP.' Dean believes the current immigration system is "broken" so he is keen to do what he can to support the president. He said: 'This country was built on patriots stepping up, whether it was popular or not, and doing the right thing. I truly believe this is the right thing. 'We have a broken immigration system. Congress needs to fix it, but in the interim, President Trump ran on this. He is delivering on this. This is what people voted for. It's what I voted for and he's going to see it through, and I'll do my part and help make sure it happens. 'I'm stepping up. Hopefully, a whole bunch of other former officers, former ICE agents, will step up and we'll meet those recruitment goals immediately, and we'll help protect this country.' Dean recently expressed concern that James Gunn has made Superman too "woke" in his new movie, which stars David Corenswet. The actor - who played the superhero in Lois + Clark: The New Adventures of Superman from 1993 to 1997 told TMZ: "How woke is Hollywood going to make this character? How much is Disney going to change their Snow White? Why are they going to change these characters [to] exist for the times?" James had previously compared his movie to "the story of America", with a central character who is "an immigrant that came from other places and populated the country." Referencing the traditional Superman motto of "Truth, justice, and the American way" - which has evolved over the years and has most recently been "Truth, justice, and a better tomorrow", Dean said: "We know Superman is an immigrant — he's a freaking alien... "The 'American way' is immigrant friendly, tremendously immigrant friendly. But there are rules. "You can't come in saying, 'I want to get rid of all the rules in America, because I want it to be more like Somalia.' Well that doesn't work, because you had to leave Somalia to come here... There have to be limits, because we cant have everybody in the United States. We can't have everybody, society will fail. So there have to be limits."
Sky News AU
an hour ago
- Sky News AU
‘This has snowballed': PM slammed over failure to stop racial division
Shadow Defence Industry Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has blasted the Albanese government for failing to curb rising racial tensions, accusing the Prime Minister of weak leadership. 'This is the failure of leadership that we have seen so much division in our country,' Ms Price said. 'It started soon after, on October seven, when we had pro-Palestinians on our streets who were celebrating the slaughter of innocent Israelis on that day, and a weak prime minister who failed to stand up and stamp out that behaviour immediately. 'Now this has snowballed.'
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Activists arrested as students strike for Palestine
University students have walked out of classrooms across the country in solidarity with Palestinians as Australia considers its next diplomatic moves. National student strikes were held in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane and Wollongong on Thursday to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. About 300 people gathered in central Melbourne, with one speaker accusing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong of having '"the blood of Gaza" on their hands. "Thousands of children, hundreds of thousands of people are slowly starving to death in a man-made famine," she told the crowd outside the State Library. The demonstrators marched through the street holding signs and chanting "Israel out of Gaza" and "Israel out of West Bank". They staged a sit-in at the corner in front of Flinders Street Station, blocking the intersection to traffic. Police tried to open the road and removed protesters who refused to move. Five protesters were arrested and are expected to be charged on summons, police said. A man with an Australian flag was also moved on for breaching the peace. Tens of thousands of Australians took part in pro-Palestine protests at the weekend, including at least 90,000 who rallied at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Brisbane's Story Bridge could be the next monument to host a historic march after Justice For Palestine told Queensland police of their intention to walk across it on August 24. Australia has begun co-ordinating with other nations as France, Canada and the UK prepare to recognise the state of Palestine at a United Nations meeting in September. The federal government has been hesitant to commit to a deadline for recognition and the coalition has raised concerns such an action could be seen as a reward for designated terrorist organisation Hamas. But Australia's former ambassador to Israel Peter Rodgers dismissed such arguments as "nonsensical". "Not recognising a Palestinian state rewards Israel," he told ABC Radio. "It rewards the government of Benjamin Netanyahu for ethnic cleansing and apartheid in the West Bank." A genocide case has been brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which is yet to rule on the matter. Mr Netanyahu's office called the allegations "false and outrageous", with his government repeatedly claiming it only targets Hamas and not civilians. Violence in Gaza reignited after Hamas killed 1200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on October 7, 2023. Israel's military response has since killed 60,000 people, according to local health authorities. More than 50,000 children have been killed or injured by Israel since October 2023, UNICEF said. Mr Rodgers was one of many former Australian diplomats who signed an open letter to Mr Albanese calling on Australia to urgently recognise Palestinian statehood. More than 140 of the 193 United Nations member states already recognise the state of Palestine, including European Union member states Spain and Ireland. Mr Albanese has said the recognition of Palestine would need to guarantee Hamas plays no role in the future nation. Hamas has effectively governed Gaza since violently defeating the political party Fatah, which now controls the Palestinian Authority that exercises partial civil control in the West Bank. Mr Albanese spoke with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, reiterating Australia's commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East that would allow Palestine and Israel to co-exist. "The entire international community is distressed by what we're seeing happening in Gaza," he told reporters in Melbourne. More than two million people in Gaza are now facing high levels of food insecurity, United Nations sources have found. Israel denies there is starvation in the besieged strip despite international human rights groups decrying its offensive in Gaza and attributing deaths to starvation. University students have walked out of classrooms across the country in solidarity with Palestinians as Australia considers its next diplomatic moves. National student strikes were held in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane and Wollongong on Thursday to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. About 300 people gathered in central Melbourne, with one speaker accusing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong of having '"the blood of Gaza" on their hands. "Thousands of children, hundreds of thousands of people are slowly starving to death in a man-made famine," she told the crowd outside the State Library. The demonstrators marched through the street holding signs and chanting "Israel out of Gaza" and "Israel out of West Bank". They staged a sit-in at the corner in front of Flinders Street Station, blocking the intersection to traffic. Police tried to open the road and removed protesters who refused to move. Five protesters were arrested and are expected to be charged on summons, police said. A man with an Australian flag was also moved on for breaching the peace. Tens of thousands of Australians took part in pro-Palestine protests at the weekend, including at least 90,000 who rallied at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Brisbane's Story Bridge could be the next monument to host a historic march after Justice For Palestine told Queensland police of their intention to walk across it on August 24. Australia has begun co-ordinating with other nations as France, Canada and the UK prepare to recognise the state of Palestine at a United Nations meeting in September. The federal government has been hesitant to commit to a deadline for recognition and the coalition has raised concerns such an action could be seen as a reward for designated terrorist organisation Hamas. But Australia's former ambassador to Israel Peter Rodgers dismissed such arguments as "nonsensical". "Not recognising a Palestinian state rewards Israel," he told ABC Radio. "It rewards the government of Benjamin Netanyahu for ethnic cleansing and apartheid in the West Bank." A genocide case has been brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which is yet to rule on the matter. Mr Netanyahu's office called the allegations "false and outrageous", with his government repeatedly claiming it only targets Hamas and not civilians. Violence in Gaza reignited after Hamas killed 1200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on October 7, 2023. Israel's military response has since killed 60,000 people, according to local health authorities. More than 50,000 children have been killed or injured by Israel since October 2023, UNICEF said. Mr Rodgers was one of many former Australian diplomats who signed an open letter to Mr Albanese calling on Australia to urgently recognise Palestinian statehood. More than 140 of the 193 United Nations member states already recognise the state of Palestine, including European Union member states Spain and Ireland. Mr Albanese has said the recognition of Palestine would need to guarantee Hamas plays no role in the future nation. Hamas has effectively governed Gaza since violently defeating the political party Fatah, which now controls the Palestinian Authority that exercises partial civil control in the West Bank. Mr Albanese spoke with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, reiterating Australia's commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East that would allow Palestine and Israel to co-exist. "The entire international community is distressed by what we're seeing happening in Gaza," he told reporters in Melbourne. More than two million people in Gaza are now facing high levels of food insecurity, United Nations sources have found. Israel denies there is starvation in the besieged strip despite international human rights groups decrying its offensive in Gaza and attributing deaths to starvation. University students have walked out of classrooms across the country in solidarity with Palestinians as Australia considers its next diplomatic moves. National student strikes were held in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane and Wollongong on Thursday to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. About 300 people gathered in central Melbourne, with one speaker accusing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong of having '"the blood of Gaza" on their hands. "Thousands of children, hundreds of thousands of people are slowly starving to death in a man-made famine," she told the crowd outside the State Library. The demonstrators marched through the street holding signs and chanting "Israel out of Gaza" and "Israel out of West Bank". They staged a sit-in at the corner in front of Flinders Street Station, blocking the intersection to traffic. Police tried to open the road and removed protesters who refused to move. Five protesters were arrested and are expected to be charged on summons, police said. A man with an Australian flag was also moved on for breaching the peace. Tens of thousands of Australians took part in pro-Palestine protests at the weekend, including at least 90,000 who rallied at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Brisbane's Story Bridge could be the next monument to host a historic march after Justice For Palestine told Queensland police of their intention to walk across it on August 24. Australia has begun co-ordinating with other nations as France, Canada and the UK prepare to recognise the state of Palestine at a United Nations meeting in September. The federal government has been hesitant to commit to a deadline for recognition and the coalition has raised concerns such an action could be seen as a reward for designated terrorist organisation Hamas. But Australia's former ambassador to Israel Peter Rodgers dismissed such arguments as "nonsensical". "Not recognising a Palestinian state rewards Israel," he told ABC Radio. "It rewards the government of Benjamin Netanyahu for ethnic cleansing and apartheid in the West Bank." A genocide case has been brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which is yet to rule on the matter. Mr Netanyahu's office called the allegations "false and outrageous", with his government repeatedly claiming it only targets Hamas and not civilians. Violence in Gaza reignited after Hamas killed 1200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on October 7, 2023. Israel's military response has since killed 60,000 people, according to local health authorities. More than 50,000 children have been killed or injured by Israel since October 2023, UNICEF said. Mr Rodgers was one of many former Australian diplomats who signed an open letter to Mr Albanese calling on Australia to urgently recognise Palestinian statehood. More than 140 of the 193 United Nations member states already recognise the state of Palestine, including European Union member states Spain and Ireland. Mr Albanese has said the recognition of Palestine would need to guarantee Hamas plays no role in the future nation. Hamas has effectively governed Gaza since violently defeating the political party Fatah, which now controls the Palestinian Authority that exercises partial civil control in the West Bank. Mr Albanese spoke with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, reiterating Australia's commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East that would allow Palestine and Israel to co-exist. "The entire international community is distressed by what we're seeing happening in Gaza," he told reporters in Melbourne. More than two million people in Gaza are now facing high levels of food insecurity, United Nations sources have found. Israel denies there is starvation in the besieged strip despite international human rights groups decrying its offensive in Gaza and attributing deaths to starvation. University students have walked out of classrooms across the country in solidarity with Palestinians as Australia considers its next diplomatic moves. National student strikes were held in Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane and Wollongong on Thursday to highlight the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. About 300 people gathered in central Melbourne, with one speaker accusing Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong of having '"the blood of Gaza" on their hands. "Thousands of children, hundreds of thousands of people are slowly starving to death in a man-made famine," she told the crowd outside the State Library. The demonstrators marched through the street holding signs and chanting "Israel out of Gaza" and "Israel out of West Bank". They staged a sit-in at the corner in front of Flinders Street Station, blocking the intersection to traffic. Police tried to open the road and removed protesters who refused to move. Five protesters were arrested and are expected to be charged on summons, police said. A man with an Australian flag was also moved on for breaching the peace. Tens of thousands of Australians took part in pro-Palestine protests at the weekend, including at least 90,000 who rallied at the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Brisbane's Story Bridge could be the next monument to host a historic march after Justice For Palestine told Queensland police of their intention to walk across it on August 24. Australia has begun co-ordinating with other nations as France, Canada and the UK prepare to recognise the state of Palestine at a United Nations meeting in September. The federal government has been hesitant to commit to a deadline for recognition and the coalition has raised concerns such an action could be seen as a reward for designated terrorist organisation Hamas. But Australia's former ambassador to Israel Peter Rodgers dismissed such arguments as "nonsensical". "Not recognising a Palestinian state rewards Israel," he told ABC Radio. "It rewards the government of Benjamin Netanyahu for ethnic cleansing and apartheid in the West Bank." A genocide case has been brought against Israel at the International Court of Justice, which is yet to rule on the matter. Mr Netanyahu's office called the allegations "false and outrageous", with his government repeatedly claiming it only targets Hamas and not civilians. Violence in Gaza reignited after Hamas killed 1200 people in Israel and took about 250 hostages on October 7, 2023. Israel's military response has since killed 60,000 people, according to local health authorities. More than 50,000 children have been killed or injured by Israel since October 2023, UNICEF said. Mr Rodgers was one of many former Australian diplomats who signed an open letter to Mr Albanese calling on Australia to urgently recognise Palestinian statehood. More than 140 of the 193 United Nations member states already recognise the state of Palestine, including European Union member states Spain and Ireland. Mr Albanese has said the recognition of Palestine would need to guarantee Hamas plays no role in the future nation. Hamas has effectively governed Gaza since violently defeating the political party Fatah, which now controls the Palestinian Authority that exercises partial civil control in the West Bank. Mr Albanese spoke with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, reiterating Australia's commitment to a two-state solution in the Middle East that would allow Palestine and Israel to co-exist. "The entire international community is distressed by what we're seeing happening in Gaza," he told reporters in Melbourne. More than two million people in Gaza are now facing high levels of food insecurity, United Nations sources have found. Israel denies there is starvation in the besieged strip despite international human rights groups decrying its offensive in Gaza and attributing deaths to starvation.
