'Standing up for the people of Gaza is not anti-Semitic'- Usman Khawaja on sacking of Australian journalist Peter Lalor

There have been many instances where sportsman have displayed their political ideologies and have also got into trouble. These instances have taken place in the cricketing world as well which has caused some major controversies in the players and sports personalities who had chosen to involve themselves in these political events. 

One of the biggest political conflicts is taking place in Israel where there is a huge war between the Israeli Jews and the Palestinians which has also led to some disturbing scenes in Gazza. Australian journalist and commentator Peter Lalor who was also commentating on the Test match between Sri Lanka and Australia was sacked from SEN radio for sharing his views on this sensitive political matter where he said that he got some calls that his retweeting on the matter made the Jewish people in Australia feel unsafe.

While some people might not have agreed with Lalor Australia's opening batter Usman Khawaja supported him on his Instagram story mentioning that standing up for the people in Gazza is not antisemitic. 

“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 good guy with a good heart. He deserves better," said Khawaja on his Instagram story. 

Khawaja Gazza shoes incident 

There is a huge reason why Khawaja spoke in support of Lalor since he also faced a lot of backlash for wearing shoes supporting Palestinians in Gazza during a Test match in Perth against Pakistan in 2023. The shoes had a quote saying all lives are equal however in the end the ICC chose to ban him from wearing the shoes in the end. 

Speaking of his recent performances Khawaja had a great Test match against Sri Lanka at Galle where he scored his first-ever double hundred at the Galle International Stadium which Aussies won convincingly by an innings and 242 runs. Khawaja was also the player of the match for his knock.