Australian cricketer, Usman Khawaja, has criticized radio station SEN for dropping journalist, Peter Lalor over his posts on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Peter Lalor, a respected cricket journalist, had recently shared posts on X highlighting Israeli military actions in Gaza, Palestine.
Following discussions with the broadcaster, he was informed that his posts were deemed unbalanced and offensive to certain audiences.
Khawaja, who has openly supported Palestinians, defended Lalor in an Instagram post, stating that supporting the people of Gaza was not anti-Semitic.
“It is about justice and human rights,” he said, adding that discrimination against both Jewish and Muslim communities must be addressed.
SEN’s chief, Craig Hutchison, acknowledged Lalor’s contributions but emphasized the need to consider the concerns of affected communities.
Lalor, however, rejected accusations of bias or antisemitism, maintaining that his posts were meant to raise awareness.
The incident follows rising Islamophobic and anti-Semitic tensions in Australia amid the Gaza conflict, which began in October last year.
Meanwhile, Australia leads the Test series 1-0 against Sri Lanka, with the second match set to begin in Galle on Thursday.