Stephen Heydt, a 73-year-old Jewish psychologist, was arrested in Brisbane for wearing a T-shirt with a pro-Palestinian slogan. He is among the first charged under new Queensland laws targeting antisemitic hate speech.
Key points
Stephen Heydt is a 73-year-old Jewish clinical psychologist
He was arrested in Brisbane for wearing a pro-Palestinian T-shirt
Heydt is among the first charged under new Queensland hate speech laws
The T-shirt slogan sparked immediate police action
The incident recalls political tensions from the 1970s in Queensland
Mentioned in this story
Stephen HeydtBrisbaneQueensland
Palestine
Stephen Heydt woke up on Saturday, put on a T-shirt, hobbled out the door with the aid of a walking stick and spoke at a rally in the middle of Brisbane – where he was promptly arrested by a large and heavily armed contingent of police.
For his choice of words and wardrobe, the 73-year-old Jewish clinical psychologist became one of the first people in Queensland charged under new laws designed to crack down on antisemitic hate speech.
“I was wearing a T-shirt which displayed the six-word phrase which I can’t say, and I gave a speech using the six-word phrase which I can’t say,” he said.
“Almost immediately I was arrested and charged with two offences: one for the shirt, one for the chanting.”
The shirt read “Jews for a free Palestine from the river to the sea”.
Heydt said he had the shirt printed in Melbourne.
“I didn’t want to get anyone here [in Queensland] in trouble.”
Zac Karaniki (right) and William Sim (in white T-shirt) are arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest
Zac Karaniki (right) and William Sim (in white T-shirt) are arrested at a pro-Palestinian protest
Also arrested was the Palestinian Australian student Zac Karaniki.
“I was one of those people holding up a banner that had one of the banned phrases on it,” Karaniki said. “A huge wave of cops descended on the protest … [I was] ripped away, put in a paddy wagon and held in a watch house for eight hours.”
Q&A
What slogan did Stephen Heydt wear on his T-shirt?
Stephen Heydt wore a T-shirt that read 'Jews for a free Palestine from the river to the sea'.
What laws is Stephen Heydt charged under in Queensland?
Stephen Heydt is charged under new laws in Queensland designed to crack down on antisemitic hate speech.
Why was Stephen Heydt arrested at the rally in Brisbane?
He was arrested for wearing a T-shirt and chanting a phrase that the authorities deemed to be in violation of the new hate speech laws.
What are the implications of the crackdown on pro-Palestinian slogans in Queensland?
The crackdown raises concerns about freedom of speech and the potential for similar actions reminiscent of past political climates in Queensland.
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Along with the phrase “from the river to the sea”, “globalise the intifada” is now a “proscribed phrase” which – if said in a way that could cause “menace, harassment or offence” – carries a maximum sentence of two years’ imprisonment.
The criminal lawyer Terry O’Gorman said the events of the weekend harken back to the dark days of police repression under the corrupt former Queensland premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen.
A name synonymous with the fight for civil liberties in the sunshine state, O’Gorman compared the laws to an amendment Bjelke-Petersen made to the traffic act in September 1977 that essentially suppressed the right to street protests. Mass arrests followed.
“This is very reminiscent, it is a very similar scenario to what occurred in October 77,” he said.
“This is the first major freedom of speech, civil liberties or public rally issue [in Queensland] since.”
But speaking to the press on Sunday, the premier, David Crisafulli, said the laws were designed to strike a “balance” that allowed protest but stamped out phrases that amounted to a call for genocide – and directly linked those words to the terror attack at Bondi.
Heydt fled apartheid-era South Africa and has worked treating people with trauma and disability in Gaza and the West Bank through three Israeli wars in the 2000s.
He has a very different interpretation of the phrase emblazoned upon his custom-made T-shirt.
“I believe it’s [about] people’s inalienable right to be free,” he said of the phrase.
The first speaker arrested at Saturday’s rally, Edward Carroll, was also Jewish.
The 36-year-old transport worker, who is active within the pro-Palestine movement, said it was important to have “Jewish voices speaking on this issue”.
Pro-Palestinian protesters march through Brisbane on Sunday
Pro-Palestinian protesters march through Brisbane on Sunday. Photograph: Joe Hinchliffe/The Guardian
“Because these laws have nothing to do with Jewish safety and everything to do with silencing dissent against the state of Israel,” he said.
Their interpretation of those phrases, and the Queensland laws that ban them, though, are in stark contrast to many Jewish organisations in Australia.
The Queensland Jewish Board of Deputies president, Jason Steinberg, said the phrase was “not a peaceful slogan nor one shrouded in mystery” but had been “used by murderous terrorists since the 1960s”.
“Brisbane should be a city of inclusion but there is no room on our streets for a terrorist slogan that calls for the annihilation of others,” he said.
“Queensland’s new laws are clear for all to see, and those who protested on the weekend understand the penalties.”
Zac Karaniki and William Sim who were arrested at Sunday’s pro-Palestinian protest
‘A huge wave of cops descended on the protest’ … William Sim and Zac Karaniki who were arrested at the weekend
William Sim is a student activist who was arrested along with Karaniki.
A Mununjali man, Sim said he was willing to be arrested for a cause he said had parallels with that of Indigenous Australia.
He said he planned to contest the charges laid against him “all the way”.
The activist group Justice for Palestine Magan-djin has said it would be coordinating a high court challenge to the laws, arguing it was invalid law under the Australian constitution.
O’Gorman said the activists would have a “strong case to argue”.
“I cross-examined Joh at the Fitzgerald inquiry on the street march issue, and fundamentally put the proposition to him that it was all about politics,” O’Gorman said.
“And he eventually, after a lengthy cross-examination, agreed.
