APAN launches national anti-Palestinian racism reporting site |
| Anti-Palestinian Racism silences, excludes, erases, stereotypes, defames, and dehumanises Palestinians or their narratives – and it harms our allies too. Today, the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) is launching a new national reporting website to help document and confront this escalating form of hate across Australia. Anti-Palestinian Racism has surged dramatically over the past two years of genocide in Gaza. Yet despite increased investment in addressing Islamophobia and antisemitism, there has been no comparable support to address Anti-Palestinian Racism – leaving Palestinians and their supporters without safe and accessible pathways to report what they are experiencing. APAN’s groundbreaking new platform, available in both English and Arabic, creates the first community-led, confidential national register for people to report incidents of Anti-Palestinian Racism across workplaces, schools, universities, public institutions, and in daily life. Anti-Palestinian Racism takes many forms, including: Silencing or defaming Palestinians and their allies Excluding Palestinian perspectives, culture, or identity Justifying violence against Palestinians Denial or distortion of the Nakba (1948) Failing to acknowledge Palestinian indigeneity A Palestinian teenager recently experienced silencing and exclusion for simply wearing a necklace that featured the Palestinian flag. Following incredulous Zionist lobbying, a local council in Victoria removed digital copies of the latest edition of its magazine, apologising to its readership for causing “distress” as a result of the photos featured. This decision by the council shows how insidious anti-Palestinian racism can be, how actions by council leadership succumbed to Zionist pressure, without consideration for the harm it has caused the young Palestinian student and the community. A man in Katoomba holding a peaceful pro-Palestine sign was subjected to a vicious verbal attack, with an onlooker shouting homophobic slurs and trying to intimidate him for simply expressing solidarity. The incident shows how speaking up for Palestine can trigger targeted hate – and why reporting Anti-Palestinian Racism matters. These are the same forms of racism illustrated in APAN’s parallel national social campaign launching today. APAN said the new register is a necessary step in documenting and understanding the pervasive and systemic nature of Anti-Palestinian Racism in Australia. This data will encourage governments and institutions to resource against this hate – which is not yet widely enough recognised or reported – and provide opportunities for education, legislation and change. APAN has been working with community organisations, educators, and rights advocates to broaden the national conversation on Anti-Palestinian Racism, including through the Anti-Palestinian Racism in Schools Report, the People’s Inquiry into Campus Free Speech on Palestine, and engagement with the Australian Human Rights Commission, which has recognised Anti-Palestinian Racism. The new reporting platform will inform future advocacy and education initiatives, provide evidence for policy reform, and build community resilience in the face of rising discrimination. This project is supported by the Victorian Government, whose contribution has enabled the development of this national reporting platform and its community education work. The website officially goes live 30 November: www.combat-apr.com ATTRIBUTABLE QUOTES: Nasser Mashni, APAN President: “Anti-Palestinian Racism has been allowed to metastasize due to the actions of leadership, from the lighting up of landmarks in the colours of the Israeli flag, to multiple politicians suggesting Palestinians should be deported, the overzealous and violent policing of Palestinian protests, to the appointment of an extremist lobbyist to the role of antisemitism envoy, Palestinians and their allies have been excluded from any sense of belonging or any semblance of a place at the table. Jobs have been lost, opportunities forfeited, activists doxxed, education hampered all for having an anti-genocide position. This register will give people here a safe place to report their experience and provide a means to help push for everyone to act against it.” Nour Salman, Anti-Palestinian Racism Project Lead at APAN “Anti-Palestinian Racism is something Palestinians and their allies confront constantly — being silenced, excluded, or dismissed simply for naming our reality. This website matters because Palestinians and our allies finally have a place to report what we endure every day. It’s time Australia recognised this racism and acted.” |