Arabic version: طعن أمام المحكمة العليا يستهدف حظر عبارات احتجاجية في كوينزلاند
According to ABC News, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters has launched a High Court challenge to Queensland laws banning the phrases “from the river to the sea” and “globalise the intifada” when used to menace or offend someone.
The Queensland government and many Jewish organisations have deemed the phrases antisemitic. The contested expressions have also been commonly used at pro-Palestinian protests. The laws took effect in March, and more than 20 people have since been charged. They carry a maximum prison term of two years.
High Court filings lodged last week argue that the legislation is invalid because it infringes the implied constitutional freedom of political communication. Seven protesters signed the filings, including Justice for Palestine spokesperson Remah Naji. Four signatories — Stephen Werner Heydet, Edward Joel Matthew Carroll, Katherine Mary Dennehy and Samuel Woripa Watson — were arrested and charged under the laws, according to the documents.
Another applicant, James Frances Hillier, alleges police contacted him in March and told him to remove artwork containing a banned phrase. The applicants argue that neither slogan has a fixed, inherently antisemitic, racist or violent meaning. Their filing lists 12 alternative meanings for “from the river to the sea” and says the ban criminalises one perspective in a political controversy.
Jewish Board of Deputies president Jason Steinberg said the slogans had left Jews feeling unsafe at rallies and protests. Constitutional law expert Anthony Gray, who was not involved in the case, said the challenge had a “chance of succeeding”, noting that the phrases could be viewed as political communication and that the legislation criminalised specific expressions and a particular viewpoint.
