Australia/Israel Review

Hizb ut-Tahrir’s final antisemitic outburst

In 2026, it seems most Australians have heard of Hizb ut-Tahrir (HUT), the “Party of Liberation”. This pan-Islamic fundamentalist movement, which seeks to resurrect a global caliphate, operates branches in several countries, including Australia. AIJAC has documented HUT’s record of aggressively disseminating hate, conspiracy theories, extremism and antisemitism in this country for nearly two decades.

Thankfully, on March 5 Australian authorities joined numerous other nations in banning the group. Back in January, it was already clear such a ban was one likely outcome of the reforms introduced in the Federal Parliament in the wake of the Bondi massacre. This was a long-overdue step AIJAC had advocated for some time. While the Australian HUT website ceased activity in mid-January, the group released one final explosion of toxic and antisemitic content before vanishing from the internet, seemingly sensing that its time in Australia was finally coming to an end.

Still crazy after all these years: HUT online posts since Bondi

Israel behind the Bondi attack

First, HUT rushed to respond to the December 14 Bondi beach terror attack, publishing (Dec. 18) on its website a manifesto titled “Bondi Attack – A Conversation with the Muslim Community.” 

While the text describes the Bondi massacre as “horrifying personally, politically and religiously,” it immediately ties the tragedy to the war in Gaza: “The world is no longer the same after the genocide in Gaza. We have been numbed to exceptional levels of violence…  Witnessing the events of Sunday only invokes the horrors of what we all experienced over the last two years.”

Worse, according to HUT, some of the Jewish victims in Bondi were not innocent, but were instead accomplices in the “genocide” of Palestinians: “If we are honest to ourselves and each other, realising some of the dead are proud champions of such a genocide leaves us with mixed emotions.”

After refusing to condemn the Bondi massacre – citing the “futility of community condemnations” of terror – HUT floats a conspiracy theory alleging the Jewish state used the attack to divert attention from Gaza: “The elephant in the room which the genocidal entity [Israel] wants to bury is Gaza… which invariably invokes a cycle of reactionary violence.”

The rhetoric against “Zionists” continues, with HUT claiming that “Zionist occupiers… seek to paint themselves as victims… [and] instead inflame anti-Muslim sentiment as a means of political distraction.” As expected, HUT expresses disdain for the then-upcoming — and since enacted — laws designed to combat extremism and the rise of antisemitism in Australia, which HUT dismisses as the “lie of the ‘wave’ [of antisemitism] narrative.”

Conspiracy theories ran amok when HUT hinted that Israel was behind the Bondi attack, using ISIS as a cover: “Netanyahu previously threatened Australia with a wave of antisemitic attacks…  which was followed by exactly that…  the ISIS bogeyman has conveniently reared its head again.”

“You don’t have to be a believer in conspiracy theories to appreciate that only Zionists will benefit from this tragedy,” it concluded. As “proof,” HUT introduced another conspiracy theory – that Israel was central to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal in the US: “If the Epstein scandal has taught us anything, it is that the world is sick of countries being extorted to appease Zionist demands.”

The manifesto reaches a crescendo with innuendos regarding the loyalties of pro-Israel Australians, implying that “Zionists” should be banned from speaking: “Why are we accepting of local genocidal advocates advancing the interests of the Zionist entity… when it is only making this country less safe? … Zionism is truly making us all less safe!”

Netanyahu behind the ‘fake’ antisemitism wave 

The following day (Dec. 19), HUT escalated its conspiratorial antisemitic tirade by posting, “The Bondi tragedy as a cover for the Zionist entity” on its website. According to the article, HUT is appalled by “the extent to which pro-Zionist advocates are prepared to exploit this [Bondi terror attack] tragedy for political gain.”

The HUT fundamentalists lamented supposedly being the target of a “malicious” campaign, “instigated from halfway across the world” by Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu. The aim of this “Jewish-controlled process”, they claimed, is “to lay the blame on a particular form of antisemitism, ostensibly rooted in a radical, perverted Islam.” They argued that “the ISIS bogeyman made a dramatic reintroduction… after an extended hiatus,” leading to demands for surveillance and proscriptions. HUT’s narrative was that ”Muslim pathology is [seen as] the problem, not occupational violence and the reactionary violence it induces.”

A few weeks later, sensing the threat of an impending ban in Australia, HUT launched a campaign to protect its status. It addressed an open letter (Jan. 7) to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese that was a masterpiece of broken logic and warped historical interpretation.

The letter again focused upon Gaza while, in a revealing choice of historical narration, minimising the Holocaust. It argued instead that “the post-WWII world order was constructed precisely to enable such a genocide [in Gaza], just as it facilitated the first genocide in Palestine in 1947.”

It is unclear why HUT chooses to attack the PM so aggressively – implying he is a Zionist stooge and genocide enabler – if it seeks his favourable intervention. It claims his “continued defence of occupational violence leaves the Australian government forever condemned,” and accuses him of abandoning his activist roots for “political machination that… has its roots outside of Australia.” It also “reminded” Albanese to “put the interests of the Australian people first, not the interests of a foreign genocidal entity” — a striking comment from an organisation explicitly seeking to establish a global Islamic caliphate.

Furthermore, the letter accuses “Zionist advocates” of prioritising “loyalty to the genocidal entity” over Australia, a classic antisemitic trope. HUT repeats the claim that the recent wave of antisemitism in Australia is “fake” and blames Israel supporters for “hoping to rehabilitate the Zionist entity’s image by irrevocably damaging Australia’s.” Regarding new hate speech laws, HUT charges Albanese with Islamophobia, alleging he intends to “raise the spectre of Muslim hate speech… offering nothing but lies and misinformation.”

The letter was accompanied by a campaign statement in which HUT depicts itself as a victim of the “monstrousness of current pro-Zionist demands.” It concludes by claiming HUT has been “cast as the first convenient Islamist bogeyman” and argues that Zionist advocates are “unironically, hoping to tap into [institutional] racism to criminalise the entire Muslim community.”

In other words, if HUT is banned, it certainly wants to exit the scene while staying true to the hateful, antisemitic, extremist and conspiratorial worldview that has always characterised its existence in Australia. 

 

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