Extract from ABC News
Cabinet minister Tim Watts and former ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma have called for calm on Australia's streets after protests over the Israel-Gaza conflict turned violent and featured racist rhetoric in past weeks.
Key points:
- Multiple Q+A panellists agreed any ceasefire in Gaza had to come with the dismantling of Hamas
- Nasser Mashni defended himself against what he called a smear campaign over a decades-old criminal conviction
- Violent protests on the streets of Caulfield, Victoria were condemned in the strongest possible terms
The comments came on an episode of Q+A dedicated to the conflict that was held on a closed set with no audience due to security concerns.
The protest came on the back of an alleged arson attack at a restaurant in the area owned by a Palestinian-Australian.
"It is deeply concerning that we have to talk about this issue," Mr Watts, the assistant foreign minister, told Q+A on Monday night.
"What occurred in Caulfield was abhorrent and should never happen again.
"It is horrifying that in Australia, people come from all around the world to experience the freedoms of a democratic society, that people would feel fear about attending a place of worship [or] practising their religion."
Mr Watts called on multicultural Australia to learn to "disagree better" while acknowledging those who organised the protest said they made a mistake.
Mr Sharma said the actions of those involved crossed the line.
"People have a legitimate right to political protest and to express their views and express their mourning at the loss of Palestinian lives," he said.
"But we've seen these actions cross the line, to demonise, to threaten, to menace.
"We've seen religious services at synagogues interrupted.
"We've seen Jewish-owned businesses boycotted and defaced.
"We've seen Israeli flags burnt in the streets.
"We've seen chants of, 'death to the Jews and gas the Jews!'
"That is not acceptable in Australia.
"Doesn't matter what your feelings are on this conflict, that is absolutely not acceptable."
Mr Sharma then accused political leaders of failing by accepting the apology, and singled out Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong, which rankled her colleague Mr Watts.
'Not about Hamas'
President of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network Nasser Mashni believed it was perfectly acceptable for the protest to take place in the suburb of Caulfield, although he was taken to task by Q+A host Patricia Karvelas for calling the protest an "anti-racism vigil".
"Do you think it was acceptable to go to Caulfield?" Karvelas asked.
"Caulfield is in Australia, not in Israel," Mr Mashni responded, before he was again challenged by the Q+A host.
"I don't think it's OK to go and protest. I think they can have an anti-racism vigil," he said.
When it was pointed out by Mr Sharma that Jewish people in Caulfield were "terrified" that night, Mr Mashni offered an apology, before he added the event was not one he organised.
The conversation then turned to why Mr Mashni had not condemned Hamas, as he was asked to by both Karvelas and fellow panellist Mark Leibler, the national chairman of The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council.
Mr Mashni said to do so would be to ignore the historical length of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
"What I have a challenge with is the condemning Hamas here immediately makes everything about the 7th October," Mr Mashni said.
Asked by Karvelas if it was not standard practice to condemn the October 7 attack by the terrorist group, Mr Mashni said he does.
"I condemn the attack," he said.
"I condemn the attack on any civilian. Whether that death is by a masked gunman or air force bomb.
"The challenge as Palestinians is, it doesn't matter how much we condemn, what we condemn, who we condemn, we still get dehumanised, demonised, smeared for our own deaths.
"It is not about Hamas. Israel has a Palestinian problem, not a Hamas problem. If there was a button, I would push it, I would push it just to give Mark that comfort, but they won't stop killing us.
"They won't give Palestinians a chance to have self-determination and freedom."
'Concerted campaign against me' says Mashni
Mr Mashni's own organisation and character had been called into question in recent weeks, with stories questioning whether his organisation had been affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, regarded as a terrorist organisation by several Western nations.
Mr Mashni said his lawyers were advising him on the issue but when asked if he was sure that "none of the money had gone to terror" he answered: "We have abided by Australian law."
He then accused sections of the mainstream media of conducting a smear campaign against him over a past criminal conviction.
"That was 35 years ago," he said.
"Barely a night goes where I don't think about that day and the challenge.
"I think about the young man and his family. I think about what — what his life might have been, what my life might have been.
"I think about his family, I think about my father and my mother, and then I think about not just that day but the orchestrated and concerted campaign over the past two weeks in so many mainstream media pieces to deplatform me as Australia's most outspoken advocate for Palestine and it compounds that pain.
"The act of a rash 19-year-old that many years later could possibly hurt me asking for kids not to be killed.
"It pains me no end and I think it's really quite disturbing that such a concerted campaign has been levelled against me when all I want is for a better tomorrow."
No ceasefire without removing Hamas
When it came to what it would take for things to calm down in Gaza, which is under siege from the Israeli military as deaths number into the thousands according to local authorities, the panel were of the mind a ceasefire needs to happen.
They also said the hostages taken by Hamas needed to be returned safely.
"There should be a ceasefire," said UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese.
"There is no question that the hostages must return safe and sound to their homes."
But when they needed to be returned for a ceasefire to happen remained a point of contention, as did one other condition Mr Leibler and Mr Sharma were adamant about.
That condition — the complete dismantling of Hamas.
"Ultimately, I think it is a question of all the hostages being freed and also Hamas infrastructure being dismantled, otherwise we are going to have another little Holocaust like we had on October 7th — that is going to be repeated again and again and again," Mr Leibler said.
"Hamas are quite honest about this.
"So it seems to me, really, the first step needs to be to dismantle Hamas."
Mr Sharma acknowledged the tragedy of the conflict and agreed with Mr Leibler.
"What is unfolding is a tragedy now, but until Hamas is ousted from political power, I don't see a way to resolve this," Mr Sharma said.
"You leave them there, there will be further bloodshed, further loss of life and further conflict."
Mr Watts also backed that belief.
"Everyone wants to see us taking the steps towards a ceasefire," he said.
"There needs to be release of hostages and Hamas needs to stop its rocket attacks on Israel.
"It needs to stop using civilians in Gaza as human shields and for a durable peace in the region, we need to dismantle Hamas."
However, Mr Mashni was less certain, and although he called for the hostages to be released he doubted the removal of Hamas would satisfy the Israeli government.
"Israel as a settler colony has a problem with the Indigenous people. Israel has an Indigenous problem, not a Hamas problem. If the hostages went back, nothing is going to change.
"Imagine a world without Hamas, that's the West Bank."
Asked for her thoughts, Ms Albanese indicated the leaders of both Hamas and Israel were spruiking dangerous rhetoric.
"When I hear Hamas leaders speaking and I hear Israeli military and political leaders speaking these days, I do not hear much difference," she said.
Watch the full episode of Q+A on iview.
No comments:
Post a Comment