ON Saturday night in Brisbane there was a protest. People marched through the streets of the CBD under the protective guidance of the Queensland Police. Our great democratic society gives everyone this privilege, even if their messages are filled with hate.
These kinds of demonstrations happen often, but what was unique about this protest was the deliberate and disgraceful ceremonial burning of an Israeli flag.
What hatred. What an extreme and racist act. What a disgrace. What an attack on Queensland’s multicultural values.
The protesters were apparently marching in condemnation of Israel in retaliation for the United States government undertaking to deliver the long-held bipartisan commitment to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem and recognise that city as Israel’s capital.
For this reason, men, women and children shouted slogans demanding “liberation”, “from the [Jordan] river to the [Mediterranean] sea”, which includes not only the West Bank and Gaza Strip the Palestinians claim for a future state, but the whole of Israel’s legally recognised borders.
Read the opinion piece from Jason Steinberg, vice-president of the Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies in The Courier Mail.