Jews and Palestinians deserve Indigenous respect: Marcia Langton

A rally “For A Free Palestine” protest on the forecourt of The Sydney Opera House.

The loss of thousands of lives in Gaza is unjustifiable. I condemn Hamas. I am horrified and deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the Levant, the Israelis who were murdered and kidnapped by Hamas and the innocent Palestinians who are being used as human shields by Hamas.

As an Indigenous Australian, I can have little effect in stopping these horrors but it is necessary to be clear about a few matters.

“Blak sovereignty” advocates have entwined two extraordinary propositions – one that is simply untrue and one that is a moral outrage. First, they claim that “Indigenous Australians feel solidarity with Palestinians”.

This is false; it is the view of a tiny few, if put in those words. Most of us are aware of the complexity and that there is very little comparable in our respective situations, other than our humanity.

Second, they refuse to condemn Hamas. I am aghast and embarrassed. They do not speak for me. I fear and loathe the possibility of further loss of life in this terrible crisis. I fear also that our multicultural society is being torn apart by people deluded about terrorism who have used their protests as a cover for anti-Semitism.

Our Jewish and Palestinian communities deserve respect and compassion. I do not support the violence we have seen in Australia recently as a result of this conflict.

Hamas are terrorists; Palestinian Islamic Jihad are terrorists. The slogan “Not all Palestinians are Hamas” denies the fact that innocent Palestinians are being used as human shields by these terrorists.

Marcia Langton

No legitimate Aboriginal leader will permit our movement to be associated with terrorists. I can state confidently, based on my long experience in Aboriginal communities and giving advice to Indigenous corporations, that the majority Aboriginal view is a repulsion of terrorism

When 44 per cent of Gazans voted for Hamas in 2006, they precipitated a series of crises, such as the Israeli imposition of siege conditions, and with Iranian military aid to Hamas, their status as human shields.

Hamas has cleverly deluded the Israeli government and most of all Benjamin Netanyahu and his supporters who aided and supported Hamas to avoid the two-state solution.

I am horrified by Netanyahu and the hard-right wing he represents, and urge Israelis to find a way to remove him as soon as possible. Israelis and the Palestinians will suffer while Netanyahu’s stance of totally opposing a two-state solution continues.

Australians like me can do little about the disaster unfolding in the Levant except to support our government to take a reasoned and principled position following international law. So far, that has been the case.

An Israeli flag flys on top of destroyed building next to a mosque in northern Gaza.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Penny Wong have understandably tread a fine line with caution to avoid inflaming tensions that could so quickly spill over into a disastrous regional conflict.

I pray that world leaders who respect life and peace will find a way to end the hostilities as soon as possible. I must agree completely with Kon Karapanagiotidis, Melburnian of the Year, who spoke for the majority.

I grieve for the largest loss of Jewish life in a day since the Holocaust. I grieve for every Palestinian who has died since in the conflict. I grieve for the Israeli families whose loved ones are held hostage by Hamas. I grieve for the displaced, starving and terrified Palestinians who have been displaced in Gaza. Let us not lose our humanity.

Marcia Langton is chair of Australian Indigenous Studies, Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor, at the University of Melbourne.