Bondi Beach Pogrom
New South Wales to Ban "Globalize the Intifada"
NSW Premier Chris Mimms announced Saturday that the phrase will be banned in the wake of the terror attack and that police will crack down on antisemitic protests. The decision follows a similar move in the United Kingdom.
New South Wales is moving to formally ban the slogan “globalize the intifada,” classifying it as hate speech under emergency reforms announced in the wake of the Bondi Beach massacre, Premier Chris Minns said on Saturday.
“I will insist that ‘globalize the intifada’ is included in that list of hateful, violent rhetoric in New South Wales,” Minns said, according to comments reported by The Guardian. The premier said recent events have demonstrated that such chants go beyond political expression and actively encourage violence.
“When you see people marching and showing violent, bloody images, images of death and destruction, it unleashes something in our community that the organizers of the protest can’t contain,” Minns said, as cited by NBC News.
The proposed ban comes after the December 14 terrorist attack at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, in which 15 people were murdered. Australian authorities have described the shooting as the deadliest terror attack in the country in decades. The attack, carried out by an ISIS-inspired father and son, has triggered a sweeping reassessment of how extremist rhetoric is handled in public demonstrations.
Under the new measures being advanced in New South Wales, police would receive expanded powers to restrict or shut down unauthorized protests for up to three months. The reforms would also prohibit the public display of flags and symbols associated with designated terrorist organizations, including ISIS, Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaeda, and Boko Haram. Police would additionally be empowered to require protesters to remove face coverings during demonstrations.
“Horrific, recent events have shown that the chant ‘globalize the intifada’ is hate speech and encourages violence in our community,” Minns told reporters. “You’re running a very risky racket if you’re thinking of using that phrase.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said Australia’s Office of National Intelligence identified ISIS propaganda reinforcing the ideological motive behind the Bondi attack, adding urgency to the legislative push.
The proposed ban reflects a broader shift in Australia toward more assertive policing and a narrower definition of acceptable protest speech, as authorities seek to prevent extremist incitement amid record levels of antisemitism and heightened security concerns nationwide.