Let me say that I do believe that the Israeli government is committing genocide. And they believe they are too. They've said the quiet part out loud. They don't want to live in peace with the Palestinians.
this post was submitted on 25 Jan 2026
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It's an odd premise, and ideally Rowland would have noticed and objected to the question.
Criticism of a country's actions (and in fact, it's really an implied criticism of a regime and its military) is not a threat to Jewish Australians. It may frustrate Zionists, but Zionism is a political movement, it is not a nation, religion or ethnicity. If a Zionist happens to be a Jewish Australian, it is coincidence - I know plenty of Australian Zionists who are not Jewish, and I know plenty of Jewish Australians who are anti-Zionist.
For an analogy, the interviewer's question would be as ridiculous as someone asking if it would be illegal to claim the historic Nazi regime committed genocide of Jewish, Slavic, Romani, etc. peoples, and as a result made "white" Australians feel intimidated.
And yet the position of the government seems to disagree with you.
Which is precisely why the law is so problematic.
The law was explicitly created for this. Israel succesfully weaponized the Bondi shooting to ban criticism of Israel.
It does seem, law as written, that this is the case, even to the Nazi extreme. That's because it was a knee-jerk hastily, badly, written piece of legislation that was ~~passed~~ rammed through with the help of the Liberals, always a bad sign.
That's the generous position, less generously it could have been sitting there waiting for an excuse (never let a good crisis go to waste and all that), intended to further dampen and complicate the right to protest.
ETA: “Those who made peaceful reform impossible have made violent revolution inevitable.” - John F. Kennedy
and as a result made “white” Australians feel intimidated.
I'd say it's more if it was said to make German-Australians feel intimidated, rather than all the white ones. My Irish-Scottish grandparents were all in WW2 fighting against the Nazis in some manner. I'd never call a German friend out for Germany's Nazi history as that's not them as a person. Much like I wouldn't call out a Australian-Jewish friend for Israel's (Netanyahu's) actions today. PS: Fuck Netanyahu.
that coincidence is very highly probable given the vast majority of israelis and zionists are jewish, hence the problem
and the softer version of zionism and israeli nationalism is something most western governments deem totally legal
Israel is committing a genocide.
Zionism is a hate ideology.
Zionist ≠ Jew
Zionist = Nazi
Palestine > Israel
Well, guess I can no longer act all smug to Americans online
E: obligatory Israel is committing a genocide
So you just say, Israel is committing genocide (it's ok to be jewish/Israeli).
It is not okay to be Israeli
Israel is committing a genocide and what hold do they have over the entire world that we’re not allowed to talk about it?
Let's not give Israel all the credit for the Australian governments' complicity and the weapon parts we send over.
Australia is an imperial power too, you just hear less about the islands our police occupy.
That is a really shitty way to do captions.
That's a lot of words to say yes
What the actual fuck!
American here: we played this game leading up to our last election. Don't let them get away with this. Remember the power of truth in your words. Keep calling this a genocide.
I'll be honest, I really never understood this zionist thing. How come they have so much power over protestant countries? the wiki says its a movement to establish a jew only land in current Palestine.
A Jewish homeland being restored around Jerusalem is meant to be one of the signs of the apocalypse. Christians want nothing more than the world to end. Its a huge part of the religion.
the wiki says its a movement to establish a jew only land in current Palestine.
More or less, yes.
How come they have so much power over protestant countries?
Long story short, they proved themselves in the 1940s to be a powerful force in the region. The Middle East is known to be rich in resources such as petroleum oil, and it also has major trade routes like the Suez Canal (I'm sure you saw the impact of the Evergreen blockage) and land routes through Afghanistan, Iran, etc.. One can see how important the region is in China's Belt and Road Initiative. So, having a military outpost able to credibly threaten this region with overwhelming force is a very powerful tool for Western imperial powers like the US and (historical) NATO allies.
So, the Zionist Regime has influence over these countries because they want the Zionist Regime to help us keep power in the region.
CXORA mentioned the Evangelical Christianity aspect of it, which is real, but I consider that to be more the cultural propaganda reason than the underlying material reason.
Australia is a colony of convicts which ‘grew’ into a nation of wardens.
Authoritarian states will always side with their peers over their citizens.
These are flimsy slogans: The prison colony of Australia always had wardens in charge. And if one considers Australia to be "authoritarian", then what states aren't authoritarian? Wouldn't we at least be siding with Russia, Iran, and North Korea? Australia sides with the Zionist Regime because of our imperialism; because our rich can get richer by war profiteering.
The specific criteria is "that would, in all the circumstances, cause a reasonable person who is the target, or a member of the target group, to be intimidated, to fear harassment or violence, or to fear for their safety".
There are all manner of exceptions and qualifications. Yes, under certain circumstances saying "Israel is committing genocide" might pass the test. Just saying it as a statement of fact is not alone enough to be a crime.
The title is misleading. Michelle Rowland says it will be illegal if certain specific other criteria are met.
Other critiria like arbitrary designations of a group by the government.