This is the text of a speech I gave outside the Israeli Embassy in Canberra at a rally to protest against the Australian visit of Israeli President Moshe Katzav on Wednesday 2 March, 2005 12.30pm. The rally was organised by Australians for Justice and Peace in Palestine (AJPP). (March 2005)


I don’t know about you but I am getting impatient!

In the face of all the evidence, in the face of the gross imbalance of power between the Israeli state and the Palestinian people, in the face of daily humiliation, oppression and suffering still the world at large and Australia choose to lend their support to the perpetrators and not to their victims. The bluff has to be called. The lies have to be named. Bullies like Israel and two of its most loyal allies, the US and Australia, must be called to order.

New Zealand cancelled Moshe Katzav’s proposed visit to New Zealand over the case of the two Israeli spies who were caught trying to exploit New Zealand’s immigration system. New Zealand imposed diplomatic sanctions and froze ministerial contacts with Israel over the case, and demanded a public apology before it would restore full relations. When an apology was offered, Helen Clark rejected it saying that its tone was feeble and unacceptable. Even when an Israeli spy gets caught right here in Canberra under our noses spying on Australia, and gets kicked out of the country because of the seriousness of the matter Australia continues to treat Israel as a friend and is prepared to accept Katzav on an official visit here and treat him like a well respected guest.

You might think that a country as small and as remote from Israel as New Zealand will not matter much to the Israelis. But from what I read in Israeli newspapers it is obvious that the cold shoulder from New Zealand is making Israel feel deeply uncomfortable. Israel is very sensitive to its image around the world. In fact, the media and the public in Israel are obsessive about it. Every sign of approval even the smallest one, is seen as a great victory and any sign of disapproval, even the smallest one is perceived as a huge setback and felt as a deep personal wound. This only goes to show that any sanctions against Israel are likely to be effective. It also shows how much Australia’s approval means to Israel.

Any sign of approval means that Israel feels justified and supported in its policies against the Palestinian people. If Australia was serious about helping the Palestinians it would stop supporting Israel. But Australia’s unreserved support of Israel proves to me that our government does not care about the Palestinian people.

If the world community was prepared to stand up to Israel and sanction it over the occupation of Palestinians and their land, over the atrocities committed against them, over the blatant disregard of so many UN resolutions, over the wall and ongoing land grab, the building of settlements and of daily human rights violations, I have no doubt that it will be effective. By supporting Israel this country is turning us all into perpetrators. I left Israel in order to avoid being a perpetrator and came here only to find myself on the same side all over again.

The propaganda machine, which is widely supported by the Australian media is hugely successful in creating a smokescreen behind which Israel’s atrocities and illegal behaviour are hidden and covered up. This smokescreen confuses many decent people who do not know who or what to believe, and who or what to support. Blame the victim and let the perpetrators get away with it seems to be the order of the day in our predominantly conservative world.

The voice of dissent must be heard loud and clear now more than ever before. With rumours of an imminent US invasion of Iran in June this year, and of Israel joining in, it is now time to become more effective and more present in the media.

I don’t trust Israelis when it comes to so called ‘peace talks’. What peace means to Israelis isn’t very much. It just means a vague wish to be left alone. Most Israelis do not care about the Palestinians and have no interest in justice or in a real and long-term solution. They only see themselves, and believe very deeply and strongly that they are the real victims here. I join Ilan Pappe and a few other real Israeli peace activists in a call for immediate sanctions against Israel.

I conclude with the words of the late Martin Luther King Jr. from 4 April 1967. He was not talking about Israel and Palestine but he might as well have been.

“A time comes when silence is betrayal. That time has come for us…

Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government’s policy, especially in time of war.

Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one’s own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.

Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak.”

Page content last modified: 10 Mar 2005