Dear, oh dear:another survey which failed to consult me. Probably because I am in Sydney, am over 60, and am an orphan through the effluxion of time. Oddly I object to being referred to as an "Australian Jew". If there need be a description at all by way of religious identification, [akin to "of Mediterranean appearance"],then let it be a"Jewish Australian". I am no less an Australian by reason of my membership of the Jewish faith; I am no less a member of the Jewish faith by reason of my being an Australian. I am part of no triangle.

Why is it that in this never ending dialogue about Israel noone asks: why doesn't the Muslim community do something to resolve the Palestinian refugee problem?

Since 1948 Israel has absorbed hundreds of thousands Jews expelled from Arab countries not to mention millions from the late Soviet Union.

"Adherents hold to a viewpoint opposing Israel’s existence specifically and Jewish national rights more broadly which is beyond rational debate, and unconnected to contemporary or historical reality."

Argumentum ad lapidem.

In other words, the very concept is so opposed to the author's point of view they dismiss it out of hand without attempting to deal with the substance of the debate. I guess the author just doesn't want to deal with the problems raised by voices as diverse as Hannah Arendt to Noam Chomsky.

Israel, for all its attempts to be democratic and secular, still faces the problem of being a colonial state which was imposed on the indigenous population of Palestine. Until it deals with that issue - and thus gives up any pretense of being a "Jewish" state - it will lack popularity among the left.

Likewise the debate over "national" rights. There are of course, many definitions of nationality, from self-identification, to ethno-linguistic familiarity, to religion. In my considered opinion, lest the subject collapse into relativistic nonsense, the correct definition in terms of deciding statehood is first-language membership. Under this definition religions have no right to an independent state. A claim for a "Jewish state for a Jewish people" has as much veracity as the Protestant separatists in Ireland who wanted a "Protestant state for a Protestant people". No secular or democratic person should entertain such a proposition.

It is unable to be disputed that the cause of much of the worlds problems lies in the palistei/israel issue ,further that both parties use the dispute to rally its own voter base ,

This clear divide enshures a 'tough on drugs' style of approach , where weak leaders are able to get re-elected with the minimum of effort ,[just by making sure there is not ever a solution enshures these weak leaders stay in power]

It is time to face the two state issue as being unviable [if only because rightwing extreemists on both side will collude to ensure rocket attacks [or settlements] will allways be able to set their adjenda simply by doing [and saying] the same things.

Isralie leaders cant afford to alianate the settlers getting free land ,and hammas cant be seen to allow this invasion of palistein lands ;catch22.

There is a solution ,and it is based on turning the land into a shared homeland for the one god ,[noting one god gives all life , all life must be seen as sacred ,;if only to honour god]

Make one god land ,not two homelands but one [god's]

adminesterd by one govt and two parties ,who divide the govt income between their own people equally looking after their own peoples needs[traditional rules and dress to enter certain areas ,that allow freely true respects to be paid to god] with a joint army and police force ,where peace partners act to serve the peace.
GODS PEACE not mans

‘The motion recognised the democratic tradition shared by Australia and Israel as reflected in a common commitment to civil and human rights and cultural diversity, and pledged Australia’s friendship, commitment and enduring support to the people of Israel.’
What planet would you have to be on?

A single, secular, democratic state, one vote one person is the only possible way to resolve this issue. Many Israelis may not like it, but it is probably the only realistic option that they have.
I understand that the population of Israel is approximately 10.8 million, with the population being almost a 50/50 split, Israelis, Palestinians.

Outside principally due the behaviour of the Israelis, they have any ever growing number of people who do not like their attitudes. Look at the map, if enough people get annoyed enough to organise there is no need for the use of nukes to destroy Israel. A mass attack of ordinary , common garden variety rockets launched from 1500 ks out, in to 20 or 30 ks would overwhelm any defence and be impossible to destroy.

From day one the mistake was assuming the the Israelis could push the Palestinians off their land, and call it ‘Israel’. How much better off would everyone have been if they had merely chose to settle, and become part of the community mm- a community where Palestinians and Jews had lived together for eons.

To the first correspondent, I would say if I don't represent your "Jewish" views however you define yourself, please express them. Let's hear you loud and clear.

Lev, who I suspect is a well-known figure in the Victorian ALP Left, is still stuck with the early 20th marxist rejection of Jewish national identity. According to Lenin and Stalin, Jewish nationalism was a reactionary idea designed to divert the Jewish masses from the class struggle. Influenced by the legacy of the enlightenment, marxists argued that a progressive solution to the "Jewish question" lay in the complete assimilation of the Jews in the future classless society in which all racial, religious and ethnic differences would become irrelevant.

As atheists, Marxists narrowly constructed the Jews as a religious group lacking a common history, language, culture or territory (rather than a nation) whose distinctiveness and persecution would disappear with the triumph of socialism. This narrow advocacy of Jewish assimilation has rightly been criticized as displaying tremendous insensitivity to, and ignorance of, Jewish culture, tradition and identity.

Ditto today. Lev needs to understand that Jews are a nation, not a religious group like Protestants. When he understands this, he will realize that a Jewish state of Israel is no different to a state of Palestine or a state of East Timor or a state of Croatia.

Philip Mendes