Eva Shteinman neatly explains the misuse and abuse of the word antisemitism by both Zionists and those who uncritically support the government of Israel (“A Jewish academic at Sydney Uni, I’m not seeing antisemitism”, October 4). To be described as antisemitic because one opposes the destruction in Gaza is an effort to shut down discussion of what some describe as war crimes. It is quite possible to be opposed to the government of Benjamin Netanyahu and his policies as well as opposed to Hamas and its actions. Certainly we don’t progress a reasonable discussion about human rights and a peaceful resolution of the conflict by demonising one side and blindly siding with the other. Colin Hesse, Nowra
Opposing the government of Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is not the same as being antisemitic, says Eva Shteinman.Credit: AP
At last, a breath of fresh air has purified the racist hate that is polluting reason and truth over the Middle East disaster. Eva Shteinman’s article says it all. If you criticise Israel’s actions, you are not necessarily an antisemite, just as criticism of the Arab response does not constitute Islamophobia. We don’t need hate, we don’t need violence. What we need are more Shteinmans among the leaders of both sides so the killing can stop. Andrew Caro, Greenwich
Thank you, Eva Shteinman, for confirming what I’m sure many have suspected. As it is so easy to make claims of antisemitism, racism or sexism, the media has a responsibility to investigate the accuracy of such claims before reporting them. Richard Tainsh, Potts Point
Eva Shteinman’s words are a reminder that there is a huge difference between deploring a government, such as the current far-right Israeli government, and being biased against a religious group. Many people recoil at the dishonesty of being censured with the antisemitic trope for simply questioning the Israeli government’s ongoing attacks in Gaza in retaliation for October 7. Michael Davis, Balmain East
Hatred v humour
Waleed Aly constructs a false equivalence when he attacks Peter Dutton’s great concern over the freedom to assemble under symbols of terrorism, and Dutton’s lesser concern about acts that merely risk offence (“Free speech champions no more”, October 4). As something of a joker on Network Ten’s The Project, Aly ought to appreciate there’s a world of difference between hatred and humour. The world cannot have forgotten “je suis Charlie” already. Mitch Geddes, Palm Beach
Waleed Aly shows us how Peter Dutton is unable to see, understand or remember the distinction between a symbol and its consequence. He doesn’t seem able to remember legislation he voted for. His myopia is his outstanding qualification to be a populist demagogue. Mark Porter, New Lambton
Asking for consistency and applying logic and facts to Peter Dutton’s most recent stance on free speech is a mug’s game, Waleed. When Dutton speaks nowadays it’s not about the truth or his or the Liberal Party’s values, but about the wedge and the disruption. He’s in election mode and he’s singing from Donald Trump’s songbook. He seems to know what enough people want to hear and he’s happy to oblige. He may believe it, or he may not, but that’s not the point. Prue Nelson, Cremorne Point
Waleed Aly, how does chanting “death to America, death to Jews” not qualify as incitement of violence? Imagine if a crowd were waving KKK flags chanting “death to blacks, death to gays”. I cannot imagine that you personally or the Australian public would find this acceptable and that it would not meet the threshold of intimidation or incitement of violence. Dov Hersh, Clovelly
Comedian and political commentator Waleed Aly.
Waleed Aly has made an important point regarding Peter Dutton’s understanding of the laws he passed. If this is really the case, how is he expected to take the high office of prime minister? Peng Ee, Castle Cove
What a sensible, balanced view of the role of free speech in a democratic society was presented by these two opinion pieces by Eva Shteinman and Waleed Aly. Why is it that the responses by politicians, Zionists or Palestinians to any event or proposition often leaps to the extreme views instead of allowing reasonable discussion of the positives or negatives in any given situation? What is their real goal in amplifying the differences, even allowing for obvious outrages of behaviour or statements which need to be decried? It seems they are hoping to achieve or retain power in their own right rather than working for a fair and just outcome for the greater good of most people in a society. Hard as it is, perhaps humanity may one day achieve a better balance of assessments and management than we currently endure. Let’s hope. David Harwood, Lauderdale (Tas)
Hope for peace
The compromise on the pro-Palestinian protest is being viewed as a win by both sides (“Protest, vigil to proceed”, October 4). It remains to be seen whether that is true, but it does provide hope that the intransigence displayed in the Middle East conflict has not wholly embedded itself in our community. May those who strive for peace let their actions match their words. Philip Cooney, Wentworth Falls
Shockwaves live on
If Britain’s MI6 and the US’s CIA had not fomented the revolution in Iran that led to the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Western-educated lawyer Mohammed Mosaddeq in 1953, and installed the brutal regime of the Shah protected by the CIA and Mossad-trained secret police, the Middle East most likely would not be in the turmoil it is today. Why did Mossadeq have to go? He wanted Iran to receive a fair share of its oil revenue. The Shah’s regime was possible only because of the brutal suppression of the opposition, which finally led to the Islamic revolution in 1979. Timothy Ashton, Katamatite (Vic)
Tangled Webb
For crying out loud, the gifts were bottles of mere gin – not bottles of Grange, less still Cartier watches (“Webb’s gin gift to PR firm funded by taxpayers”, October 4). “Much ado about nothing” springs to mind. Edward Loong, Milsons Point
As a taxpayer, may I assure MP Rod Roberts, that with so much to worry about in the world, when it comes to two bottles of gin and the circumstances of their purchase, I don’t care. Elizabeth Corbett, Mosman
Women on the path to peace
I am certainly not the only female correspondent who welcomes Judy Hungerford’s plea that women be given a chance to bring peace (Letters, October 4). If men’s contribution to the creation of the human beings tasked with wiping out their fellow human beings in war was commensurate with that of women – 40-plus years of menstruation, nine months of discomfort in pregnancy, the pain of giving birth – perhaps they would think twice about putting lethal weapons into the hands of young men (mostly) to send them out to kill their fellow young men, and they might consider a better method of dispute resolution. Merran Loewenthal, Birchgrove
Judy Hungerford must be a young lady. Her calls for women to run the world in order to achieve peace suggest she doesn’t know or remember some of the fiercest women warriors, such as Golda Meir, Sirimavo Bandaranayke and Margaret Thatcher. If we look closer to home, we see strong women such as Nancy Wake, Sussan Ley and Bronwyn Bishop. Even further back, Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria, Joan of Arc and Boadicea all led forces into battle with as much prowess as their male counterparts. It would be wonderful if Judy’s dream could become a reality, but humans are humans and those driven by power will always follow the path of violence, regardless of gender. Adrian Bell, Davistown
Sadly, there have been too few women in power in recent times to test if they would perpetuate “circular revenge” as automatically as male holders of power do. However, after acknowledging some impact from testosterone and patriarchy, my impression is that war and revenge, and the hideous destruction so accurately described by your correspondent, are driven mainly by greed, fear and hatred – none of which are exclusively male traits. Tom Mangan, Woy Woy
I thank Judy Hungerford for her observation that women in power would find a better way than war for resolving conflicts. I have often thought the same myself. In the present context Judy, and your readers, might like to ponder the fact that Israel did at one time have a woman in charge, prime minister Golda Meir, but the chances of this happening in any other Middle Eastern country are sadly, less than zero.
Steve Davidson, Warrawee
Greens ripen
A senator accused of bullying, Adam Bandt ducking questions and letter writers calling out policies as impossible populism (“Bandt ducks queries on MP bully claims”, October 4). It looks like the Greens have finally become a fully fledged political party, just as good as Labor or the Coalition. Colin Stokes, Camperdown
Adam Bandt touts the Greens as the only party that has all the answers to the country’s problems, and is prepared to hold our political system to ransom. But when called to address an issue in his own party, he can’t take the heat and runs for cover. Maybe he should get Max Chandler-Mather to come up with some convoluted solution. Ian Adair, Hunters Hill
Adam Bandt and senator Dorinda Cox (inset), who has been accused of bullying.Credit: Ten News, Alex Ellinghausen
Memo to Albo
C’mon Albo, show some intestinal fortitude (“PM needs to be a better salesman”, Letters, October 4.) You could lose your job in under eight months, even if you act boldly. Banning gambling ads on TV and on the internet would be a good start. It may lose you some donations, but it would be a vote-winner. Become a landlord. Set up a government entity to build, own and rent housing on a large scale, even if it means a budget blowout. You could even promise to minimise the perks of investment property owners if you win the next election.
Climate change is trickier as fossil fuels are a big export earner, but a slowdown on developing new mines and gas fields and spending big on encouraging consumers and industry to go green would help Australia approach net zero by 2050, even if it further increases the budget deficit. And if you lose the next election, the Coalition would inherit the deficit, a situation the previous Coalition government lived with for years. Ian Falconer, Turramurra
Cult of outrage
Sussan Ley might well call for deportation of “visa holders” if they are proven to have violated Australian laws (“Sussan Ley calls for protest leader to be ‘put on the first flight back to Iran’”, smh.com.au October 4). Most would concur, particularly regarding protests over distant conflicts in which we realistically have no practical influence. However, Ley and her Coalition colleagues fail to see how their cult of sustained outrage incites more local division and intolerance. Media is currently dominated by the escalating violence in the Middle East. With apparently unsolvable conflicts raging in the background, why would any politician in a nation so fortunately peaceful persist with a modus operandi of angry outrage that normalises division and maintains dangerous, negative political tit for tat? Robyn Dalziell, Kellyville
Brown in the clear
Did Neil Kenzler forget or was he out of the country when Bob Brown and the Greens were instrumental in persuading the minority Gillard government to introduce a carbon price (Letters, October 3)? As for starting a climate war, a carbon price was bipartisan until Tony Abbott deposed Malcolm Turnbull. It was that which drastically reduced the scope for negotiations on climate policy, not any action of Bob Brown. If you are going to debate history, learn some. Jim Allen, Panorama (SA)
League of its own
AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon says “rugby league is a terrible game to watch”. As AFL goes into hibernation until next season, a sell-out crowd will be at the NRL grand final, plus a huge domestic and international television audience, watching two great teams battle it out. Then rugby league brings on the Pacific Championships, where thousands will watch live and on television. So much for a terrible spectacle.
John Cotterill, Kingsford
Postscript
As we approach the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel, I’d like to thank the letter writers for their even-handed contributions to the debate.
There will be mass protests on the streets of Sydney this weekend; we all hope they pass without violence or injury. But in the words of this week’s column from Eva Shteinman, we cannot allow reactions to the ongoing war “to undermine our hard-won freedoms of speech, assembly and protest”.
Here at the Herald our commitment to independent journalism includes seeking comment from our readers to guarantee fairness and balance. In these challenging times, maintaining balance on the letters pages is an ongoing issue and I’m grateful to you all for assisting.
Meanwhile, the most popular column this week was James Massola’s well-researched piece, The lingering influence of Tony Abbott and Peta Credlin on Peter Dutton.
Geoff Nilon wrote in: “Almost a decade after Abbott and Credlin, now a Sky News host and News Corp columnist, left office, Liberal MPs are sounding the alarm about the influence the pair has over the strategy and tactics of the federal opposition.
“Until now, when nominations have been called for Australia’s worst prime ministers, Abbott and Morrison have been foremost. For (Dutton) to be an Abbott/Credlin pawn is disastrous, both for his party and the country.”
Reg Richardson disputed this assessment. “In my view, that title well and truly belongs to Billy McMahon, whose reputation was slightly enhanced by having a beautiful wife.”
Are there any younger readers out there who would like to write us a letter? The Herald covers so many topics that directly affect the young – housing affordability, intergenerational inequity, education and schooling, social media and much more. The teenagers and twenty-somethings I meet are not short of smart opinions and we would like to hear them. Younger readers – write to us! We have much to learn from you.
Margot Saville, Letters editor
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