Pro-Palestine protesters have been arrested for chanting “from the river to the sea”, a day after a John Farnham flashmob sang a similar phrase.
About 300 gathered in central Brisbane on Saturday afternoon to protest against the state government’s decision to ban two phrases associated with the pro-Palestine movement: “globalise the intifada” and “from the river to the sea”.
Those who recite or display those terms could face up to two years in jail, but that didn’t stop the crowd from chanting them in front of police.
Officers arrested 20 people for 14 charges of displaying a prohibited expression and seven charges of reciting a prohibited expression.
Queensland police acknowledged protesters were overall peaceful.
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A day earlier, pro-Palestine demonstrators had attempted to test the laws with a John Farnham flashmob.
Several hundred people refused to sit in silence or live with fear as they donned blond wigs and 80s regalia to belt out the 1988 classic Two Strong Hearts on Friday evening.
The song contains the lyrics “reaching out forever like a river to the sea”, but no one was arrested for singing along.
“Politicians and police have been bullying artists and activists for simply displaying the lyrics of this classic Australian song, and we let them know tonight that we won’t stand for it,” said Deb Cleland, who choreographed the dance.
Conservative Jewish groups have said the phrases are antisemitic, but others have argued such criticism conflates criticism of Israel with hatred of Jews.
“Globalise the intifada” has historically been used as a call to increase pressure on Israel to prioritise human rights, with the Arabic word intifada referring to uprisings in Palestine in 1987 and the 2000s.
It has become more popular as Israel’s military ramped up its bombing and starvation of the Palestinian population.
The Queensland government banned both phrases in February, despite concerns from civil liberties experts.
Liam Parry was arrested for reciting the “river to the sea” chant in March, while 18-year-old Bonnie Carter was charged after wearing a shirt with the phrase printed on the front.
Following the Bondi beach shooting in mid-December, where two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukah event and killed 15 people, NSW has also said it would ban “globalise the intifada”.
Though the state has received similar backlash, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, on Thursday confirmed his government was still pursuing the legislation.
“We can see how it operates in Queensland, but in many respects I think that hateful phrase has been exposed as exactly what it is,” he said.
