The Senate has condemned a pro-Palestinian chant that a Labor senator repeated when she broke ranks to accuse Israel of genocide.
Opposition Senate leader Simon Birmingham introduced the motion on Thursday that condemned the ", which Labor Senator Fatima Payman referenced as by publicly describing what is happening in Gaza as a genocide.
Labor senators backed the motion, which passed with 56 votes in favour and 12 against. Those voting against the motion including Greens senators and independent senator Lidia Thorpe. Payman was not in the chamber.
The motion said the chant "opposes Israel’s right to exist, and is frequently used by those who seek to intimidate Jewish Australians via acts of antisemitism".
Peak Muslim bodies and one Jewish organisation have opposed the condemnation, saying it was "misconceived and based on an incorrect understanding of the phrase."
In a joint statement released on Friday morning, the organisations said the phrase was rooted in an "aspiration for freedom for all people, irrespective of their background, faith or nationality."
"It is a vision that encompasses the right of all individuals to live in peace and dignity within the lands stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea," the statement said.
"It should not be controversial that Palestinians reject their oppression or aspire to their own liberation and life in their homeland, free from Israel's racist systems and laws of control."
Organisations including the Australian National Imams Council, the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network, Muslim Women Australia and the Jewish Council of Australia all signed and endorsed the statement.
They described political leaders' actions as "disappointing".
"It is disconcerting and disappointing that our political leaders are seemingly more engaged with, and concerned about, the alleged distress conveyed by lobby groups rather than the actual genocide which is being committed against Palestinians in Gaza and the prevention of humanitarian aid to them."
Use of phrase 'inappropriate', Albanese says
Earlier on Thursday during an interview with ABC radio, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was asked if Payman's use of the phrase was appropriate. He replied: "No it's not."
"What's appropriate is where both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in peace and prosperity."
"It is not in the interests of either Israelis or Palestinians to advocate there just be one state that is a forerunner of enormous conflict and grief and we are seeing enormous grief in Gaza."
Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in February he would not be pressured into accepting a Palestinian state. And in January, United Nations secretary general Antonio Guterres accused Israel of "clear and repeated rejection" of a two-state solution.
The motion on Thursday also said it welcomed Albanese "agreeing with comments from former Defence Department Secretary Dennis Richardson calling the slogan 'a very violent statement' which could 'easily flow into actions of violence against communities in our own country'."
Ahead of the vote, Birmingham said what he labelled an unacceptable phrase had been repeated not only but by members of the government, although he did not mention Payman by name.
"That is why we are very clear in putting this motion to the Senate, supporting and highlighting the responses the prime minister has given," Birmingham said.
"We would wish he had given these responses proactively, not reactively. We would wish that he shows leadership in responding and dealing with the use of such phrases that fuel and drive antisemitism."
The phrase is considered by some Jewish communities as a call for the destruction of Israel, while Palestinians consider it a call for freedom.
Opposition Senate leader Simon Birmingham introduced the motion condemning the "from the river to the sea" chant on Thursday. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
"And it is that solution which is needed for peace and security of Palestinians and Israelis alike."
She said the federal government condemned the 7 October attack by Hamas — — on southern Israel, and continued to call for a humanitarian ceasefire that would enable the release of Hamas-held hostages taken during the assault.
Wong said the federal government objected to Israel's ground assault in Rafah in southern Gaza.
Payman on Wednesday urged the federal government to sanction the Israeli government and urged her colleagues to "stand for what is right".
She made a veiled criticism of Albanese as she criticised Australian leaders for "performative gestures".
"Instead of advocating for justice, I see our leaders performatively gesture defending the oppressor's right to oppress, while gaslighting the global community about the rights of self-defence," she said on Wednesday.
The Australian Federation of Islamic Councils (AFIC) commended Senator Payman on Thursday.
"Senator Payman's commitment to speaking out during such a critical time, with the strength that no other ALP politician has done so, is courageous," Dr Rateb Jneid, President of AFIC, said in a statement.
"Her willingness to address what the International Court of Justice has termed a 'plausible genocide' reflects the urgent need for moral leadership in politics. We commend her integrity and echo her calls for immediate action."
Labor senator Fatima Payman at a pro-Palestinian rally outside Parliament House in Canberra on Wednesday. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
"This is a genocide and we need to stop pretending otherwise," Payman said. "The lack of clarity, the moral confusion, the indecisiveness is eating at the heart of this nation."
Israeli's bombardment of Gaza has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians, according to the health ministry in Gaza.
The bombardment has plunged Gaza into, with the United Nations recently saying Palestinians there face catastrophic levels of hunger.
It was sparked by the 7 October attack on southern Israel where Hamas-led gunmen killed around 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages, according to the Israeli government.
In January, in Gaza, a charge Israel strongly rejected. The case is ongoing.
