The Australian Human Rights Commission will investigate a racial discrimination complaint against the federal government that accuses it of advocating on behalf of Israel.
The complaint filed by Palestinian-Australian advocate Nasser Mashni refers to the government’s comments during Israel’s bombing of Gaza last May, accusing it of “advocacy" on behalf of Israel to avoid investigation by the International Criminal Court.
It alleges the Australian government has discriminated against Palestinian-Australians and has a legal obligation to advance equality before the law.
Following the ceasefire in Gaza last May, Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said: “the State of Israel unquestionably has the right to defend itself in accordance with international law”.
“Israelis have the right to live in peace. In defending itself and its people, the principles of proportionality and the protection of humanitarian actors must be upheld,” she said.
“Equally, Palestinians must be allowed to live in peace and dignity.”
Mr Mashni told SBS News he had been denied opportunities due to his Palestinian background.
He said Australia is not honest in its language when it discusses Israel and as such, it has failed to meet its obligations under international law to progress the human rights of all ethnic groups in Australia.
“As an Australian of Palestinian background, I have spent the majority of my life having to defend my identity, who I am, where I came from,” Mr Mashni told SBS News.
“As Australian-Palestinians, we are inevitably on the back foot because the Australian government takes a very Israel-centric position.
A boy stands in his bedroom after an airstrike destroyed a neighbouring building, May 26, 2021, in Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip. Source: AAP
“It negates our humanity.”
Mr Mashni - the vice president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) - said some of his family still lives in Palestine and described their existence as “difficult”.
“Our village has been cut off from Jerusalem. It's very tough,” he said.
“Land has been expropriated from our village in Palestine to make way for Israeli settlements ... It’s a human catastrophe.”
Sydney law firm Birchgrove Legal is acting for Mr Mashni under a Section 9 Racial Discrimination Act complaint against the Australian government.
The complaint argues that by failing to acknowledge Israel as "an occupying power" and its "breaches of international law”, the federal government has caused enormous distress to Palestinian-Australians.
Aerial view over West Bank showing a Palestinian village, left, and a Jewish settlement, right, separated by part of the seperation fence, July 2003. Source: AAP
It also alleges that the discourse subjects Australians of Palestinian heritage to continual discrimination, leading people to believe that Palestinians are aggressors rather than victims.
Birchgrove Principal Solicitor, Moustafa Kheir, said the complaint is legally significant as it’s the first of its kind.
“There should be legal consequences at home for Governments that support foreign nation-states in carrying out land theft and violations directly against racial or ethnic groups where it causes discriminatory harm at home,” he said in a statement.
“This situation is very distinct from other international issues in that the Australian Government has taken a very active role in supporting Israel to avoid international pressure.”
SBS News contacted Israel's embassy in Australia for comment. They responded: "we do not have specific details of the case and therefore cannot comment."
Mr Mashni said he’s not asking the government to be sympathetic to Palestinians but rather to “tell the truth”.
“The only time Palestinians are discussed [by the government] is in the context of a flare-up or violence in Palestine and Israel and then it’s only done in the terms that Australia is a ‘great friend of Israel’,” he said.
“Palestinians in Australia self-censor because they don't feel safe because the government is breaching its obligations to create a space for us.”
SBS News contacted the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne for comment, but did not receive a response before publication.
In a damning report published in February, Amnesty International accused Israeli authorities of “committing the crime of apartheid against Palestinians”.
The report accused Israel of crimes against humanity under international laws, including the 1973 Apartheid Convention and the 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
The organisation said seizures of Palestinian land and property, unlawful killings, forcible transfer, drastic movement restrictions and the denial of nationality and citizenship to Palestinians amount “to apartheid under international law”.
“Whether they live in Gaza, East Jerusalem and the rest of the West Bank, or Israel itself, Palestinians are treated as an inferior racial group and systematically deprived of their rights,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary-general.
“…The international community has an obligation to act.”
In response to the report, pro-Israel American groups issued a joint statement accusing Amnesty of seeking to “demonize and delegitimize the Jewish and democratic State of Israel”.
The report has been strongly rejected by Israel's government, which claims Amnesty is echoing propaganda without checking the facts.
