Moore cancels ‘Globalise the Intifada’ forum

Lord Mayor Clover Moore has cancelled a controversial forum titled “Why It’s Right to Say Globalise the Intifada” scheduled for a City of Sydney venue on May 5, following weeks of mounting pressure from Jewish leaders and prominent Australians.

In a Facebook post on Monday night, Moore said she had asked the City’s CEO to withdraw the booking at the East Sydney Community and Arts Centre, citing the need to ensure public events do not contribute to hostility and fear during the first hearing block of the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion.

“I have long supported the principles of peaceful assembly, protest and freedom of speech. However, these rights must always be balanced with a responsibility to ensure public safety and respect for all members of our diverse community,” Moore said.

The AJN understands that the event will now be held in a park near St Peters station, though this information has not been verified.

NSW Jewish Board of Deputies president David Ossip welcomed the decision, saying it was “entirely appropriate” that the council had refused to provide a venue for an event which “endangers public safety and so grievously undermines social cohesion”.

“The phrase ‘Globalise the Intifada’ has been recognised by a NSW Parliamentary Inquiry as a call to violence against Jewish Australians. It essentially means kill or maim a Jew wherever you find one,” Ossip said.

“Post 14 December, no one can claim ignorance about where dangerous rhetoric and incitement like this can lead.”

The forum, organised by Stop the War on Palestine, had drawn fierce criticism from Jewish leaders and prominent Australians including former prime minister Tony Abbott, ex-treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Olympic gold medallist Dawn Fraser and Indigenous Olympic legend Nova Peris.

NSW Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane had written to Moore demanding the forum be “immediately cancelled”, revealing she had received more than 900 complaints from NSW residents about the event.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin had said the community was waiting for Moore to explain how such an event could go ahead at a council venue.

“It is easy for political leaders to condemn and commiserate after an attack. It takes leadership to do something to stop it. We’re waiting for Clover Moore’s response,” Ryvchin said last month.

In her Facebook post, Moore defended her record as Lord Mayor, saying she had led a council that worked consistently to ensure everyone feels welcome and safe in Sydney.

“Some in the media have conflated any protest against Israel’s war with antisemitism. This is an insidious and divisive false dichotomy. Protesting the war is legitimate, and in no way affects my deep sympathy, solidarity and concern for Jewish communities,” Moore said.

She criticised what she described as “a persistent media campaign by the Murdoch press against this event”, saying some media outlets were “driving a discourse of division that has heightened tensions more than any small community event could”.

The event was originally scheduled for the Darlington Activity Centre before being shifted to the East Sydney Community and Arts Centre. Both venues are managed by City of Sydney council.

Liberal councillor Lyndon Gannon had branded the event “gross” and called it “unacceptable that a City of Sydney venue is being used by a group to express opinions that the Premier is saying essentially should be banned”.

NSW Premier Chris Minns has repeatedly criticised the forum but ruled out intervention, saying: “It’s not possible for me to step in and stop a lawful event.”

The NSW government has yet to introduce promised legislation banning the phrase, despite Minns labelling it “hateful, violent rhetoric” in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.

“You’ve seen what the consequences of globalising the intifada are,” Minns said after the attack. “It’s the deaths of 15 innocent people on the sands of Bondi Beach simply for practising their religion in a peaceful way.”

Sloane called the Premier’s reluctance to act “a major concession”, noting that four months have elapsed since the deadly Bondi terror attack without legislation reaching parliament.

The NSW Parliament’s Committee on Law and Safety found that the slogan “globalise the intifada” may be perceived to incite violence against Jewish people.