Ugly protests aim to delegitimise a Israel’s vibrant democracy amid Gaza conflict

Chris Mitchell, Claire Lehmann and others writing for The Australian have provided strong commentary on the Hamas-Israel conflict, pointing out the unbalanced reporting when it comes to Israel.

Feeding off the media’s anti-Israel bias is the left-wing protest movement, which seems to have thrown its efforts into delegitimising Israel with repugnant accusations of apartheid and ethnic cleansing.

The collateral deaths of civilians in Gaza is tragic, but one can’t help but wonder why Syria, guilty of causing a death toll of 200,000 and displacing 10 million, didn’t attract the consistent global condemnation it arguably deserved.

Similarly, with almost 400,000 deaths due to a civil war in Yemen, there were no street protests directed against Saudi Arabia. Turkey’s historical persecution of the Kurds, resulting in 40,000 deaths and hundreds of thousands displaced since 1984, remains an issue with limited public outcry.

And what about Russia? It is baffling that journalists and the protesters appear oblivious to or perhaps indifferent towards these and several other oppressive regimes responsible for staggering loss of life but continue to attack the only home for Jews, a vibrant democracy, with a military that demonstrably conducts its operations to avoid civilian casualties.

As has been evident in the ugly street protests abroad and, regrettably, here at home, Israel finds itself disproportionately targeted, seemingly due to its Jewish identity.

John Kempler, Rose Bay, NSW

There are those who believe humanity is progressing to a higher, more civilised version of itself. Yet even the most cursory look at our past and present will prove that “the beast”, as William Golding calls it in Lord of the Flies, is ever with and within us.

For those of us living protected by the safe and orderly trappings of civilised society – never experiencing the insane hatred of unleashed conflict – such horror seems unlikely to occur in a way that directly affects us. But peace and comfort can birth sleepwalking naivety.

The current outbreak of anti-Jewish hatred across so many nations, including our own, is a dire alarm of what lies beneath. We must wake up, and as Yeats warns: ensure the centre holds, lest things fall apart and “The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere/The ceremony of innocence is drowned”.

Deborah Morrison, Malvern East, Vic

Iran has made no secret of its intention to wipe Israel off the map; it has been planning this carefully for decades, funding, arming and training its many terrorist proxies, glorifying jihad and feeding anti-Semitic tropes through its vast religious and education networks. The horrific attacks on Israel on October 7 are part of this careful planning.

Putting aside the atrocities Hamas has committed on innocent Israeli civilians, it has treated its own citizens with complete contempt and disdain – not only weaponising their deaths in its public diplomacy battle but also denying them basic rights, the opportunity to vote and billions in aid dollars that should have funded essential infrastructure such as water and electricity, schools, hospitals, housing and food but instead have been used to build tunnels and purchase arms.

If those rallying in support of Palestinians really care, they should be calling for an end to Hamas. For there can be no peace for Palestinians or Israelis as long as Hamas continues to operate in Gaza.

Lisa Mittelman, Armadale, Vic

A two-state solution to the dispute between Israel and Palestine has long been debated. Failure to reach an agreement is not because of a lack of trying. The possibility of an agreement seems more remote than ever because both sides are digging in and refusing to change their positions.

Both sides need to realise that having negotiations where both sides are adamant they will not change their positions will not advance the cause. We can only hope the current conflict will convince both sides of the futility of war and with Hamas replaced a solution can be developed. Clearly Israel is not going to accept handing all its territories over to the Palestinians, but they are going to have to compromise and give ground on issues such accepting changes to the boundaries resulting from the 1967 war.

R. Watson, Sunnybank Hills, Qld