brisbane, australia —
A flash mob appeared in Brisbane’s city square wearing double denim and blonde wigs like the legendary Australian singer, dancing wildly to 1980s hits.
In an unlikely pairing, pro-Palestinian protesters have adopted John Farnham’s song “Two Strong Hearts” as their unofficial national anthem. That’s because the lyrics happen to be similar to a political slogan recently banned by the state government in northeastern Australia.
So far, 25 people have been arrested in Queensland under new hate speech laws, which make it punishable by two years in prison for using expressions such as “from river to sea” or “globalizing the intifada”.
Both slogans are regularly used by pro-Palestinian protesters and are highly controversial. Critics say the former calls for the disappearance of the state of Israel from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean and incites violence against Jews. It has been condemned by the US House of Commons for the past two years, and the UK government is considering its use as part of a review of hate speech laws, with a report due in May.
Queensland is so far the only state in Australia to have specific legislation in place for the word, and there are few directly comparable examples around the world. The ban was passed in March, just months after gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish rally at Bondi Beach in Sydney, in the southern state of New South Wales (NSW), in December. “We all must understand that words have turned into vandalism, vandalism has turned into violence and violence has turned into murder,” Queensland Premier David Crisafulli wrote days after the shooting.
When the state proposed banning “From River to Sea,” some pro-Palestinian activists noticed echoes of the banned phrase in Farnham’s ballad “Two Strong Hearts,” which was also released in the United States in 1988 as a duet with Johnny Mathis and Dionne Warwick.
“We have two strong hearts.
Let’s reach out to the sea like a river.”
No one was arrested for singing the lyrics at last Friday’s flash mob. This lyric is not exactly the same as a prohibited phrase, which is prohibited if used for the purpose of threatening, harassing or offending. Exceptions are made for “genuine artistic, religious, educational, historical, legal or law enforcement purposes” and for actions “in the public interest.”
But pro-Palestinian activist Rema Naji said the ban had sent a chill into the local protest movement.
“In my view, these laws are stupid, but they are still serious and very dangerous,” said Nagy, a spokesman for the political group Justice for Palestine Maganzine. “This could risk up to two years in prison.”
After the Bondi attack, Australian authorities came under intense pressure to demonstrate that they were taking strong action to stamp out anti-Semitism.
Queensland moved quickly, proposing and passing legislation within a month to ban what the government calls “terrorist slogans” – a reference to the listed terrorist organization Hamas, whose 2017 constitution includes that language.
It was in February that some observers noticed a line in Farnham’s song. The singer, known to his legions of fans as “Fernsey,” has had mixed success on the international charts, but domestically his powerful ballads have been sung for generations on karaoke machines across the country.
Artist James Hillier, who goes by the stage name Nordacious, began drawing on his iPad, capturing Farnham’s blonde mullet and a watermelon slice, a symbol of Palestinian unity.
“I grew up watching John Farnham. He was the soundtrack of my childhood, so I wanted to create a piece that highlighted the potential absurdity that we’re heading towards,” Hillier said.
“At the time, a lot of people pushed me back and said I was exaggerating, and at the end of the day, what I half-jokingly did literally became reality.” The design was printed on T-shirts for sale on Hillier’s website, but police called him and advised him to remove it.
Sydney-based artist Scott Marsh flew to Brisbane and painted Farnham’s face on the wall of the city’s car park. He criticized the law as a “ridiculous government overreach” and setting a “very dangerous precedent.”
Ever since word spread about this mural, it has been defaced. The words “From the River to the Sea” were overwritten and later added back in rough spray-painted scribbles (not by the artist). Mr Marsh said he had not received a call from police but was in no rush to return to Queensland.
So despite concerns about the police response, protesters danced in Brisbane’s King George Square on Friday, raising their arms, waving fluorescent sweatbands and rocking colored tights as the music of Two Strong Hearts filled the air.
“The purpose of this bill is to narrow the space in which people can express Palestinian solidarity,” said organizer Ellen Roberts.
“The intention for our flash mob action was to push back hard and recreate a space based on this iconic Australian song in the most fun and entertaining way.”
A representative for Farnham told CNN that specific permissions and appropriate licenses are required to use the recordings. “At this time, no such permission or license exists for the use of this recording,” the statement said.
Hillier declined to comment when asked if the singer’s representatives had contacted him about the use of his image.
No arrests were made for any of the flash mob participants, but the “joyful” atmosphere dissipated on Saturday when around 20 people were arrested for saying or displaying banned words at a rally held to test the boundaries of the law. Two more people were arrested on Sunday, bringing the total number of suspects to 25.
A Queensland Police spokesperson said officers were enforcing the law, adding: “The application of the law will ultimately be determined by judicial review through the courts.”
“Everyone in Queensland has the right to feel safe and free from intimidation and victimization,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
Anti-Semitic attacks have surged around the world since October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants crossed the border into Israel, sparking a furious Israeli backlash, destroying much of the Gaza Strip and killing tens of thousands of Palestinians.
In Australia, synagogues were bombed with incendiary bombs, cars were set on fire and buildings in the Jewish community were damaged. Britain has also seen similar attacks recently, prompting calls for a crackdown on anti-Semitism.
The day after the Bondi attack, David Ossip, chairman of the New South Wales Jewish Parliamentary Committee, said: “For two years, people have been parading through the streets and universities calling for the globalization of the intifada. This catchphrase means kill Jews wherever you find them.”
“Last night, the intifada went global and came to Bondi.”
A commission commissioned by State Attorney-General Michael Daly recommended a ban on the “globalization of the intifada” in New South Wales. But earlier this month he suggested the government was waiting to see what happens in Queensland.
“The law in this area is complex and may face constitutional challenges,” he said. New South Wales’ proposed ban does not include the phrase “river to sea” because the commission found its meaning “disputed”.
In Queensland, protesters plan to challenge the law in the constitutional high court.
Anthony Gray, a law professor at Bond University in Queensland, said there was a reasonable argument that the law violated the country’s implicit freedom of political communication.
He said it could also be challenged as an attempt by the government to censor one view over another. Authorities may also have trouble proving that its use could incite violence, he added.
“There’s not a lot of evidence that just uttering these phrases is likely to lead to violence,” said Gray, who has researched the phrase’s use at pro-Palestinian protests around the world, including in the United States.
Pending the High Court case, further protests are planned, including a River to Sea Fun Run in Brisbane, in a bid to engage a wider public that organizers say may not be concerned about the war in Gaza, but should be concerned about the government’s attempts to censor speech.
“There is a strong political campaign as part of this,” said Palestinian judge spokesman Naji. “As much as we want to win in the courtroom, we want to win on the street.”
