Not a chance. That was my first thought when I read this week that Israeli President Isaac Herzog had invited Anthony Albanese to go to Israel and see for himself.
See what exactly? At a broad level, the complexities of the region. The challenges of being the only functioning democracy amid a sea of despots and dictators. The geography. It’s quite something when you actually see how Israel is surrounded physically by its enemies.
At a granular level, to stand in the ruins of the kibbutzes in the south where families were burnt alive; where hostages were dragged from their beds early in the morning on one of the holiest days of the Jewish calendar. To walk among the ruins of communities where even now the presence of death lingers. To perhaps visit Sheba hospital and talk to the psychologists and doctors who are treating the returned hostages and a wider cohort of trauma-affected citizens, to understand the impact that October 7 continues to have on these people.
At an existential level, to experience normal live in Israel, which means for everyday citizens the constant threat of lone-wolf terror attacks and the ongoing relentless missile attacks from the Houthis in Yemen.
I think it would do the Prime Minister a world of good to find himself in a bomb shelter at 3am listening to the sound of explosions in the near distance. For him to have to get up as usual the next morning and go about a normal day. A few nights in a row experiencing what everyday Israelis have endured for years, and continue to endure, just because they’re Jewish. He might learn something, might shift his perspective a bit.
And truthfully? I think that’s why he won’t go. Because anyone who truly understands what happened on October 7, 2023, and why, could not possibly hold the policy positions on Israel that the Australian Labor Party and therefore this government does.
A reminder that Foreign Minister Penny Wong had the opportunity to experience all of this 18 months ago but she chose not to. Former attorney-general Mark Dreyfus did, but after being punted from federal cabinet he has no ability to influence such matters any more.
If Albanese were to meet a returned hostage, for example, as I did, and hear her describe how her husband was shot dead in front of her, how she was dragged into Gaza and held by a civilian family, how these captors told her they “don’t understand why you Jews think you have the right to be here” – if he were prepared to expose himself to these truths he would have to pivot. But electorally this would be the end of him, so my money says he won’t.
Speaking of the hostages, it’s believed fewer than half of the remaining 58 are still breathing and this week marked another grim milestone for those who remain alive. Six hundred days they’ve been held hostage; 600 days of being starved, beaten, tortured, abused, held in cages underground, hidden among UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East facilities, bartered as if their lives don’t matter.
Six hundred days the international community has hung them out to dry, negotiated with their terrorist captors, justified the unthinkable and turned a blind eye to the fact this war could have ended in a week, a month. All Israel asked for was that the hostages be returned. Taking hostages is a war crime. Weaponising hospitals and schools is a war crime. What if it were your son, Prime Minister, languishing as a hostage in Gaza? What would you do differently?
For 600 days the blood libel against Israel and the Jews has grown in frequency and intensity, not only in Australia but also across the world. Blood libel such as: 14,000 babies will die in 24 hours because of Israel. The absolute filth of that statement which the author, a UN employee, later admitted was false. The horrible BBC, which of course amplified it initially, quietly and swiftly retracted and issued a correction and apology. Not true, sorry, they said. All the while that falsehood did laps around the globe, with the usual cohorts of useful idiots here in Australia playing their part. Winston Churchill was right. A lie really does get halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put its pants on.
Instead, the Prime Minister decided to chastise Israel yet again. Not a word about the well-documented stealing and looting of aid by Hamas and other gangs of thugs. This looting has been reported widely for almost a year. And why should anyone be surprised? The same savages who stole international aid money intended for humanitarian infrastructure instead built a network of terror tunnels longer than the London Underground.
Why is anyone surprised that they have been stealing food aid and blaming Israel? There is no truth in them.
In a widely reported official statement, Hamas warned Gazans not to accept the aid that was coming in. “Do not go to Rafah … Do not fall into the trap … Do not risk your lives. Your homes are your fortress. Staying in your neighbourhoods is survival and awareness is your protection.”
These are the insane ramblings of murderous ideologues: “Anyone who co-operates with the occupation in imposing its agenda will pay the price and we will take the necessary measures against him.”
Not a word about this from our earnest Prime Minister, who lectures those who live in existential danger, day in and day out, from the luxury of the Lodge and Kirribilli House.
Under Albanese and Wong, Australia is nothing but a fairweather friend to Israel and the Jewish people. Not a word about the Hamas leadership meeting regularly in bunkers deliberately positioned underneath a hospital built with cash from the EU and operated by the UN.
This posture is so dull in its predictability. When will Albanese learn demonising Israel does not help Palestinians? It emboldens Hamas, Iran and every other agent that seeks to destroy it.
How quickly it feels as if our government and the international community have forgotten what happened on October 7, 2023.
How quickly it feels they have forgotten there was no war on October 6, 2023. How quickly we forget what was done to Israelis in cold blood, gleefully; recorded and broadcast for the world to see in an act of terror so vile, so deliberate and so premeditated it still is difficult to process. Remember, this wasn’t a momentary act of resistance. It had a name: Operation Al Aqsa Flood. It was 10 years in the making. And it was designed to eliminate Israel and kill every Jew in sight.
I suppose it’s no wonder our government has had such a pitiful, limp-wristed response to this conflict. How it has consistently ignored the facts in favour of the usual far-left narrative on these matters. The biggest threat Albanese and Wong have ever faced is getting rolled in the partyroom. By extension, it also goes some way to explaining why Australia’s defence capability has been neglected so terribly under Labor. That’s one for another day but telling at the same time.
I have tried so hard during the past two years or so to understand the blind obsession, the hatred of Israel and the Jewish people. I’ve peeled back the onion, layer after layer, in an attempt to find anything resembling rational thought, anything untainted by hatred or uncorrupted by lies. But I can’t. It’s a sickness, I think. That’s the only thing I can reconcile in my mind.
Back to Albanese and the invitation that’s before him. One of my favourite sayings in life is that I’m always happy to be wrong, for the right reason. Never have I wanted to be wrong about something as I do here. I hope the Prime Minister accepts the invitation and goes. I truly hope I am wrong.
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