Jewish leaders outraged over Hamas flag loophole
'The fact that that person claims not to have known that it was a Hamas flag, in the context of a political demonstration about the Gaza war, defies credulity'
Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies president Jason Steinberg has described the decision by federal police not to prosecute an individual who flew a Hamas flag as “outrageous”.
The man carried the flag at a pro-Palestine march in Brisbane just over two weeks ago but will not be charged after telling police he was not aware of what he was holding.
Under national legislation introduced in late 2023, it is only an offence to display a terror group symbol if the person knows it is a prohibited symbol – a requirement that has exposed a major loophole in the law.
“The decision by federal police not to charge an individual carrying a Hamas flag at a recent rally, on the basis that he ‘did not know’ it was a Hamas flag, is outrageous and highlights a dangerous loophole in our laws,” Steinberg said.
“This undermines the intent of the Federal Parliament to ban the public display of terrorist symbols in Australia.”
Steinberg drew historical parallels to emphasise the severity of the issue.
“This decision not to prosecute someone on the grounds of ignorance is like saying that someone at a Nazi rally in Germany in the 1930s carrying a flag with a swastika ‘did not know’ what they were doing,” he said.
“Symbols matter. They broadcast allegiance to a terrorist organisation, they intimidate, and they embolden those who wish to broadcast their hate-filled ideology without any consequence or recourse.”
Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim said Queensland Premier David Crisafulli was “totally justified” in characterising the public display of the Hamas flag as “horrendous and inciteful”.
“The person responsible should be prosecuted, and there should be no ifs or buts about it,” he said.
“The fact that that person claims not to have known that it was a Hamas flag, in the context of a political demonstration about the Gaza war, defies credulity. It is beyond belief that police would accept such a claim at face value, instead of testing it before a court.”
The Coalition has demanded the government immediately correct what it calls a “shocking error” in the law.
Shadow attorney-general Julian Leeser said the loophole was an “appalling stuff-up by the federal government that needed to be immediately rectified”.
“Labor has written a mistake into the law that means we are deliberately being soft on terrorists,” Leeser said. “This shocking error needs to be corrected immediately.”
The knowledge requirement differs from Nazi symbol laws, which make it an offence if a person is reckless about displaying Nazi symbols or making Nazi salutes.
Steinberg said there should not be this distinction and called for broader reform.
“The federal government needs to look long and hard at not only this loophole, but any that can be exploited to promote hatred of Jews,” he said.
The Hamas flag incident occurred during nationwide anti-Israel protests where organisers estimated 50,000 people attended the Brisbane demonstration. Protesters also flew Shahada flags, long associated with al-Qaeda, ISIS and other radical Islamist groups.
“These are not symbols of solidarity. They are symbols of death, violence and terror,” Steinberg said at the time, adding the Jewish community “was sickened” to see Queenslanders “support terrorism, antisemitism and hate”.
Asked by the Courier-Mail, a federal government spokesman defended the knowledge requirement while acknowledging there was “no place in Australia for the abhorrent display of hate symbols”.