A prominent civil rights spokesperson has branded shocking images of a toddler and other children chanting vile anti-Israel slogans in suburban Melbourne as “incitement” to hatred.
The horrifying video was taken at a pro-Palestinian rally in Harmony Square outside Dandenong Greater Council on January 24.
At one point, an older girl described as being no more than two or three years old is coached by an older woman to sing “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” into a megaphone.
That slogan is widely understood to be a call for the destruction of the State of Israel or the genocide of the Jews in Israel.
“What was unthinkable five years ago is happening before our very eyes, and this horror spectacle demands condemnation from our elected leaders,” Dr Dvir Abramovich, chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission, which fights defamation, told WhatsNew2Day Australia. antisemitism.
Shocking images of a girl (pictured) and other children chanting vile anti-Israel slogans in Melbourne have been called hate speech by a prominent civil rights spokesperson.
Photograph of a pro-Palestine protest at the University of Sydney on Friday, April 26, 2024.
In another clip, which was obtained by News from heavena boy gets a crowd of about 100 protesters to follow his chant of “Intifada Revolution, there is only one solution: Intifada Revolution.”
Intifada is an Arabic word meaning uprising, which in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict often refers to a call for violence and terror.
In the two periods of the Intifada in Israel (the late 1980s and early 2000s), around 1,400 Israelis were killed in attacks such as suicide bombings.
Other children at the Dandenong protest were filmed chanting “Israel is a terrorist state”.
“I am sure that all parents will be shocked and repulsed by this video, which crosses all red lines,” said Dr. Abramovich.
‘I feel sorry for this boy and girl who are being fed a steady diet of incitement and poison and will grow up feeling contempt and disgust for anyone who is Jewish, Israeli or Zionist.
“They are being robbed of their compassion, their humanity and their childhood.”
Dr Abramovich said Melbourne’s “reputation as a welcoming haven for the Jewish community is in tatters”.
‘The action of these individuals is immoral and dangerous, and in a climate of increasing rhetoric of intolerance and radicalization, words matter.
The ugly and destructive ideologies of a terrorist organization should not be imported into our nation and corrupt the hearts and minds of our children.’
The Melbourne images were revealed as protesters at a Sydney University camp were condemned for organizing a “children’s field trip” last Friday.
Children who participated in that protest were filmed leading anti-Israel chants calling for an “intifada” and calling Israel a “terrorist state.”
“There is no place for hate in our universities or anywhere else and it is never okay to involve children in things like this,” said federal Education Minister Jason Clare.
“There is no place in our country for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or racism of any kind.”
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, a researcher at Macquarie University, organized an “all-ages” event called “Gaza Solidarity Camp” at the University of Sydney to “inspire” children to “stand up for justice and solidarity”.
Footage showed Dr. Abdel-Fattah applauding and cheering on the children as they chanted slogans such as “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
The Federal Opposition has called for the dismissal of Dr Abdel-Fattah, who receives an $802,000 taxpayer-funded grant.
Shadow Education Minister Sarah Henderson said Dr Abdel-Fattah should have her grant withdrawn.
“Abhorrent behavior in which pro-Palestinian activists are indoctrinating children,” he wrote on X.
‘How can this be allowed to happen? What kind of country have we become?
Dr. Abdel-Fattah is shown smiling at a girl, who appeared to be as young as four, as he spoke into a microphone at Friday’s event.
“As you can see in the videos posted on social media, some of the children who attended this so-called ‘children’s field trip’ were as young as five years old,” he wrote.
Macquarie University is examining whether it breached its code of conduct, a university spokesperson said.
But Dr Abdel-Fattah defended his actions, saying the protest was held to give children a “sense of agency”.
WhatsNew2Day Australia has contacted the Dandenong Free Palestine Group, which organized the protest at Harmony Square, for comment.
