Too much trauma, not enough compassion

The Greens should learn from their mistakes, take the lead and push for collaboration between Jews and Palestinians as steps to conflict resolution.

I write this out of a continuing sense of grief, trauma and mourning since October 7. Every day brings more tragic news, and locally, we now we face an explosion of a local proxy war of hate against all and any deemed to be Zionist, such as the doxing of 600 Jewish  creatives in a collective statement from a range of activists, including Jewish anti-Zionists. We also know of threats to people, and I also have have been on the receiving end of a vicious verbal attack for my allegedly Zionist crimes.

The hatred propagated by Clementine Ford, Matt Chun and others through social media is despicable because it is entirely destructive to social cohesion. I await condemnation of such things from leading Palestinians organisations and known Jewish anti-Zionist organisations.

There has been none, because apparently, Zionists of whatever stripe are equally culpable, and second, tit-for-act acts as revenge against harassment or firings of Palestine supporters is justified.

I also write this because of the failure of local peak Jewish organisations to offer any criticism of the Israeli government and instead, they have engaged in inflammatory speech against supporters of Palestine.  This has angered many people.

Yes, people are angry, extreme, and they fear or claim genocide of Palestinians. This is why, much to Ittay Flesher’s consternation, some Greens politicians do not appear to have been forthright enough in condemning Hamas violence on October 7.