Stop the Genocide

An appeal to the Prime Minister and Parliament of Australia

PLEASE DO WHAT YOU CAN TO STOP THE GENOCIDE IN GAZA.

As of 8 May 2024, over 36,000 people (34,844 Palestinian and 1,410 Israeli) have been reported as killed… including 97 journalists (92 Palestinian, 2 Israeli and 3 Lebanese) and over 224 humanitarian aid workers, including 179 employees of UNRWA.

“Love lights this place up. Without love it would be dark and cold here.”
– Holocaust Survivor Halina Strnad.

As a constituent and a human being who cares about the value of human life, I am calling on you to advocate for an end to the violence in Gaza.

Since the UN Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire on 25 March 2024, that demand has been ignored and unenforced. Now, over 200 days into the conflict, there seems to be no end in sight. Of those killed in the last six-and-a-half months, approximately 70% have been women and children. According to UN Women, 10,000 women in Gaza have been killed – 6,000 of them mothers – and over 700,000 women and girls face possible death or injury in Rafah. This is not a measured military response to the attacks of 7 October 2023, nor is it the actions of a responsible modern western democracy in defence of its citizens or human rights. It is downright slaughter.

I’m grateful for Australia’s support for a ‘sustainable ceasefire’ and for restoring funding to UNRWA, the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza. Our Foreign Minister, Senator Penny Wong, has stated: “I am here to add our voice, Australia’s voice, to advancing the cause of peace.” But this alone is not enough. The harrowing situation in Gaza underscores the urgent need for governments worldwide to STOP THE SUPPLY OF ARMS, AMMUNITION, AND AIRLINE PARTS USED IN THESE ATROCITIES.

AUSTRALIANS WANT TO SEE YOUR GOVERNMENT DO MORE. Polling released on 27 February 2024 revealed that over 80% of Australians want a ceasefire, and that one-third of voters would consider this issue when they decide who to vote for at the next election.

In the name of humanity I respectfully urge you to please do the following:

1) ENSURE AUSTRALIA’S IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION OF MILITARY AID ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATION WITH ISRAEL. Nothing manufactured in Australia should contribute to death and destruction in Gaza. The government should halt all transfers of weapons parts and ammunition where the Israeli government and the Israel Defense Force are the end users.

2) TAKE URGENT ACTION TO ENSURE THAT ISRAEL COMPLIES WITH THE INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE RULINGS and acts in accordance with International Humanitarian Law, using all diplomatic means available. This includes abiding by ICJ rulings that Israel must prevent genocide and take measures to improve the humanitarian situation for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.

3) APPLY AND IMPLEMENT TARGETED SANCTIONS ON ISRAELI OFFICIALS who have called for the denial of aid, and military and civil servants denying essential food and materials to civilians of Gaza. Your government has stated that: “The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire. More than 1.7 million people have been displaced, many several times over, and half of Gaza is experiencing catastrophic food insecurity with famine projected to occur imminently.”

4) CONTINUE TO CALL FOR AN IMMEDIATE PERMANENT AND UNCONDITIONAL HUMANITARIAN CEASEFIRE IN GAZA, and also use all diplomatic means available to achieve this. If the Israeli government refuses to a ceasefire, there are options to expel its diplomats.

5) CALL FOR A THE COMMENCEMENT OF COMPENSATION FOR PALESTINE, AS WELL AS LONG TERM SOLUTIONS INCLUDING RESTORATIVE JUSTICE. This latter could be commenced via ‘an ancient Semitic custom known as sulha’ wherein communities begin to heal by letting those most affected talk things through, just like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa, or the Truth Telling involving Australia’s reconciliation with its own history. Furthermore, anyone on either side (IDF or Hamas) who is guilty of war crimes must face justice. Any long-term ceasefire must guarantee ongoing peace, justice and equality for all people in Palestine and Israel, and also work to heal divisions within Australia and other societies as a result of the current genocide.

“We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.”
— Elie Wiesel

This is not a question of anti-Semitism, as the human rights of all people – including Palestinians as semitic peoples – must be acknowledged, respected and protected equally, alongside those of Jews or other communities. Miriam Margoyles and the Jewish Council of Australia have joined the call for a ceasefire, as have 700 Australian Jews. On the global stage, the so-called “two state solution” must prevent the continuation of the colonial-style occupation of Palestine, a system riven by apartheid and other divisions, and recognise that all people of the region have equal rights to life, liberty, and self determination. The current system is unfair to Palestinians and Israelis alike.

Nor should anyone suggest that the Jewish communities within Israel do not have a right to defend themselves. The attacks of 7 October 2023 were terrible, and every reasonable and responsible action should be taken to find and hold those behind the attacks to account for their actions – but the current response (the indiscriminate and extrajudicial killing of alleged Hamas personnel – without any regard for legal processes or collateral damage – the bombing of cities, apartment blocks, hospitals, universities, schools and refugee camps, etc, and the displacement of millions of people) is a disproportionate response that makes no attempt to minimise civilian casualties nor to serve as a model template for civilised behaviour. As a modern western nation, Israel is already well-armed and it does not need to be provided with provocative armaments which encourage zealous military actions that are now recognised as being potential war crimes and genocide.

The current situation dishonours all those who died in the Holocaust – and the survivors – because “Never again” should mean forever. It also dishonours those Israelis who are commemorated in Yom HaZikaron 2024 / יוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן 5784, plus the nearly 100,000 Palestinians now killed since 1948. These terrible losses should not be in vain.

I finally make this call in memory of a friend and Holocaust survivor, the aforementioned Halina Strnad, who used her experiences to fuel her desire to drive positive reform in the world rather than hold onto hatreds and hurts. She has passed away in recent years, but I trust I am not misrepresenting her views or philosophies by recalling that her credo was “Don’t remain a victim” and this inspired her to never call for revenge or harm on others regardless of provocation. I feel that the current Israeli government could learn something from her.

I am calling on you to help forge a path to real and lasting peace for the people of Gaza and related communities.

Thank you for your action on this matter of life and death, and I look forward to your kind response to hearing of what you personally have done to end this genocide.

Yours most respectfully,

Geoff Allshorn

___________________________

This is based upon an email that was sent on my behalf via the DoGooder website.

Permission is given to use this as a basis for your own email, provided you add appropriate changes to suit your own views and perspectives.

All rights of their material returned to author at DoGooder. My own material herein ©2024 Geoff Allshorn