Letter

In response to As Netanyahu moves toward full takeover of Gaza, Israel faces a crisis of international credibility

We're there: The shame of leaving it too late

The genocide continues and still all we get from our government is words, words totally ignored by the Israeli Government and its supporters. No action. No BDS. No recognition of Palestine.

But our PM says recognition of Palestine is “only a matter of time”. What a meaningless comment. It’s not time, but what happens in time that is important. What is Anthony Albanese waiting for, what has to happen, in that unspecified length of time, for him and his government to formally recognise Palestine and its people? Is he waiting for the genocide to be complete? Or is he waiting for permission from the US, complicit in the genocide as it is? Or is he waiting for Palestine to unilaterally surrender the hostages and its land, for they amount to the same thing?

And will Albanese be one of those hypocrites of whom that popular meme says, “One day everyone will have been against this genocide”? Because coming too late to doing something beyond mouthing meaningless words will not remove the stain of shame.

— Margaret Callinan from Hawthorn VIC 3122