Dr Roger Markwick, Honorary Professor of European History, University of Newcastle: I am appalled but not surprised by the Australian government’s denial of a visa to Leila Khaled to speak at the Ecosocialism 2024 conference. It is one more example of the Albanese-Wong ALP government’s craven support of Israel, a fellow colonial-settler state intent on the genocidal elimination of the Palestinian people.
Khaled’s voice in the current crisis would be a powerful reminder of the tenacity of the Palestinians’ rightful resistance to Zionist terror. To deny Australians the opportunity to hear her voice makes a mockery of Australia’s claim to be a bastion of liberal-democratic freedoms when it imposes no such constraints on alleged perpetrators of Israeli state terror, such as former IDF commander Doron Almog. And it makes a mockery of the Labour government’s pretence to champion universal peace, irrespective of ethnicity, nationality or religious creed.
In the name of humanity, let Leila Khaled be heard!
