JOURNALIST: Minister, the Coalition is calling for universities to break up pro-Palestinian encampments on campus or face fines. Would you support doing that, or universities taking further action about those?
CLARE: There’s always going to be protests in a democracy. There’ll always be protests at universities. There’ll always be protests anywhere in a democracy. What there’s no place for is hate. What there’s no place for is prejudice or discrimination. What there’s no place for is intimidation. What there’s no place for is anti-Semitism or Islamophobia. I think we’ve seen in the lifetime of our grandparents the evil that anti-Semitism can wreak. We’ve seen in our lifetimes the evil that Islamophobia can wreak. Just think about Christchurch. And what we need to do here is just lower the temperature. At a time where parts of our community are being cleaved apart, as political leaders, community leaders, religious leaders, we need to work together to bring the country together, not let it get torn apart.
JOURNALIST: Should they be removed? Or should they be allowed to stay, these camps?
CLARE: What I’ve said to vice-chancellors is that there is nothing more important than the safety of students at our universities. Students shouldn’t be afraid to go to university. Universities have codes of conduct. I’ve asked them to make sure that they implement their codes of conduct. You’ve seen examples over the course of the last week of universities acting on that.
JOURNALIST: Minister Clare, on your previous point, though, about intimidation and anti-Semitism, calls like from the River to the Sea or calls for Intifada, do they rise to the standard? Do they rise to the level of intimidation or anti-Semitism?
CLARE: Any words that stoke fear are intolerable. Any words that stoke fear in our community or make people not want to go to university are intolerable here. I’ve seen people say that those words mean the annihilation of Israel. I’ve seen people say that it means the opposite. I’ve seen people say that they’re slogans that Israeli political parties have used too. What I’d say is this: what I want all Australians to be calling for is a two-state solution. Two countries, two people, two states side by side where people can live in peace without fear, without terrorism, without checkpoints, without occupation.
