Press Release
Anti-Semitism Accusations Dropped
Australian newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, ran a story on Thursday, 08/27/2015 titled as follows: "Ismail Alwahwah: Radical Hizb-ut Jew hater spared prosecution over racist tirade".
Following the dismissal of any potential legal case against Ismail Alwahwah of Hizb ut Tahrir Australia, we put forward details of the alleged case for the wider public record and in particular for the Muslim community.
In the summer of 2014, when the Jewish entity's army was launching a brutal war against the people of Gaza, using all possible weapons from the ground, sea and air, destroying homes atop of their inhabitants and engaging in a battle that led to the death and injuring of thousands, Ismail Alwahwah delivered a sermon on the 25th of July 2014 followed by another speech on the same day during a protest in support of the people of Gaza in Lakemba, Sydney. Both talks addressed these crimes and outlined that these repeated aggressions must be put to an end by uprooting the illegitimate entity and ending its occupation of Palestine.
Six months later, the Jewish lobby in Australia that is supportive of the Jewish entity tried to exploit the political attacks on Hizb ut-Tahrir that saw Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his government deliver numerous statements on Hizb ut-Tahrir. As such, roughly 16 Jewish organisations issued a complaint against him to the Anti-Discrimination Board (ADB), accusing him of racial vilification and of inciting hatred and violence against them in their capacity as Jews. In this regard, they used excerpts from his speeches and partially translated them, using them to provide a meaning that served their objectives.
Br Ismail Alwahwah responded to the allegations in a letter addressed to the president of the Anti-Discrimination Board (ADB), in which he outlined that his statements were directed to that illegitimate entity that has occupied Palestine and its brutal crimes, and towards those Jews that occupy Palestine in their capacity as murderous occupiers and without consideration to their race and gender.
After the ADB reviewed the case of both parties in light of the complaint and the response, it decided to forward it to the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP), alluding that there may have been a possible discrimination breach. The case was then referred to the Police for further investigation, who after investigating the matter (and without asking Ismail Alwahwah any questions in this process) concluded that a case could not be mounted (and that there were issues relating to timing and other procedural issues).
In light of all this, Hizb ut Tahrir Australia outlines the following:
1. The Jewish entity in Palestine is an occupying entity, and there is no legitimacy to its existence even on a single meter of Palestinian land, and it is certain that the Muslim Ummah will reverse this occupation and liberate Palestine whether they like it or not.
2. We as Muslims reject any indication of being racists. An Ummah that believes Allah (swt) is the Lord of the world, and that all people come from Adam (as), and that a human is no different to another human except in piety; an Ummah where Jews, Christians and others lived together for many centuries possessing full rights; such an Ummah does not oppose any people on account of their race whatsoever.
3. The Jewish lobbies that support this evil state should distance themselves from its crimes and occupation instead of waving the stick of anti-Semitism to intimidate anyone that exposes these very crimes.
4. The stance of the president of the ADB was disturbing and prejudicial. He provided unbalanced public commentary which had the capacity to create bias, doing so even after escalating the matter to higher authorities.
5. Media outlets that are biased towards the Jewish lobbies should realise that lies do not last long, and that people are more aware than they assume. As such, the media should stop being biased in favour of this criminal state.
6. Vic Alhadeff - the CEO of the Jewish Board of Deputies in Australia - who led this complaint and appeared in the media on multiple occasions in this regard, is the same person that headed the NSW Community Relations Commission at the time of the last war on Gaza. It was at that time that he declared his full support for the brutal war on Gaza and thus was a partner in the crimes that entity, which caused wide backlash in particular from the Muslim community and led to his resignation from the position. It was not strange of him to take such a leading role in the complaint and to be so publicly vocal in this contempt.
Calling for the truth is mandatory at all times and places and the threat of injustice will not be able to silence this, by the will of Allah.
Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir in Australia
