Key Points
- One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was told to remove an Israel-themed scarf that was against the rules of the Senate.
- Hanson wore it as the Senate was discussing a motion about the Nakba.
- Victoria’s state parliament has also banned the keffiyeh, deeming it a ‘political item of clothing’.
One Nation senator Pauline Hanson has been asked to remove a scarf featuring the Israeli flag during a motion to acknowledge the Nakba.
Greens senator Jordon Steele-John moved a motion to commemorate the 76th anniversary of , in the upper house chamber on Wednesday.
Nakba Day, which is generally observed on 15 May, commemmorates the mass exodus of roughly 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes in the lead-up to and during the bloody 1948 Arab–Israeli War.
The commemoration coincides with the date of Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948.
Hanson walked into the chamber wearing the blue and white scarf featuring the Star of David and text printed across it to address the motion, before being told to remove it or turn it around by Dorinda Cox, who was sitting in the president’s chair.
“It is against standing orders for you to have any slogans upon your dress,” Cox said.
Under standing order rules, senators are not permitted to hold up newspapers or placards in the chamber, or to wear T-shirts or other clothing bearing slogans.
Hanson removed the scarf before giving her view on the motion, describing it as an “unbelievable stunt”.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson was told her Israeli flag-themed scarf was a violation of the Senate’s standing orders. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
“Talking about genocide and displacement, the Jewish people have been treated like this for centuries, thousands upon thousands of years by different races and countries,” she said.
“It breaks my heart to see that same thing happening in our country with the Jewish students who are mistreated on university campuses to see that what is happening on our streets in Australia with the Palestinian protest marches.
“This is a political stunt and it’s been driven by the Labor and the Greens to actually support those Muslims in this country purely for the vote.”
Besides acknowledging the Nakba, the Greens motion asked the government to “expel Israel’s ambassador to Australia, put sanctions on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his war cabinet, end military trade with the state of Israel, end support for the invasion of Gaza and call for a permanent ceasefire and an end to the occupation of Palestine”.
Keffiyehs banned in Victorian parliament
Meanwhile, Victoria’s state parliament has banned the keffiyeh as fresh pro-Palestinian protests continue to crop up across the nation.
State parliament speaker Maree Edwards deemed the scarves, a long-time symbol of Palestinian nationalism, as a political item of clothing on Wednesday morning.
Victorian Greens MP Gabrielle de Vietri was told to remove her keffiyeh in parliament by Edwards on May 7 after Liberal MP David Southwick said he found it offensive.
State party leader Ellen Sandell on Wednesday sought to clarify whether the ruling was for that occasion or ongoing.
“Political paraphernalia and badges are not allowed in the house,” Edwards ruled.
Sandell argued MPs had been allowed to show support for various causes and wear cultural or religious items such as jewellery in parliament.
She said the decision made the Victorian parliament one of the only ones in the world to ban the traditional item.
– additional reporting by Australian Associated Press
