Pearls and Irritations

The leader of Australia’s Opposition, Peter Dutton, is aligning himself with a proposition about good and evil, civilisation and tyranny, that can only lead to the perpetuation of violence and the glorification of war, not its diminishment. The position of both men is dishonest, self-deluding and dangerous.

Peter Dutton’s agreement with Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel is engaged in a war against evil and tyranny that every civilised nation on earth should support is not the view of thousands of Jewish people worldwide, nor is it the view of the US, Canada, Great Britain, etc. It is outrageous that Dutton is advocating the position of Israel’s extreme right, a position highly disputed within Israel itself, let alone in the world community and a position which has caused terrible suffering and evil to prevail.

Of course there must be a ceasefire and release of captives. And of course there must be commitment to the recognition of Palestine.

Neither good nor evil reside exclusively anywhere. Good to the exclusion of evil most certainly does not reside in the Israeli Knesset. All human beings, all communities and nations are capable of extraordinary heights of morality, sacrifice and goodness, but all are equally capable of rank evil. There is no excusing evil. Excuse based on ‘defence’ or righting wrong, does not diminish evil but reinforces it. To declare one section of the world evil, and by implication another part ‘good’ is to mimic the terrible error of the medieval crusades. This mimicking was of course done by George Bush Jn, resulting in the calamitous aftermath of the Gulf and Afghan wars.

The Hamas attack on October 7, 2023, was pure evil. But in equal measure, the Israeli slaughter of Gazans, the destruction of their homes and infra-structure has been evil on a terrifying scale. In both cases the intention has been to cause as much suffering and devastation as possible.

Dutton’ contribution to this week’s parliamentary debate on a resolution marking the first anniversary of October 7 was ugliness personified. He must be reminded that words have consequences.

The Israeli right wing which he so enthusiastically supports, has called for starvation to be used as a weapon of war. The same Israeli politicians have said killing Palestinians should be rewarded. Equally they have said Palestinians are not humans therefore their killing is warranted. Peter Dutton, your words implying Israel’s moral superiority support these views.

For more than a decade it is well known that Benjamin Netanyahu gave covert support to Hamas to aid his goal of undermining Palestinian political unity and fuelling Palestinian political division and ineptness. Doing this may not in itself be described as evil, but it has had evil consequences for Palestinians and Israelis alike.

That antisemitism has been on the rise across the world, including Australia, is indisputable. Any form of racism is evil. Why its rise? That there are rabble-rousers in every society and in every city square who enjoy any opportunity to demean is certainly true. But this is not the reason. The reason is that Benjamin Netanyahu and the extreme right-wing government which holds him captive have accelerated injustice, suffering, and dehumanising of Palestinians. They have ignited ire amongst global citizenry everywhere. Unfortunately, this ire has fallen on Jewish people as a collective, rather than where it belongs on the promoters of this Zionist pogrom. It is fruitless for Australian politicians to decry antisemitism within Australian society without addressing the reason for its rise. Dutton is politically driven to ugliness in speech, believing as Abbott did, it would be interpreted in the electorate as strength in leadership. In fact, the stupidity of his words, decrying a cease fire and pouring ice cold water on any thought of a Palestinian State, only leads to more misdirected ire.

The current tragic situation did not begin 12 months ago. It is deeply rooted in decades of ill treatment, expulsion into refugee status, abuse, lack of rights, unlawful imprisonment and theft of homes and livelihood by the expanding Israeli State.

Peter Dutton and Benjamin Netanyahu, do you seriously think that the crushing, perhaps annihilation, of the current Hamas guard will permanently ‘fix’ the problem? You are deceiving yourselves. Current actions of the IDF are deepening the resolve of the next generation whom you call terrorist; but self-identify as freedom fighters. No child old enough to remember will ever forget what they have been put through. No amount of force will ever extinguish human resolve to live in freedom, to share the same rights as others, or to break the bonds of servitude inflicted by others.

The actions of October 7 must always be described as evil. (The role or non-role of the IDF is yet to be told).

The never-ending imprisonment of all Gazans is also evil.

As is:

• the imprisonment of Palestinian children
• settler attacks on Palestinian villages
• the imprisonment at scale of Palestinian adults without charge
• unsubstantiated maligning of charitable or humanitarian organisations such as World Vision, UNWRA
• unequal treatment at law of Palestinians and Israelis
• wholesale theft of Palestinian land and assets

Do not expect Israel to ever live without the need for walls, armaments and fear, unless the reasons for such enmity are addressed.

Mr Dutton, by your language and apparent abject disinterest in facts on the ground, you are doing more than any other Australian to contribute to the lack of social cohesion which you so stridently decry.

It is poignantly stated by many Jewish leaders that the strategy of the Israeli government does not speak for Judaism. Thousands of Jews have contributed to values held dear in the free world. The action and behaviour of the Israeli government exists outside these parameters and no, we do not hold the same values as the Israeli government.

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