A former AHRC employee claims that management views her Palestinian identity as a risk and passes information about her to a “shock moderator.”
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Green Senator Mehreen Faruqi undated (Social Media)
Human rights lawyer Sara Saleh claimed that senior management at the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) viewed her Palestinian identity as a risk and even leaked details about her to a right-wing commentator, a Senate meeting heard.
Saleh, who worked as a legal researcher at the commission, is one of at least seven staff members who have resigned in the last quarter. They raised concerns about the AHRC’s treatment of staff who express support for the Palestinians, according to Mehreen Faruqi, deputy leader of the Greens.
Reading extracts from four resignation letters submitted under parliamentary secrecy in the Senate on Wednesday, Faruqi pointed to growing internal discord. She said: “Sara Saleh’s resignation letter mentioned that her identity was considered a risk by the management and that a right-wing smear article was circulated about her.”
Guardian Australia reported that the “smear article” targeted the appointment of Sara Saleh to the AHRC and criticised her public support for the Palestinians and her anti-Israel stance. The article was then distributed to Commission staff as part of the daily media round-up.
In her resignation letter, read on the Senate floor by Mehreen Faruqi, Saleh said the “intentional dissemination” of a “defamatory” newspaper article was “outrageous, damaging to my reputation and deeply hurtful.” She added that it sent a chilling message to staff of color and signaled that the commission could disseminate hostile comments about them in the future.
Read more: Professors fired for pro-Palestinian statements and solidarity
In July 2GB Radio host Ray Hadley claimed in an “exclusive” report that the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) had confirmed Sara Saleh’s resignation. Saleh’s resignation letter, quoted by Mehreen Faruqi in the Senate, revealed that this information was shared against her will, allowing “radio scandal-mongers and others to publicly humiliate me and attack my reputation.”
Another former staff member, Hiero Badge, also raised concerns in his resignation letter, claiming that there was an “internal suppression of pro-Palestinian perspectives and voices” within the commission. Faruqi shared these details under parliamentary secrecy, pointing to a broader problem of suppressed expression regarding Palestinian support within the AHRC.
“I was once informally reprimanded by a senior official for using the phrase ‘from the river to the sea’ on my personal social media. I was also informally reprimanded for summarizing a UN press statement on the situation of women and girls in Gaza,” Badge’s letter said.
Another resignation letter, quoted by Faruqi, alleged institutional racism and hostile working conditions at the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC). Faruqi attempted to submit the four letters to the Senate, but her request was rejected.
A global campaign against pro-Palestinian views has had far-reaching consequences. Staff, professors, students and others face serious consequences for expressing their support for Palestine, including job losses, academic setbacks and social backlash, highlighting the increasing suppression of pro-Palestinian voices around the world.
Just last month, on July 10, the Cultural Workers Against Genocide (CWAG) claimed that fourteen ICA employees were informed of their impending dismissals in March.
The staff at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) attributed their dismissal to their pro-Palestinian activism, namely their involvement in the publication of a letter on the ICA’s website calling on the institution to boycott “Israel” in light of the genocide in Gaza, the Cultural Workers Against Genocide (CWAG) claimed.
