Mehreen Faruqi verses Pauline Hanson is "statements like FREE PALESTINE" anti-sematic ? you decide
- Graham Healy
- Jul 31
- 4 min read
Mehreen Faruqi verses Pauline Hanson is "statements like FREE PALESTINE" anti-sematic ? you decide?
Graham Healy
31/7/26
YOU DECIDE .....
Date / Context | Quote or Activity | Notes / Source |
Aug 2018 (maiden Senate speech) | Opened with “Assalamoalikum.” “It is with great pride I stand here before you unapologetically – a brown, Muslim, migrant, feminist woman… To those who want me to F off back to where I came from, I say: Sorry, not sorry. This is my home and I’m not going anywhere.” Criticised normalisation of racism and dog-whistling. | Full speech widely reported; APAN, Guardian, SBS. |
Ongoing identity & community | First Muslim woman in any Australian parliament (NSW 2013) and first female Muslim senator. Hosts/attends Muslim community events (Iftar, AMWCHR milestones). Supports marriage equality “as a Muslim” citing compassion and justice. | Wikipedia, her writings, SMH interview. |
2022–2026 (Hanson case) | Sued Pauline Hanson under Racial Discrimination Act over “piss off back to Pakistan” tweet after Faruqi’s comments on the Queen. Federal Court found it racist/Islamophobic; appeal rejected (2026). Faruqi: victory “for people of colour, Muslims…” and linked to rising Islamophobia amid Gaza debate. | Court records, Greens statements, Wikipedia. |
Islamophobia statements (e.g., 2023–2026 Christchurch anniversaries / International Day to Combat Islamophobia) | “Anti-Muslim hate has become dangerously normalised… Labor and the Coalition are both in a racist race to the bottom with One Nation.” Criticised governments for failing to treat Islamophobia as an emergency while Muslim/Arab/Palestinian communities face targeting, especially over Gaza. | Media releases, statements. |
### What the record actually shows
Faruqi’s public statements and actions are consistently and harshly critical of the **State of Israel**, its founding (Nakba framing), policies in the West Bank and Gaza, and what she calls occupation, apartheid, and genocide. She uses the slogan “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” has supported protests, moved motions for recognition of Palestine, and called for sanctions. She has repeatedly stated there is “no place” for antisemitism (or Islamophobia/racism).
Critics—including the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ), Zionist Federation of Australia, Australian Jewish News, some Coalition MPs, and media outlets—argue that her rhetoric and associations cross into antisemitism under definitions such as the IHRA working definition. They point to denial of Jewish self-determination, double standards applied only to the Jewish state, timing of comments immediately after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks, imagery, and a pattern they say contributes to a climate of hostility toward Australian Jews. She and the Greens reject this characterisation, framing it as legitimate anti-Zionism or criticism of Israeli government policy.
There is **no documented record** in parliamentary Hansard, her social media, or mainstream reporting of Faruqi using classical antisemitic tropes (Jews control banks/media/governments, blood libels, Holocaust denial, collective guilt of all Jews as Jews, etc.). Accusations centre on anti-Israel rhetoric and specific incidents, not explicit “Jew hate.”
### Key incidents and statements frequently cited by critics
Here is a factual table of the main episodes that Jewish community organisations and opponents have labelled antisemitic, harmful, or enabling antisemitism, with the actual content and the criticism:
| Date / Incident | What Faruqi said or did | Criticism from Jewish organisations / others | Faruqi / Greens response |
|-----------------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
| 9 Oct 2023 (2 days after Hamas attacks) |
Tweet criticising lighting of Parliament House in Israeli flag colours: “One colonial government supporting another. What a disgrace. #FreePalestine.” | Australian Jewish News expressed disappointment; seen as tone-deaf and politicising mass murder of Jews. | Defended as criticism of governments, not people. |
| Nov 2023 | Posted (then deleted) Instagram photo of herself smiling next to pro-Palestine student protesters holding a sign showing an Israeli flag (Star of David) in a rubbish bin with the slogan “keep the world clean.” | ECAJ called it antisemitic, demanded apology and resignation. Protesters gathered outside her office with bins.
Independent MP Allegra Spender called it “blatantly antisemitic.” | Photo removed after concerns raised; said the sign was “unseen” initially and apologised to anyone hurt. |
| Ongoing (esp. post-Oct 2023) |
Repeated use of “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”; framing of Israel’s existence/response as “Nakba again,” “genocide,” “colonial,” “apartheid.”
Refusal to clearly call for dismantling Hamas in some interviews. | Interpreted by critics as calling for elimination of the only Jewish state and Jewish self-determination. |
Presented as call for Palestinian freedom and end to occupation; has condemned civilian deaths on both sides in some statements. |
| 2024 | Appointment to Senate committee inquiring into antisemitism on university campuses. | Strong backlash from ECAJ, Julian Leeser and others: “vile anti-Jewish behaviour and rhetoric”; compromised integrity of inquiry into Jewish students’ experiences. | Greens defended her right to participate; she has accused others of “weaponising antisemitism.” |
| Dec 2024 | Her chief of staff posted suggesting a Melbourne synagogue arson attack “could very well be… a Zionist false-flag.” | Classic conspiracy trope; widely condemned. | Faruqi publicly disavowed it as “inadvisable and inappropriate,” said she counselled the staffer and did not agree. |
| Jan 2026 (after Bondi Beach antisemitic terror attack killing 15, mostly Jewish) | Condolence speech condemned the attack as “antisemitic violence” and “Australia’s Christchurch moment,” but also said Jewish friends were angry at “powerful forces” politicising the grief.
Later named Murdoch press, Coalition, One Nation, and Israeli PM. | Rabbi linked to a victim and others called the “powerful forces” language an antisemitic trope about secret Jewish/Israeli power. Sky News and others accused her of lack of self-awareness given prior rhetoric. | Defended the comments as accurate description of political exploitation; condemned the attack itself. |
| Other | Supported protests where some chants included “death to the IDF” / “intifada”; opposed certain hate-speech law expansions; criticised “weaponising” of antisemitism concerns. | Seen as relativising or downplaying the specific rise in anti-Jewish incidents in Australia. | Frames far-right/neo-Nazi activity as the greater threat and says major parties ignore Islamophobia while overstating pro-Palestine risks. |
### Bottom line
Faruqi’s record is one of uncompromising anti-Israel activism within a progressive/Greens framework. Many in the Australian Jewish community and their representative bodies view it as antisemitic in effect (and sometimes in imagery or implication). Others, including Faruqi herself, insist it is political criticism of a state and its policies, not hatred of Jews. Really ?so you can call for the Genocide of Jews and all the FREE PALESTINE Rhetoric knowing full well that Palestine has been ruled by Hamas for 20 years . the hypocrisy or ignorance YOU DECIDE ? Graham Healy Fri 31 /7/26
