Moral equivalence clouding our judgment of conflict

Chalk and cheese is the only way to describe the positions of Australia and the US in relation to the conflict in the Middle East (“White-flag Albanese”, 2/10).

Compare the two nations. The Australian government is consumed with moral equivalence. It can’t differentiate between a democratically elected nation’s right to defend itself against enemy states that are sworn to its destruction, and terrorists’ proxies that deliberately brought the war on with their actions on October 7 last year, and their ongoing threat to the lives of innocents in northern Israel.

On the other hand, the US has a clear understanding of who the good guys and the bad guys are. Its actions in helping to protect Tel Aviv against Iranian missiles is evidence it is all in with the Jewish state against the primary bad guy.

If only Israel could rely on the unequivocal backing of other liberal democracies that purport to support it but in effect choose to walk both sides of the street.

Kim Keogh, Claremont, WA

Anthony Albanese has a unique talent for picking losers, the most obvious of which was his version of the voice. With the Middle East imploding and the conflict spilling out on to our streets, he has chosen to pick the inevitable losers in this fight rather than backing the inevitable winners, Israel and Jewish Australians.

The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Penny Wong ought to realise Israel would want to escalate any attacks from Iran to the point where it is justified in wiping Iran’s nuclear capability off the map. Iran is bringing this destruction on itself as civilised nations realise it is not responsible enough to possess nuclear weapons.

Peter R. Tredenick, Laidley, Qld

Pro-Hezbollah protesters are laughing in the face of other Australians (“ ‘Not scared of cops’: pro-Hezbollah marcher”, 2/10).

They know Anthony Albanese and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus will respond only with words, without actions. They know Foreign Minister Penny Wong will just strut the world stage with a meaningless call for another ceasefire. They know the Victorian and NSW governments do not want to upset a constituency of Palestinian, Lebanese and other Middle Eastern voters in Labor-held seats. They know the Australian Federal Police and their state counterparts are reluctant to take action to arrest demonstrators who cajole young children to wear clothing bearing terrorist symbols.

Appeasement does not work. The law needs to be enforced.

Riley Brown, Bondi Beach, NSW

Mark Le Grand nails the spinelessness of the Albanese government over its handling of the current upsurge in local demonstrations in his excellent article (“PM derelict in duty to stop crimes of terror”, 2/10).

His critique is amply summed up in his penultimate paragraph: “The law is not to be sacrificed on the altar of electoral success in parts of Sydney and Melbourne.”

Peter Austin, Mount Victoria, NSW

Many words have been redefined recently, including misogyny, formerly defined as “hatred of women”, now meaning any deroga­tory statement referring to females.

The latest word to be redefined is ceasefire. The new meaning is “Israel needs to stop fighting”. No mention of Hezbollah, which has fired hundreds of rockets into Israel without Israeli response until now; no mention of Hezbollah or Hamas needing to stop firing rockets or cease undertaking terrorist actions.

Alan Slade, Dover Heights, NSW

The Middle East is now a toxic mess, unlikely to be resolved in the immediate future. Israel is certain to respond strongly to this latest assault by Iran, a totalitarian state that subjugates women, intimidates opponents and even executes “troublemakers” in public to deter dissent. It is anti-Israel to its very roots.

On the other hand, backed by hard-right ministers, a revenge-seeking, somewhat bellicose Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have few qualms about prolonging a war that keeps him in power and that, tragically, has caused the deaths of thousands of innocents.

Disturbingly, therefore, the two-state solution, with Israel and a Palestinian state living side-by-side in relative harmony – a situation proposed by democracies like us – now appears more unlikely and distant than ever.

Ron Sinclair, Windradyne, NSW