I am also assuming that those of you that could not care less about Gilad's human rights have absolutely nothing to say about Hamas and their deadly Covenant (http://www.memri.org/report/en/0/0/0/0/0/0/1609.htm) with its racist and genocidal overtones. We're not dealing with some harmless boy scout organisation here. These guys had no problems throwing their own people off the side of buildings, killing those they suspect of "collaborating" with the enemy", and lets not get started on their record towards women's rights, gay rights, etc. Yep, let's keep ignoring Hamas and just keep blaming Israel for everything. Much easier.

Unfortunately Sandiago your common sense remarks will fall on deaf Ears with the likes of Left wing Academics from Monash and DR Evan Jones from University of NSW .
The left wing doctrine clearly has no time for Human Rights for Jews of Israel

For your information Burdy I am not an academic from Monash University. I don't know where you got that.
Is it not hypocritical for Israeli's to complain about the imprisonment of 1 man when they imprison thousands?
Certainly some of those 10,000 Palestinian prisoners have blood on their hands. But how many IDF soldiers have blood on theirs? I don't know if Gilad Shalit killed any Palestinians but I do know that the IDF have killed literally hundreds of Palestinian children. Some 3-400 in "operation cast lead" alone. Remember that much of the justification for this nasty blood bath was an attempt to get Shalit back.
This is the hypocrisy that disturbs me so much. One soldier is taken prisoner so therefore we will kill hundreds of Palestinians. It reminds me of the manner in which the Nazi's dealt with any resistance in the lands they occupied during WWII. If a German soldier was killed, they would round up a bunch of civilians and murder them.
The problem seems to be some notion of racial supremacy. To kill a Jew is the worst crime in the world whereas Palestinian deaths are of no consequence what-so-ever. Absolutely sickening.

RHys Jones, Faculty of Engineering, Monash University
16 May 2011 – Email: Rhys.Jones@monash.edu; Phone: +61 3 990 53809

RHYS,

I am curious as to why you are so obsessed with Israel?

Still no mention of Hamas and you have the nerve to talk about hypocrisy.

You have the wrong Rhys Jones. Its a common name. I live in Western Australia and am a mental health nurse.
I am not obsessed by Israel. I just find Injustice and hypocrisy abhorrent. I have followed this conflict very closely for the last ten years and so am not fooled by the Israeli claims of being the victims in this affair.
I am aware that there are many worse regimes in the world. However, Australia does not align itself with them. Rather we condemn them for their human rights abuses. Israel claims to be a beacon of freedom and democracy in the Middle East. Yet it refuses to negotiate an end to its military occupation of the Palestinian territories. Our closest ally USA is also Israel's closest ally. Australia constantly provides moral support to Israel. We even honoured them in our parliament on their 60th anniversary of becoming a state. This is why it bothers me so much. We are complicit in the crimes of Israel in a manner in which we are not complicit in the crimes of any other nation.