We have spent 22 months watching the horror of a live-stream genocide, “man-made” famine and ethnic cleansing in Palestine by the State of Israel and the IDF. Tens of Millions of people across the world have been protesting against this genocide over the last 22 months.
On Sunday, over 50,000 people showed up in Brisbane alone for humanity! The people of Brisbane can see the complicity in ALL levels of government. The LNP and Labor party have blood on their hands!!
I do acknowledge that Cr Cassidy and Cr Collier attended and I know that many Labor members desperately want the federal government to take genuine action. In these 22 months the Albanese government has remained complicit on war crimes against humanity. Shamefully, Penny Wong, Foreign Minister, said, “the F-35 is non-lethal in nature”. When it's clear that the F-35 play a significant role in airstrikes and bombing of Gaza. F-35 components continue to be sold and exported from Australia.
We demand the Albanese government to sanction Israel, call out the illegal occupation, end the two-way arms trade and support humanitarian and medical aid.
The LNP has enabled a genocide and ethnic cleansing through their wholehearted support of a militant, extremist Israeli government. This LNP encourages Israel to kill and maim Palestinians, saying Israel has a right to defend itself, but in their view Palestinians do not have any such rights of defence or resistance, even after 58 years of occupation and apartheid.
The LNP goes against the United Nations, the International legal system, and the International human rights community. The Israeli government National Security Minister has been convicted of spreading racism and supporting terrorism. He and another key Government Minister have been sanctioned by 5 countries including Australia, Norway and the UK. The Israeli Prime Minister is also wanted by the International Criminal Court.
Over 100 humanitarian organisations are demanding action to end Israel’s siege of Gaza. All of the international human rights organisations have stated categorically that this is genocide as well as two Israeli Human rights organisations.
As well as the LNP, the Murdoch Newscorp media, who control large portions of Australian media, have also remained silent on this genocide. Thinktanks closely allied with the State of Israel, the Murdoch media and the LNP political party have spread the dangerous rhetoric that calling out the State of Israel is anti-semitism.
It's important to distinguish Zionism vs Judaism. Many Jewish academics have spoken out to make it clear that Zionism is a settler colonial movement. Judaism is an ancient religion and a cultural identity, while Zionism is a political ideology focused on Israeli nationalism and statehood. There is no question that Jewish people have a long ancient history and connection to the area of Israel and Palestine.
It’s not antisemitism to be anti-Zionist. In fact, weaponising Zionism is only leaving Jewish people more vulnerable to real anti-semitism.
What’s happening in Palestine is not just about religion. It's an economy of occupation that has become an economy of genocide. The Tel Aviv stock exchange increased its value by 179% since the invasion began.
Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on Palestinian human rights demonstrated that Israeli Arms and Tech companies profiteer from the surveillance and killing of Palestinians throughout this genocide. A prominent scholar, Professor Omer Bartov, Israel American, of Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Brown Universities, recently wrote, “I’m Genocide Scholar, I know it when I see it!” - New York Times. Many Jewish people around the world have called out this genocide, “Not in our Name”.
The United Nations defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”.
Israel has destroyed nearly all of Gaza, repeatedly displaced the enclave’s population, killed at least 61,000 people, and imposed a suffocating blockade that sparked deadly hunger in the territory.
We now live in a global world, where this genocide is being livestreamed. We must all take responsibility to call out these crimes against humanity of genocide, occupation and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and send a clear demand to our government to end their complicity.
Check out this video which shows the 50,000+ Brisbane residents that marched for a free Palestine.
To hear about protests and other Palestine-related events happening in Magandjin, head to Justice for Palestine Magan-djin.