Stop the public expression of racial hatred in the Town of Vincent

This petition concerns the play “Seven Jewish Children” and its proposed staging in the Town of Vincent, Perth, Western Australia.

The playwright, Caryl Churchill, is a patron of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. She wrote the play within a few days of the Gaza war and intended it as a political statement. Her own statement confirms that the play is a “political event”, and not theatre alone.

An article by a prominent columnist, Melanie Phillips, in The Spectator (London) stated the concerns well and concluded as follows – “This is an open vilification of the Jewish people, not merely repeatedly perpetrating incendiary lies about Israel but demonstrably and openly drawing upon an atavistic hatred of the Jews. It is sickening and dreadful beyond measure that the Royal Court theatre is staging this. It is not a contribution to a necessarily polarised and emotional debate. It is open incitement to hatred."

Several recent attempts have been made to host this play in Perth. On each occasion the custodian of the facilities concerned have responded to the sensitivities of those who are offended by the play. They have exercised moral courage and have cancelled the performance.

This play is racial vilification, which is illegal in Australia. These words should not be heard at the North Perth Town Hall, or anywhere. Debate on issues such as the Middle East peace process can occur without portraying Jews as being cold-hearted murderers of innocent people, a clear inversion of the truth.

The Town of Vincent states that one of its guiding values is to exerise “caring and empathy” and their key actions direct the Town to “celebrate cultural and social diversity”. By permitting their facilities to be used to promote hate speech, and by disregarding the sensitivities of the local Jewish community, the Town of Vincent is acting contrary to its values.

We implore the Town of Vincent to cancel the booking of its facility and thereby protect public facilities from being used for rascist expression. The Town has a duty of care to its ratepayers to act responsibly and in accordance with the values of cultural harmony upon which Australia was built.