“It doesn’t matter what the gentiles say; it matters what the Jews do.” Gideon Levy quoting the founder of modern Israel, David Ben Gurion. (LNL ABC 3 March 2026.
On 3 March 2026, the Queensland Government expressly introduced ideological and politically charged legislation against slogans chanted by Palestinians long before the first intifada (Arabic for shaking off).
‘From xxx xxxxx xx xxx xxx, Palestine will be free was a motto of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) in the 1960s when they were fighting for one democratic state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.
Sadly, the Peace movement in the West did not support Palestinian liberation in those days. People from the Peace movement even went and lived on the stolen lands of the Palestinian people in Israel’s Kibbutzim.
Following the lightning fast inquiry, Queensland Labor MPs joined members of the Crisafulli LNP Government in recommending that the Bill be passed, but appended a 27-page “statement of reservation” detailing its flaws. – Rita Jabri Markwell.
Introducing the FIGHTING ANTISEMITISM AND KEEPING GUNS OUT OF THE HANDS OF TERRORISTS AND CRIMINALS AMENDMENT BILL to the Parliament a second time, Dan Purdie, the Queensland police minister, said the following:
The first set of amendments will remove the regulation framework for prescribing particular expressions as prohibited expressions and instead proscribe the two phrases in this bill. These phrases are: ‘globalise xxx intixxxx’ and ‘From xxx xxxxx xx xxx xxx, Palestine will be free. – Dan Purdie Queensland police minister speaking in the parliament on the third of March 2026.
During debate over the bill before the Parliament, the LNP spent a lot of time attacking Labor’s Former Minister for Tourism and Sport, Michael Healy, who wrote on social media in 2024 that “Israel is committing genocide” and “is a terrorist state with cells in many countries.”
“After what happened in Israel on 7 October 2023, and particularly following the aftermath of the Bondi Beach terrorist attack, the Jewish community has borne a heavy burden of fear and trauma.” said the police minister.
“These events emphasise a regrettable truth: when hateful narratives are allowed to circulate unchecked, they can progress from rhetoric to intimidation and, ultimately, to catastrophic violence. Our laws must be adaptable and able to intervene earlier on this path.” Dan Purdie added.
It is unlikely that police will act immediately against chants because the bill needs to be passed and then given assent.
If a spokesperson makes a prepared speech as to the true intended meaning of the phase ‘from the river ….’ to provide a defence and statement of defiance about the attempted theft of freedom of speech followed by an invitation to chant ‘from the river … ‘ most of the voices at that rally (if not all) need to chant ‘ from the river …’
The person issuing the invitation to chant will be the most vulnerable person to arrest. They will need legal advice about the likely road ahead in the courts and the penalties at the end. The legislation allows for three years in prison
Marshalls will need to organise those willing to stand in a tight group around the stage. Police may give directions to people in order to approach the dais. If so, we must expect charges of disobey police direction, etc.
People who are arrested/charged have to be briefed on defending the charge(s) as early as possible.
Charges will result in multiple court appearances that defending political charges always involve.
Doubtless, there will be media scrutiny of person(s) charged, much of it will be hostile.
Police may go through body cam videos and other footage to identify and pursue chanters or their supporters.
What I am saying is that people charged will have to be prepared and up for the challenge ahead.
Organisers should recommend those charged to challenge the police case. This will involve entering no plea in the early stages and may require a plea of not guilty.
The courts are unrelenting, hostile, and unwilling to be used as a platform for political defence.
There must be a legal defence strategy to challenge police and judicial bias against the accused.
We will have to organise a fighting fund to assist the persons charged.
This is one of the most deranged debates I’ve heard in Paliament taking place during Israel’s bloody war, killing people in Gaza, the West Bank, and in Lebanon.
Ian Curr
4 March 2026