Pearls and Irritations

To mark the anniversary of the beginning of Israel’s genocide in the Gaza Strip, Jews Against the Occupation ’48 wrote to Prime Minister Albanese, Foreign Minister Wong, and Defence Minister Marles. We have received no reply.

Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong
Minister of Defence, Richard Marles

Sydney, November 20, 2024.

Dear Prime Minister and Ministers,

We will be straightforward.

We had believed that, beneath the realities of political life, you were principled people, with a deep respect for your office and for the law, including international law. We had assumed that you valued Australia’s international standing enough to ensure our adherence to these laws. We had hoped that you, as representatives of the Australian people, would take Australia’s responsibilities as a member of the international community of nations very seriously.

As Australia has signed and ratified the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Conventions (specifically the Genocide Convention, the Children’s Rights Convention, and the Refugee Rights Convention), we had expected ethically coherent and legally appropriate actions from you in response to the unspeakable harm Israel has unleashed on Palestine.

We have been hoping and waiting in vain. Nothing in the past twelve months has propelled you into meaningful action.

No number of Palestinian children killed or maimed and traumatised for life; no number of Palestinians, including minors, tortured and raped in Israeli prisons and detention camps; no number of civilians driven from place to desolate place in forced evacuations;

No amount of wanton destruction of Palestinian towns, villages, schools, hospitals, farmland, universities, homes, markets, libraries, museums, cultural and religious sites, refugee camps, trees, animals, or essential civilian infrastructure (such as water purification plants, solar energy panels, and sewerage systems); No level of deliberate starvation inflicted; no amount of humanitarian aid blocked; no type of illegal or experimental weapon used on a captive population, inflicting previously-unknown injuries impossible to treat due to the catastrophic conditions;

None of these egregious crimes has awoken any humanitarian impulse.

No number of UN and other aid workers murdered; no number of doctors and nurses killed or kidnapped; no number of journalists shot dead; no amount of indiscriminate or AI targeted bombing; No number of petitions and open letters by medical professionals, by legal experts, by journalists, by trauma specialists, by holocaust historians, by academics and students, by human rights groups, by dismayed and horrified citizens both young and old of every faith and background; no number of impassioned speeches in the UN assembly; not even the measured and explicit rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) calling for an immediate and unconditional stop to Israel’s illegal onslaught, its unlawful occupation and apartheid regime;

None of it has prompted any recourse to appropriate diplomatic response.

You must be aware of the ongoing horror. It is your duty to remain up to date about events of such momentous nature. Therefore, you know, or should know, of the many credible reports debunking Israel’s lies and propaganda, including those about what happened on October 7th. You know, or should know, that the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) acknowledges activating the Hannibal Directive, thus deliberately killing many Israelis lest they become hostages; that no babies were beheaded; and that there is no verifiable evidence of systematic rape. Furthermore, that Israel refuses to cooperate with the UN body attempting to report on the horrific events of that day.

Likewise, it would be irresponsible of you not to have familiarised yourselves with the historical context of current events. You know, or should know, that Israel’s genocidal war on the Palestinian people did not begin on October 8th 2023; and that the Gaza Ghetto uprising was the logical and full-blown outcome of decades-long incremental ethnic cleansing, ruthless siege, brutal military occupation, and cruel apartheid.

Does it not worry you that Australia, through trading with Israel, including with weapons and surveillance companies, and providing diplomatic cover in the UN, entailing subservience to the US and to our own Israel lobby, is complicit in Israel’s crimes?

Israel has made it abundantly clear that it does not want a ceasefire, not even at the cost of its own citizens’ lives. Nor will it countenance a Palestinian State. On the contrary, it is expanding its lethal attacks on the illegally occupied West Bank, with the obvious objective of de facto annexation. It aims to annihilate the Palestinian people and their identity by brute force, while provoking surrounding countries and risking escalation to regional war. Israel has become a rogue state, operating with impunity, and blaming its victims.

The UN long ago concluded that Israel’s control over the Gaza Strip constitutes occupation, thus denying Israel any right to “defend” itself. The ICJ has left the world in no doubt that this occupation and siege are unlawful, along with Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, and its annexation of the Golan Heights. The ICJ has also concluded that Israel practises apartheid. Its ruling calls on all countries to withdraw support for Israel while it continues to act unlawfully, and has clearly spelled out that whoever insists on enabling these crimes is complicit.

Are you therefore not only defying the highest court in the world, but even justifying Israel’s genocidal onslaught in Gaza, its occupation and apartheid? Could it be that you cannot find the courage to deviate from the ‘ironclad commitment’ of the US and take a sovereign decision? Does your ambition to propel Australia into the top ten players in the global armaments industry outweigh your obligation to restore our country’s increasingly damaged international reputation?

Maybe you are being bullied by the Israel lobby, including the right-wing Christian Zionist movement in this country? It is no longer plausible to claim that criticism of the State of Israel, condemnation of its barbarity, and the demand for Israel to respect international law are antisemitic. Perhaps it is convenient for you to have cover for your apparent inhumanity and your own contempt for international law.

However, after more than a year of prevarication and appalling inaction, do you deserve the benefit of the doubt? Australians sickened by Israel’s shocking violence and outraged by its impunity are reeling. We want to know why you have not implemented the most peaceful and effective way of bringing this hellish catastrophe to an end: a complete boycott, sanctions and divestment policy on Israel? Surely that would be the least Australia could, and should, do.

We are asking these blunt questions because we demand accountability from our government. We expect a substantive, comprehensive, and timely response. History will not absolve Israel, nor its allies, be they wilfully blind or not.

Sincerely,

Jews Against The Occupation ’48

We are seeking endorsements for subsequent letters. If you would like to endorse this open letter (your name and organisation/position if any will be public) please email admin@jao48australia.org

Endorsements
Organisations

1. Loud Jew Collective (LJC)
2. Jews for Palestine Northern Rivers
3. New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL)
4. Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN)
5. Unionists for Palestine Victoria
6. Pax Christi Australia
7. Green Left
8. Sydney Peace and Justice Coalition (SPJC)
9. Peoples Climate Assembly (PCA)
10. Palestine Justice Movement Sydney (PJMS)
11. Palestine Action Group Sydney (PAG)
12. Socialist Alliance Sydney
13. Greens for Palestine
14. Wage Peace-Disrupt War
15. Extinction Rebellion Peace ACT
16. Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Justice and Peace Centre
17. Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Australia
18. Free Palestine Albury Wodonga
19. City of Sydney for Palestine
20. Blue Mountains for Palestine
21. Central West for Palestine
22. Just Peace Queensland
23. Lake Macquarie Greens 
24. Christians for Peace Newcastle
25. Newcastle Greens
26. Families For Palestine
27. Free Gaza Australia 
28. Free Palestine Newcastle 
29. Northern Rivers for Palestine
30. No Weapons for Genocide
31. Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network (PIEN)
32. Nurses and Midwives for Palestine (NAMP)
33. Australian Friends Of Palestine Association (AFOPA) 
34. Friends of Palestine Port Macquarie
35. Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine (CJPP)
36. Mums for Palestine Magan-jin 
37. Borderlands Cooperative
38. Top End Peace Alliance (TEPA)
39. Federazione Italiana Lavoratori Emigrati e Famiglie (FILEF)
40. Helios Matheson Analytics Shareholders Consortium (HMASC)

Individuals

1. 1. Mary Kostakidis
   2. Greg Barnes SC
   3. Margaret Reynolds AC, National President WILPF Australia
   4. John Menadue AO
   5. Aran Martin
   6. Ahmad Shboul
   7. Linda Shboul
   8. Rami Meo
   9. Marina Glover, co-founder Friends of Palestine Port Macquarie
   10. Madeleine Thorpe, co-founder Friends of Palestine Port Macquarie
   11. Richard Broinowski
   12. Alison Broinowski, co-Patron Asian Association of Australian Studies
   13. Amirra Hajje
   14. Ali Kazak, former Ambassador for Palestine
   15. Paul Heywood-Smith SC, co-founder AFOPA
   16. Cr Philipa Veitch
   17. Paz Seir
   18. Chip Eling
   19. Sawsan Madina, former Head of SBS Television
   20. Nachshon Amir, Free Palestine Melbourne
   21. Sherri Hilario
   22. Richard Broinowski AO
   23. Lee Rhiannon, Dare to Struggle Films
   24. Fabia Claridge
   25. Michelle Berkon
   26. Yaakov Aharon
   27. Mick Armstrong, National Executive Socialist Alternative
   28. Wendy Bacon, Past Professor of Journalism University of Technology Sydney
   29. Mariam Khmaladze
   30. Esther Berkon, Jews for Palestine Northern Rivers
   31. Alan Musry
   32. Jann Dark
   33. Eva Cox AO
   34. Dr Nicholas Wickham, Co-convenor SA State Committee of Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW)
   35. Graham Jones, co-director Kinetic Energy Theatre Company
   36. Dr Antonina Gentile
   37. Kerry Dwyer
   38. Nicole Dennis
   39. Rosie Cuff
   40. Vivienne Porzsolt
   41. Dr Barbara Bloch
   42. Kim Sattler
   43. Peter Geelan-Small
   44. Rick Kuhn
   45. Finbar Berkon
   46. Vidhya Karnamadakala
   47. Felicity Ruby
   48. Ahmed Abadla
   49. Jepke Goudsmit, co-director Kinetic Energy Theatre Company
   50. Sara Dowse
   51. Dr Ron Witton 
   52. Miriam Margolyes OBE, actress 
   53. Jeremy Rabie
   54. Luke Weyland
   55. Laurie Izaks MacSween
   56. Helen Meekosha
   57. Richard Bevins
   58. Evelyn Williames, co-convenor Amnesty Ashgrove Group Brisbane
   59. Allon J Uhlmann 
   60. Marcelo Svirsky, Senior Lecturer University of Wollongong
   61. James Godfrey 
   62. Asher McManus
   63. Liam Callaghan 
   64. Dr Nick Riemer, Senior Lecturer, Vice-President (Academic) National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) University of Sydney
   65. Surya McEwan
   66. Matthew Wierzbicki
   67. Br John Walker MSC
   68. Persefoni Thliveris
   69. Jayden Mec’e
   70. Carol Powell 
   71. Jim McIlroy
   72. Coral Wynter
   73. Ariel Johnson
   74. Marion Gevers
   75. Alison Harwood
   76. Rachel Evans, Branch Manager Sydney Socialist Alliance
   77. Wasim El-Haj 
   78. Randa Kattan
   79. Pip Hinman
   80. Peter Boyle
   81. Sam Sherry
   82. Sonja Sedmak
   83. Pen McKinley-Rodgers, co-founder Friends of Palestine Port Macquarie
   84. Bruno Di Biase, Adjunct Associate Professor Linguistics Western Sydney University 
   85. Caroline Graham
   86. Alison Howson
   87. Peter Hyland
   88. Ash Phthalo
   89. Ulani Berkon
   90. Taveet Sinanian
   91. Carlos Badelles Agito
   92. Ken Blackman
   93. Giulia Inga
   94. Silvio Ofria
   95. Tom Knowles
   96. Doug Hewitt AM
   97. Peter Murphy, Secretary SJPC
   98. Fr. Claude Mostowik MSC, President Pax Christi Australia, National Director Missionaries of the Sacred Heart Justice and Peace Centre 
   99. Rita Camilleri
   100. Dr Gideon Polya
   101. Nick Deane, Convenor Marrickville Peace Group
   102. Revd Dr Ray Williamson OAM, Vice-President PIEN
   103. Ms Maxine Caron
   104. Mr Gareth Smith
   105. Stefano Perfili 
   106. Nils von Kalm, committee member PIEN 
   107. Jenny Forster 
   108. Fayeza Khan
   109. Dr Chris Johansen, IPAN
   110. Barry Trembath
   111. Wallace McKitrick
   112. Julie Hart 
   113. Thomas Magarey
   114. Paul Magarey
   115. Maureen Todhunter, co-convenor Just Peace Queensland
   116. Amy Blain, Chair PCA
   117. John L Smith
   118. Tamara Jacka, Emeritus Professor
   119. Margaret Reynolds AC
   120. Elise Klein
   121. Ahmed Alabadla
   122. Frances Warren
   123. Mara Hayler
   124. Stephen Brendan Kelly HMASC
   125. Dr David Glanz
   126. Cate Adams 
   127. Helen Rainger, President PIEN 
   128. Brian and Maureen Rainger 
   129. Christine Hunter, IPAN
   130. Edward Down
   131. Andrew Telfer, committee member PIEN
   132. Ruth Telfer, member PIEN
   133. Rosie Hippel
   134. Ali El-Hajj
   135. Brian Arnott
   136. Maureen Arnott
   137. Wendy Brown
   138. Michael Long, IPAN
   139. David Macilwain
   140. Peter Harpas, Secretary IPAN
   141. Jeannie Lucas, Secretary AFOPA 
   142. Dr Kerryn Higgs
   143. Christine Sylva
   144. Robin Booth 
   145. Jo Fenner
   146. Tanya El-Hajje
   147. Judith Treanor
   148. Malcolm Treanor
   149. Callum Treanor 
   150. Ron Beer
   151. Martin Smith
   152. Pat Rix
   153. Catherine Fitzgerald
   154. Miriam Tonkin
   155. Marta Romer
   156. Dr Georgine Clarsen
   157. Shamsulnisa Alam
   158. Socorro C Cifuentes
   159. Nicole Pittorino
   160. Virginia Frost Raison
   161. Ken Raison
   162. Matthew Wierzbicki
   163. Denise McMullen 
   164. Nicole Milinkovic
   165. Arthur Truman
   166. Alison Mackinnon
   167. Paul Desmond
   168. Margaret Pestorius, Wage Peace-Disrupt War
   169. Sue Herbert
   170. Dr Grant Banfield, University of South Australia
   171. Dr Teja Kodali FRACP
   172. Ismaeel Qtaifan
   173. Dr Nandini Choudhury, MBBS FACEM PEM
   174. Elna Tulus
   175. Trish Luker
   176. Paulo Barros Cardoso
   177. Annette Connor
   178. Dr Carlo Gazzola
   179. Dr Annee Lawrence
   180. Christina Emblèm 
   181. Richard R Emblèm
   182. Kathleen Patitsas
   183. Sue Spence
   184. Brian Purcell
   185. Dr Sana Pathan
   186. Colleen Mitrow
   187. Julia Weston
   188. Heather Robinson, Mental Health Chaplain
   189. Saskia Kouwenberg
   190. Dr Eileen Whitehead
   191. Ian P Kruger
   192. Eleanor Putnam, WILPF 
   193. Peter Cleary
   194. Kathryn Dolphin
   195. Matthew Rayner, Australian Greens
   196. Sharon O’Phee
   197. Grace Byass
   198. Sarah Smith, Australian Services Union (ASU) 
   199. Sheri Lochner, Registered Nurse
   200. Wayne Cherrington
   201. Klaus Frohlich
   202. James Stuart Dixon
   203. Dr Laresa Kosloff, Senior Lecturer RMIT University Melbourne
   204. Darryl Nelson, The Archer Earth Community
   205. Raven North
   206. Juanita Spinelli
   207. Evan Sandford Inglis
   208. Lucy Ridsdale
   209. Victoria Green
   210. Brooke Shelton, Mums for Palestine Magan-jin
   211. Dr Jock Churchman
   212. Elliot Orr
   213. Julanne Sweeney
   214. Eleni Nanos
   215. Mei-ing Cheok
   216. Lyn Bender
   217. Ruth Bauer
   218. Helen Pereira
   219. Chloe Vincent
   220. Robert Keyzer
   221. Jose Camilo Ballesteros
   222. Maria Carty
   223. Patrick Naidoo
   224. Barbara Nielsen
   225. Matisse McLennan
   226. Pamela Collett
   227. Peter Philp
   228. Michael Birch
   229. Margaret Bearlin, Quaker Canberra and Region, WILPF, ALP
   230. Marion Cincotta
   231. Dr Jane Thorn
   232. Kathryn Kelly
   233. John Russell
   234. Wendy Flannery
   235. Jack Lomax, status member Tasmanian Friends of Peace
   236. Jan O’Leary
   237. Helen Greer
   238. Deborah Stacey
   239. Donna Mullaly
   240. Dr Angela Molloy Murphy
   241. Gregoria Tamvakis
   242. Sr Anne Shay, Presentation Sisters Lismore
   243. Sheila Addison
   244. Karim Soliman
   245. David Thorn
   246. Vaughan Greenberg
   247. Nat Tunbridge
   248. Ann Marett
   249. Diana Davison Mowle 
   250. Annette Brownlie
   251. Adele Goldie
   252. Dr Philippa Tandy
   253. Fay Waddington, Just Peace for Palestine Queensland
   254. Richard Stone
   255. Peter Collins
   256. Ciarán MacLennan 
   257. Janine Cowie
   258. Jacqueline Henrion
   259. Brett Nutting
   260. Jonathan Heath
   261. Michael Smythe
   262. Judy Gillett-Ferguson
   263. David Fittell
   264. Robert Smith
   265. David Odling-Smee
   266. Meredith Corrigan
   267. Brian Corrigan
   268. Diana McAtee
   269. Robin Rothfield
   270. Treya Derrington, WILPF 
   271. Janette Connard
   272. Hon Sandra Kanck
   273. Karyn Fearnside
   274. Rose Boutin
   275. Denise seabright
   276. Vera Yee
   277. Anna McCormack
   278. Christina Bauer
   279. Dr David King, Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) 
   280. Suzanne McCarthy
   281. Faye Gregson
   282. Clive Leslie Winmill
   283. John Mester, member ALP
   284. Melise Reynolds
   285. James Cruz, Co-convenor ACT Greens
   286. Rob Baker
   287. Alfredo Munoz
   288. Dr Malgorzata Schmidt
   289. Lynda Fletcher
   290. Pippa Robinson
   291. Anna Vanderbom
   292. Andre Mosen
   293. David Nicholas
   294. Jose Alvarez
   295. Richard Barnes
   296. Francine Bartlett
   297. Helen Lockton
   298. Maree Byrne
   299. Dale Dryen
   300. Chris Bouajila
   301. Jacqueline Moldovan
   302. Dr Marian Shanahan
   303. Jan Macnamara-Hammerton, Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR)
   304. Geraldine Gillen, member WILPF
   305. Dr Pam Watson
   306. Lucy Bainger, Rural Australians for Refugees (RAR)
   307. Sha Greenway
   308. Savanna Storm
   309. Reno Russo
   310. Michael Pfahl
   311. Ruth Hartcher-O’Brien
   312. Jan Brahe
   313. Sally Gray
   314. Peter Lockwood
   315. Sarah Cains
   316. Joy Davison-Lee
   317. Maree Tynan, Rural Australians for Refugees Southern Highlands
   318. Ann Newton, Free Palestine Apollo Bay
   319. Dr Jacques Boulet, Borderlands Cooperative
   320. Thelma John
   321. Teresa Sewell-Kasim 
   322. Dr Jess Hartcher-O’Brien
   323. Lynette Chamas
   324. Param Berg
   325. Ann Reed
   326. Kim Brill
   327. Ben Laycock
   328. Cathy Crawley
   329. Susanna Pearson, Greens, Rural Australians for Refugees Southern Highlands
   330. Thomas Goodman, Greens, Rural Australians for Refugees Southern Highlands
   331. Diana Rickard, TEPA
   332. Lachlan Judson
   333. Andrew Morrison
   334. Giles O’Brien-Hartcher
   335. Rosemary Grant
   336. Rina Cohen
   337. Dr Robyn Gilbertson
   338. MichaEL, AFOPA, PIEN
   339. Robin Smith
   340. Lisa Byrne
   341. Jamie Chancellor
   342. Nell Smith
   343. Glin Martin  
   344. Mary Waterford AM
   345. Adam Hadad
   346. David Javid
   347. Dr Raghid Nahhas
   348. Gwyneth Bray, Australians for Justice and Peace in Palestine
   349. Dr L Stanley Martin
   350. Doreen Martin
   351. Ruth Ann Haig
   352. Heather McClelland
   353. Sue Kinneally
   354. Kirsten Mayer
   355. Jola Jones
   356. Joanna O’Brien
   357. Marion Hibbs 
   358. Angela Swan
   359. Sally Waterford
   360. Vandana Herur
   361. Professor Stuart Rees AM
   362. Reeda Kassis
   363. Terry Lustig

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