Independent Senator Lidia Thorpe says she is not surprised she has been named in a dossier authorised by the Israeli government that labels her and other politicians as promoting antisemitic and anti-Zionist content, arguing it won't stop her from continuing to speak out against the actions of the Israeli government in Palestine.
The document, published by Israel's Ministry for Diaspora Affairs in September and referenced by The Australian last week, states its purpose is to examine the "trends, key influencers, incidents, and groups involved in antisemitism and anti-Zionism in Australia".
It names 25 groups and individuals, including Senator Thorpe, former Greens leader Adam Bandt, and Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi. The document describes Senator Thorpe as a "prominent and vocal critic of Israeli policies, particularly in relation to the Palestinian territories".
"In a Senate speech in August 2023, she condemned what she termed the 'violent occupation of Palestine' and accused Israel of 'state-sanctioned murder' of Palestinians," the document says. "She drew parallels between the experiences of Indigenous Australians and Palestinians, highlighting shared histories of colonisation and resistance."
Senator Thorpe said the dossier demonstrated the lengths the Israeli government would go to "intimidate in an effort to suppress and undermine legitimate criticism of its genocidal actions in Palestine".
She said it was "deeply revealing" that the list — which identifies what it describes as the top 10 generators of antisemitic and anti-Israel material — did not include white supremacists or neo-Nazis.
"Many on this list are staunch anti-war, anti-genocide advocates and organisations [and] registered charities," Senator Thorpe said, "that provides legal support to Palestinian activists, and black and brown women speaking out against their own oppression and struggles against colonialism and genocide not just in Israel — but globally."
She added: "I am not surprised to be targeted and I will continue to call out the genocide in Palestine."
On Wednesday, it was reported New South Wales MP Anthony D'Adam — a convener of Labor Friends of Palestine and long-time critic of Israel's actions in Gaza — who was also named in the dossier, had written to Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke seeking an investigation into whether Israel had breached Australia's foreign influence laws.
"I reject any assertion that I have engaged in antisemitism," Mr D'Adam said in his letter to Mr Burke, noting the Federal Court recently upheld that criticism of Israel is not antisemitic. "The dossier contains considerable conflation of criticism with Israel with antisemitism and attempts to categorise them as one in the same."
He said the Ministry's regular publication of an "Anti-Israel Protest Forecast" — which includes the "monitoring of Australians and Australian protest movements" — meant the Israeli government could be obtaining information through sources within Australia.
This creates the "possibility that Australian citizens or residents are involved in foreign interference," Mr D'Adam said.
"The Israeli government, through the publication of this dossier, is seeking to interfere in Australian political discourse by attempting to intimidate and discredit critics of the Israeli Government."
He told Guardian Australia there was no evidence of antisemitic comments by himself in the document, arguing: "To be targeted by a foreign power, it's concerning."
"This document includes a photo of me and my partner. It's clearly designed to intimidate."
Senator Thorpe said she supported an investigation into "whether the Israeli government has violated foreign influence laws with this doxing" and argued it should be expanded to examine "Israel's longstanding targeted attempts to influence lawmakers".
She rejected accusations of antisemitism and said she stood with the Jewish community, which remains in mourning following the deaths of 15 people in the Bondi attacks last month.
However, the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrun woman said she would continue to criticise the actions of the Israeli government, which she says contravene international law.
"I will certainly not apologise for that," Senator Thorpe said.
"It is indeed everyone's obligation under the Genocide Convention to prevent and punish the crime of genocide, and standing by while a genocide is playing out in front of our eyes is complicity in it.
"It is important that we stand up against genocide and crimes against humanity whenever and wherever they occur."
Israel's government has been widely criticised for its actions in Gaza, which a number of legal and human rights organisations — including Israeli groups B'Tselem and Physicians for Human Rights Israel — have described as amounting to genocide. Similar findings have been made by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel.
The International Court of Justice has not yet delivered a final ruling on whether Israel is committing genocide in Gaza in a case brought by South Africa, with a decision not expected until at least 2027.
In 2024, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant, as well as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar and political bureau head Ismail Haniyeh, both of whom are now deceased.
Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations that it is carrying out ethnic cleansing or genocide in Gaza, instead accusing Hamas of seeking to destroy the Jewish population in Israel.
"Needless to say, such an accusation is obscene, baseless in both fact and law, and only emboldens Hamas, a jihadist terrorist group that openly and proudly committed horrific atrocities and massacres which are in themselves acts of genocide," the Israeli foreign ministry said last year in response to a report by B'Tselem.
