Fatima Payman has attacked the Labor government for applying a “double standard” to incidents of anti-Semitism and Islamophobia in Australia.
The senator accused Australian politicians of having very different responses to the firebombing of Melbourne’s Adass Israel synagogue on Friday and the arson of an Islamic school bus in Adelaide on Sunday.
“Two acts of arson, two acts of hatred, but two very different responses,” Senator Payman said in a heated rant shared to Instagram on Tuesday.
‘A synagogue was tragically set on fire in Melbourne. It was quickly declared a terrorist attack. Leaders across the country condemned it and pledged millions of dollars to support the Jewish community.
‘But in Adelaide an Islamic school bus was set on fire. The police suspect that there were racist motives. Yet there is no outrage, no expressions of support and certainly no declaration of terrorism. Why the double standard?
‘Anti-Semitism is condemned as it should be, but Islamophobia? It is ignored, downplayed or dismissed. This government says it is against hate, but it is clear that not all hate is treated equally.”
However, Senator Payman’s claim that the bus arson was racially motivated was incorrect; SAPOL said on Monday that they had “not found any evidence to date to indicate that the fire was racially or politically motivated.”
A spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia they had no further updates on Wednesday.
Senator Fatima Payman (pictured) has accused the Labor government of a ‘double standard’ when it comes to incidents of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism in Australia
The damage bill from the attack on the Adass Israel synagogue is expected to run into the millions
The school bus, owned by the IQRA Islamic College in Adelaide’s south, was set on fire just before midnight on Sunday and while police believe the fire was deliberately set, it is not believed to have been a racially or politically motivated attack .
No one was injured in the fire, but the bus was severely damaged.
The arson attack on the Adass Israel Synagogue, which destroyed the building, has been declared an act of terror as police continue to hunt for three suspects.
It is believed the perpetrators set fire to the building early Friday morning as worshipers arrived for morning prayers on the eve of the Jewish Sabbath.
Terrified worshipers were forced to flee the building, with two people suffering minor injuries.
Damage from the attack is expected to cost millions of dollars, with the synagogue almost completely destroyed by the fire.
Senator Payman has been a senator for Western Australia since 2022, initially for Labor before becoming independent and then founding her own political party, Australia’s Voice, in October.
Earlier this month she unleashed a vicious parliamentary attack on Pauline Hanson, accusing the One Nation leader of racism and claiming she was ‘disgracing humanity’.
The bus, owned by the IQRA Islamic College in Adelaide’s south, was set on fire on Sunday
Senator Payman was responding to Senator Hanson’s filing of a document stating that her Afghan citizenship disqualified her from serving in Parliament.
Section 44c of the Australian Constitution prevents anyone who holds citizenship of another country from sitting in parliament.
But Senator Payman says she has legal advice showing she can serve as senator because she has taken all steps to renounce her Afghan citizenship, and the Taliban-controlled state has not yet responded.