Support for Palestine is abundant in Australia. Support for Israel is also plenty. But in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's Labor Party there seems to be little room for discussion on the issue that has nearly brought the world to the brink of another World War.
In the spotlight is an Afghanistan-born lawmaker Fatima Payman, who with her Palestine stand has hit out at the Prime Minister and her own party in the dock.
Not that the Australian Parliament hasn’t felt the political ripples of the war, over the last month, rifts and fissures have emerged, with Fatima calling the months-long Israel response to October 7 Hamas attack a genocide.
Senator Fatima has become a black sheep. Her views have significantly differed from the Australian government, which does not recognise a Palestinian state but favours a two-state solution.
The only Hijab-clad federal lawmaker has been indefinitely suspended from the caucus. Defiantly she has responded saying she is punished for walking with her Muslim brothers and sisters who been voiceless for far too long.
"I walked with the people of Palestine, for the 40,000 killed, for the hungry and scared boys and girls who now walk alone without their parents and for the brave men and women who have to walk alone without their children," she said.
But why has she borne the brunt? For that a 130-year-old precedent of the Labor Party needs to be decoded. The precedent states that anyone crossing party lines and compromising on unanimity is subject to such strict penalties from the Labour Party.
While her own party is gunning for her head, the support for Fatima has come from unexpected quarters. Reacting to her revolt, Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns said balancing such perspectives can be difficult but must be done in a respectful manner.
In contrast, Fatima received pushback from Labour colleague Anne Aly, a lawmaker who was most expected to throw her support behind the Senator. Anne has been one of the biggest advocates of ending the hostilities in Gaza but distanced herself from Fatima.
"I choose to do things in a way I think will make a material difference on the ground. Fatima chooses to do it her way," she told local media.
Prime Minister Albanese also had sharp words for Fatima and stopped short of branding her a defector. He claimed that no individual is bigger than the team.
While it is unclear how long Fatima's political "exile" would last, the conflict in Gaza has been long-drawn. Nearly 38,000 people have been killed since Israel launched a its war on Gaza in October of 2023.
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