Israel’s attack on Hezbollah terrorists benefits West too

Although it is essential to recognise the skill, daring and impact of the attacks on Hezbollah had some tragic consequences – as innocent people died in the attacks – it is important for us to recognise the vital and positive contribution this has made, not just to Israel but also to the rest of the Western world. It is perhaps the most successful attack on a terrorist organisation we have ever seen.

It sends a message to these groups: you are not safe wherever you may be and you will be found and destroyed.

From reports, the vast majority of those killed or injured were those carrying the pagers and walkie-talkies and were members of Hezbollah. They were therefore part of an organisation committed to the genocide of the Israeli people. Israel had every right to attack Hezbollah in Lebanon, as Hezbollah has been lobbing munitions into Israel for almost a year now.

Israel has done so in a way that the rest of the West should applaud and support. But we also should say a prayer for the children affected by their proximity to these terrorists.

Nicholas Milns, Maroochydore, Qld

Gemma Tognini provides a compelling rebuke of the “tiresome, predictable, one-sided, ignorant hypocritical Jew-hating diatribe” that characterises the attitudes and actions of the Greens, the useful idiots at our universities and the dysfunctional UN (“Israel deserves our full support”, 21-22/9).

These groups have been aided and abetted by Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who expressed regret that she was unable to support a Palestinian motion calling for Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 borders. Wong stated Australia was forced to abstain as her proposed amendments were not accepted.

This is despite a request from the US, our most important ally, to vote against the motion, thereby supporting the US and Israel in their ongoing negotiations to end the war by pressuring Hamas to release the innocent hostages so cruelly abducted and held for almost a year in horrific conditions, with Red Cross access being denied.

Even the barbaric October 7 attacks on Israel have failed to move the defective moral compass of our government so that it is able to provide the necessary unqualified support for Israel, our only true ally in the Middle East.

Allan Kalus, Windsor, Vic

Thank you, John Anderson, for your wonderful article in The Weekend Australian (“If we fight each other we’ll have no country to fight for”, 21-22/9). The terrible “peace” protest in Melbourne two weeks ago mainly featured the protesters’ hatred for Israel, a hatred that is inexplicable, especially when it’s directed against our own Australian Jews. As Anderson so clearly described, a lot of this hatred can be attributed to the education of our young people at the hands of some lecturers in our universities. Indeed, they have to look in the mirror and acknowledge the harm they’ve cause to our country’s unity.

June Zentveld, Newrybar, NSW

While the audacious planning and execution of the exploding pagers and walkie-talkies that killed senior Hezbollah terrorists is met with admiration by most of us, Anthony Albanese, on his trip to the US, was asked about the latest developments in the Middle East.

Needless to say, he blathered on about de-escalation, about the abhorrent “events of October 7”, about his continued calls for a ceasefire and a two-state solution (which is not possible when Iran’s proxies, Hezbollah and Hamas, are committed to the eradication of Israel and Jews), and that the Albanese government called on “Australian citizens who are in Lebanon to please come home”.

What an embarrassment this Prime Minister is on both the national and international stages. Contrast this with the strong penmanship and moral clarity that Gemma Tognini consistently provides. As Tognini’s latest column concludes, sometimes war must be waged to enforce peace. “God willing, Israel will be strong enough to finish it, for all of our sakes”. Brava, Gemma.

Mandy Macmillan, Singleton, NSW

I know this sounds like a radical and perhaps even an extreme solution to the Middle East conflict, but how about Hamas return all hostages unconditionally and Hezbollah cease firing thousands of rockets indiscriminately at Israeli civilians? Perhaps this would then give a reason for Israelis to stop responding.

Michael Burd, Toorak, Vic