18-05-2025
We must reject the double standard
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GAZA WAR
Thanks, David Leser ('Israel's actions in Gaza indefensible', 17/5), you are correct – the silencing and intimidation need to stop. We are taught that all lives are equal, yet when Palestinian children are killed, we are silenced. I was told it might make others uncomfortable merely referencing it in academic discussions at university.
We are told that Israeli transgressions belong to another moral ledger, one that must never tip against them, lest we be tarred as antisemitic. Challenge this, and you'll be harassed on campus, and intimidated while our leaders sit on their hands.
October 7, 2023, was a nightmare we all recognise but so, too, were the 10 years before it, in which thousands of Palestinians were killed.
We must reject the double standard that some lives demand a trumpet call, while others elicit silence. This is the Palestine Exception — and until it is dismantled, our claims to justice will ring hollow.
Al Harkness, Belmont, Geelong
A mutating virus
In criticising an antisemitism definition for having an 'undue emphasis on Israel', David Leser ignores the truth best expressed by the UK's late chief rabbi, Jonathan Sacks, who described antisemitism as a mutating virus. That is, whereas they used to be hated for their religion, and then for their race, today Jews are most acutely hated for their nation state. Which helps explain why Israel has been accused of genocide in virtually every war of self-defence that it has fought, despite its neighbours being explicit about their genocidal intent on the Jewish state. Regardless of what definition of antisemitism is used, Leser need not be concerned about the muzzling of criticism of Israel any time soon.
Geoff Feren, St Kilda East
Israel is acting on its security concerns
In criticising the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of antisemitism for supposedly being overprotective of Israel, David Leser neglects to mention it specifically states that criticising Israel as you would any other country is not antisemitic.
In saying it's antisemitic to describe Israel's existence as a racist endeavour, the definition doesn't refer to Israel's behaviour, as Leser implies. Those who favour the Jerusalem Declaration definition do so because it lets them feel it's somehow not antisemitic to deny Jewish self-determination while demanding that same right for others.
Leser's accusations of apartheid and genocide are simply wrong. All Israeli citizens have equal rights, and the restrictions in the West Bank are purely for security, necessitated by terrorism. In Gaza, Israel attacks civilian buildings and facilities only because Hamas illegally militarises them. Israel blocked aid because Hamas steals and uses it to consolidate its power, but deliveries will soon resume.
Jamie Hyams, Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council
Time to call out war crimes
Great article by David Leser. When are we going to see our Australian government clearly calling out the war crimes being repeatedly committed by the current Israeli government in Gaza? But more importantly, when will we see Jewish leaders saying enough is enough?
Roger Byrne, Elsternwick
Our silence makes us complicit
US President Donald Trump acknowledges that 'people are starving' in Gaza yet openly backs the military campaign causing their starvation (''People are starving,' says Trump as strikes kill 250', 18/5). This isn't mere inconsistency, Trump's words of compassion mask conscious complicity. Starvation in Gaza is neither accidental nor unforeseen — the United Nations has 160,000 pallets of critical aid waiting, but Israel's blockade ensures they never arrive.
We are witnessing more than war: this is the systematic erasure of a population's capacity to live. Trump's remarks reveal a troubling global truth: today's leaders openly acknowledge immense suffering, and then actively enable it. The scandal isn't only Israel's brutality — it's our quiet complicity. Australia must ask itself: if we know this is happening, what have we done about it? Fernanda Trecenti, Fitzroy
THE FORUM
Honour his memory
Such immense sadness at the news of Adam Selwood's death (''It breaks your heart': Football mourns Selwood', 18/5). My heartfelt sympathy to the Selwood family, but also to our human family. The cost of being human is vulnerability and this is often misunderstood and neglected. The sporting world is all the richer for having known Adam, and now all the poorer for his absence. The mark Adam has left on all who knew him was profound and may they honour his memory to live a little better for having known him.
Julie Ottobre, Brunswick East
