“Zionism unmasked is a genocidal, white supremacist, racist movement, and when given the opportunity, with western consent, to unleash its ferocious racist terror, it will kill and destroy everything in its path.” – Quote from Nasser Mashni in A Slow Burn Ethnic Cleanse: APAN’s Nasser Mashni on the South African ICJ Genocide Case, Article by Paul Gregoire (January 2024).
You may have seen his charming face alongside Foreign Minister Penny Wong. Or perhaps you have seen media footage of him leading the way on the frontline of anti-Israel protests, walking arm in arm with predictable sympathisers such as David Shoebridge from the Australian Greens. Upon first glance, he presents as intelligent, handsome, suave, well dressed, and dapper in appearance and demeanour. Nasser Mashni is the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) President and represents an existential threat to the long term safety and security of the Australian Jewish Community through his political and communal agenda.
The APAN often fly under the radar of mainsteam Australian journalism. However, it’s important to become aware of not only the APAN’s current goals and activities, but also understand more about Nasser Mashni who is the public face of this relentless organisation that is dedicated to the descruction of the Jewish State.
According to a Herald Sun article from November 2023, “the leading Palestinian spokesman in Australia is a criminal with convictions for kidnap, violence and threatening behaviour, it can be revealed. Nasser Mashni was 22 years old when he chased a child, beat him with a wooden axe handle, shoved him into the boot of his car and drove him to an abandoned paddock where he threatened to break his legs. Mr Mashni received 23 months in prison after pleading guilty to false imprisonment, intentionally or recklessly causing injury and one count of threatening to inflict serious injury in June 1992. This sentence was wholly suspended on appeal in August 1992, meaning he remains convicted of the crimes, but would only have served time behind bars if he committed another offence within 12 months.”
Interestingly, one of APAN’s Board Members is in fact Jewish. Jordy Silverstein. The APAN’s website describes her as “a Jewish historian and writer based at the Law School at the University of Melbourne. She has worked extensively with Palestinians in Australia, Palestine and elsewhere.” The APAN Board currently comprises the following individuals:
This is all happening right on our front door. The APAN have a strong and supportive relationship with the City of Melbourne (and their most recent Mayor Sally Capp). This is evidenced by the APAN’s 2023 Annual Report, where it states that “for the first time since 2019, APAN was able to host the Palestine National Day event in person in Federation Square in November 2022. City of Melbourne funding assisted the event to grow significantly, so our stall holders were hosted in tents, we were able to use all the technology available at Federation Square.”
The APAN have clout and influence at the top of the political tree. Nasser Mashni met with Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Victorian Labor MP Ged Kearney in November 2023, despite him proudly praising members of Islamic Jihad, which has been categorised as a terrorist organisation by successive Australian governments since 2004. Nasser Mashni is also on public record calling for the destruction of the State of Israel and claiming that all the “power structures that exist in the world focus upon Zionism.” He regards Israel as an illegitimate example of “settler colonialism” and is a leading proponent for promoting the apocalyptic chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” During this time, Nasser Mashni went on record with the Sydney Morning Herald, arguing that “it should not be controversial to point out that Israel was an outpost of imperialism, or to advocate against Zionism which should indeed fall over because it values and privileges Jewish life while destroying Palestinian lives. The liberation of Earth starts with the first domino, and that’s the overcoming and the decolonisation of Palestine and the ending of Zionism.”
It comes as no surprise that the Australian Labor Party (ALP) has been cosying up with pro-Palestinian elements for some time now. Our esteemed Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, was a founding member of the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine. The APAN’s strong relationship with the ALP is evidenced in the APAN’s 2023 Annual Report which stated that: “In August 2023, APAN participated in the ALP National Conference, hosting a very successful fringe event which had parliamentary and union speakers who had just returned from our study tours. We also printed hundreds of “Palestine: Its Time” badges which delegates wore with pride during the conference. We had hoped that Labor would strengthen its platform, but the party did repel attempts to weaken the policy.”
The APAN President has also embarked on a financially focused strategy to twist the psyche of Australians against the moral legitimacy of a Jewish State. He is doing so by calling on Australians to contact their own superannuation funds to inquire whether their retirement savings are being used to invest in companies that are linked to the “illegal” Israeli settlements in the West Bank. This campaign was launched by BDS (Boycott, Sanction and Divestment) Australia, which is modelled on the South African Anti-Apartheid Movement. “Make sure your money is not invested to support the continuation of this murderous policy” BDS Australia advises.
Under Nasser Mashni’s leadership, the APAN are proving to be a powerful and effective political lobby group who are steadfastly progressing towards achieving their goals and objectives. As per their 2023 Annual Report: “APAN continued to build on (their) relationships with Federal Parliamentarians. In November 2023, parliamentarians spoke up for Palestine at the UN Day of Solidarity for the Palestinian people. The Australian policy has also seen some promising shifts. There has been a reinstatement of some Australian aid funding to Palestine; the Government reversed the decision indicating West Jerusalem belongs to Israel; and votes at the UN General Assembly have shifted markedly.”
The APAN have proved to be highly effective at meshing and melding together the Palestinian question and the militant elements of the Australian Indigenous leaders in Canberra. Welcome to the stage, Lydia Thorpe. By combining the issues into a common cause, they are successfully influencing particularly young Australians into thinking that both Australia and Israel are aggressive, militant colonialist powers that should be pushed back and ultimately removed from existence. This is a dangerous development which must be challenged by the Australian Jewish Community with full force.
Predictably, elements of the Australian Trade Union Movement have wading their way into unfamiliar political territory by saddling up alongside the APAN and providing direct support. The APAN’s 2023 Annual Report confirmed this, by reporting a study tour to the Israeli-Palestinian region “for Australian Unions, run in conjunction with APHEDA-Union Aid Abroad; where members of numerous unions as well as the Victorian Trades Hall Council participated.” Unsurprisingly, these activities by the Albanese Labor Government and the Australian Trade Union Movement largely flew under the radar of the Australian mainstream media. How convenient.
And if you thought that wasn’t bad enough, Nasser Mashni and the APAN have been on a fanatical mission to lobby Australian Universities against adopting the International Holocaust Rememberance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, to which Australia is a signatory. In an APAN Media Release from March 2024, “APAN commend the Australian National University on their decision to not adopt the divisive and harmful IHRA working definition of antisemitism, and urge other universities to follow suit. The IHRA definition has been widely criticised in Australia and internationally for counting political criticism of Israel’s practices towards Palestinians as antisemitic. These practices have been demonstrated to constitute apartheid by an array of international legal authorities, and by Palestinian, Israeli and international NGOs including Al Haq, B’Tselem, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.”
The main argument being made by the APAN, (as per their media statement) is “that organisations are in practice using this distorted definition of antisemitism to encompass criticism of Israel for its systematic crimes against Palestinians. Israel lobby groups are weaponising the very real threat of antisemitism to stifle dissent and debate of Israel. The IHRA definition has frequently been used internationally as grounds for targeting academics and students who support justice for Palestinians.” The IHRA definition has been heavily criticised by the APAN and many academics, including legal scholars, who say that it stifles free speech relating to criticism of Israeli actions and policies. The IHRA definition, is a non-legally binding statement on what antisemitism is, that reads: “Antisemitism is a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews. Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities.”
By focusing on the Australian tertiary sector where sympathetic academics are open to their distorted views, the APAN are working tirelessly to challenge this globally accepted definition of antisemitism that has been adopted by the following countries to date: Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova. The Netherlands, Macedonia, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay.
Yet another example of the depths that Nasser Mashni and the APAN are willing to go to, in order to shift the narrative favouring a view that the State of Israel, Zionism and World Jewry are to blame for the world’s problems. As Jews, we have seen this play out before and with dire consequences. We must be proactive and get on the front foot to offer a clear, sensible, and truthful view, in response to their relentless tirade of misinformation and accusations. It’s not too late.
6 thoughts on “Spotlight: the cult of Nasser Mashni and the APAN”
Well I think we can rework his opening quote and replace Zionism with radical Muslims and change white supremacist with Radical Islamist and you have an accurate quote to use
Yes, the irony certainly has not escaped me either.
Todah rabah, Adam, for this detailed and very thought-provoking article!
Thanks Lizzie. I appreciate the feedback. Please subscribe to my website for more like this.
Great article Adam. I am sure he looks up the memory of Goebbel’s with such a high esteem. I never thought we’d see what our grandparents experienced in the 1930s in Australia during our lifetimes.
Glad you appreciated the article, Shane. This is why it’s important to raise awareness of such individuals so people know what is going on. You may appreciate some of my other articles too. Have a look around the site.