DayofPal– The Australian government has revoked the visa of a U.S. law professor following remarks made at a pro-Palestine rally on October 7.
The professor described the first anniversary of Hamas’s “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation as a time of “considerable celebration” for its role in raising “global literacy” about Palestine.
An Australian government source revealed that Khaled Beydoun, an associate law professor at Arizona State University, departed the country last week after he was informed that his visa status was under review by Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke.
This came following his “controversial remarks”, as reported by the Guardian on October 16. The visa was then canceled after Beydoun had flown out of Australia.
Beydoun made the remarks at a rally planned by Stand 4 Palestine on the steps of Lakemba mosque earlier this month.
In a speech aired on ABC, he stated, “In many respects, today is also a day that marks considerable celebration, considerable progress, and in some respects, considerable privilege. The level of global literacy around what’s taking place in Palestine has exponentially risen.”
The speech marked the first anniversary of Hamas’s October 7 operation. In response, opposition home affairs spokesperson James Paterson argued that Beydoun’s visa should never have been granted in the first place.
Paterson told Sky News that Beydoun “did prove the point that many of us are making in the lead-up to the rallies on Monday, which is that the only reason you would organise a pro-Palestinian protest on Monday, is if you thought it was worthy of celebration.”
In an interview on the news podcast “The Briefing days later”, Beydoun reportedly clarified that his comments had been misinterpreted.
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