Australian cricketer Usman Khawaja has yet again shown his strong support for Palestine and the people of Gaza by condemning the latest act by the Australian radio station SEN. Khawaja has slammed SEN for sacking the veteran cricket broadcaster and prominent journalist Peter Lalor for supporting Palestine.
Peter Lalor’s X feed is full of reposts highlighting Israeli attacks in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli detention and much more, which reportedly made SEN Radio management and its listeners uncomfortable, and they took the harsh call.
Usman Khawaja comes out in support of Peter Lalor after controversial sacking by SEN
Lalor was in Galle covering the first Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia for SEN when unexpected news came his way. The broadcaster revealed that he had received two calls from senior management on the third day of the match.
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And the next morning, he was officially informed by the station’s chief executive, Craig Hutchison, that his social media activity was the reason that SEN didn’t require his services.
Peter Lalor stated, “I was told there were accusations I was antisemitic, which I strongly objected to. I was told my retweeting was not balanced and insensitive to one side and that many people had complained. I was asked by station boss Craig Hutchison, who was civil, if I didn’t care that my retweeting of events in Gaza made Jewish people in Melbourne feel unsafe.”
I didn’t want anyone to feel unsafe: Peter Lalor
The journalist continued, “I said I didn’t want anyone to feel unsafe. Of course, I care. I have friends who are frightened and have heard the fear in their voices during conversations. It is an awful situation. But so is Gaza. It was a brief and cordial call. The following day Hutchison told me that because the ‘sound of my voice made people feel unsafe’ and that people are ‘triggered by my voice,’ I could not cover the cricket for them anymore.”
As soon as the news went viral, the veteran Australian opener Usman Khawaja expressed his shock at the incident. Sharing the journalist’s statement on his Instagram story, Khawaja labeled Lalor’s sacking “unbelievable.”
Standing up for the people of Gaza is not anti-Semitic: Usman Khawaja
Backing Lalor, Khawaja has stressed that standing up for the people of Gaza is only about justice and human rights, not anti-Semitism. He also felt Lalor deserved more respectful treatment by the SEN Radio, where he worked for more than 10 years.
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In another Instagram story, Usman Khawaja wrote, “Standing up for the people of Gaza is not anti-Semitic, nor does it have anything to do with my Jewish brothers and sisters in Australia, but everything to do with the Israeli government and their deplorable actions. It has everything to do with justice and human rights. Unfortunately, hatred towards the Jewish and Muslim communities will always exist. Pete is a good guy with a good heart. He deserves better.”
Notably, Khawaja had smashed a double ton in the first Test that Australia won by an innings and 242 runs against Sri Lanka. The second and final Test will be played from February 6 in Galle.
