Israel’s fight can’t fall prey to campaign of anti-Semitism, lawfare

Gemma Tognini writes in The Weekend Australian of a young pro-Palestinian girl protester in Melbourne carrying a large poster of a terrorist with the words, “by any means necessary”, a favourite slogan of the anti-Israel hate mobs globally (“Generational malaise of girls without purpose or identity”, 12-13/10).

Gemma Tognini writes in The Weekend Australian of a young pro-Palestinian girl protester in Melbourne carrying a large poster of a terrorist with the words, “by any means necessary”, a favourite slogan of the anti-Israel hate mobs globally (“Generational malaise of girls without purpose or identity”, 12-13/10).

Some commentators have pointed to the similarities between this and the burgeoning anti-Semitism of pre-war Nazi Germany. The oldest hatred in the world, anti-Semitism, seems to be constantly mutating into ever different forms.

The evils Tognini describe are evident in the gleeful tearing down of hostage posters across the globe, the doxxing of Jewish creatives, the campus intimidation of Jewish students and lecturers, and the appalling equivocation and lack of leadership of governing politicians. United Nations resolutions and lawfare increasingly are employed as weapons of oppression against Israel.

Witness the voluminous UN anti-Israel resolutions that far exceed the total number of resolutions against all other countries, and the International Court of Justice now being used as a geopolitical weapon against Israel.

As Greg Sheridan states, prevailing political and media condemnations of Israel in its existential fight against Iran and its terrorist proxies ignore the advice of experts that Israel is not committing war crimes but takes every precaution, consistent with its essential objectives and the accepted rules of war (“Israel is fighting a just and moral war and needs support”, 12-13/10).

Alan Franklin, St Ives, NSW

Mincing words

Among the Orwellian Ministry of Truth slogans listed by Chris Kenny in The Weekend Australian was Building the Education Revolution, or BER as it was known (“Trust government to rule what’s true? Not a chance”, 12-13/10). It was certainly a revolution, and it left its destructive mark on a generation of schoolchildren and new teachers specifically trained to teach under its auspices.

Classrooms that were “open learning spaces” were renamed “flexible learning spaces”, then “purposeful learning spaces” – noisy, distracting areas with several classes in the same space. Students with “personal electronic learning devices” sat in groups at variously configured table set-ups, and teachers were expected to work in “teams” to “facilitate” and “guide independent student learning”.

Schools were to be “paperless”. Many school libraries were virtually emptied of books and became “resource centres”. Government schools, particularly those in desperate need of resourcing and buildings, had little leeway to avoid being forced on to this “21st-century learning” juggernaut as it steamrolled its way through, flattening any opposition from those who had been in teaching long enough to know what rubbish it was – and that it too would pass. As indeed it has. But not without enormous cost.

Deborah Morrison, Malvern, Vic

For the most part, items declared “disinformation” by various governments have turned out to be provably true some time later. Disinformation seems to be things they primarily disagree with or don’t want people to say.

The concept of a disinformation bill, with associated punishments, is a very dangerous one. Recompense if the government is wrong is never mentioned.

Not only is it taking away freedom of speech, it seems more akin to something a communist government would implement.

James Hein, Hackney, SA

Sorry state of affairs

Henry Ergas and Alex McDermott make so many salient points in their analysis of Victoria it’s rather difficult to know where to begin (“Oh Victoria”, 12-13/10). Essentially we’re looking at the fact that 10 years plus of Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan have completely changed the social fabric of Victoria, and I would challenge anybody to assert that this has been for the better. We have gone from small, effective government to gigantic ineffective government. The Victorian government has become too entrenched in the private lives of Victorians.

Our educational institutions have become a very powerful arm of the government. Public money is being misused to keep voters on side as the economy slips ever closer to recession and a disastrous downgrading of our financial situation.

Meanwhile, the mastermind of this catastrophe has pulled up stumps and walked away from one hell of a debacle. His successor, Allan, has a snowflake’s chance in hell of turning things around but one should feel little empathy for her as she was more than willing to tag along with the mighty Andrews.

The great state of Victoria that many of us grew up in has well and truly disappeared into the ether. Finally, one of the main culprits in this saga is the weakest opposition ever experienced by the state of Victoria.

Peter Surkitt, Sandringham, Vic