I feel I need to be re-educated.

I know of the horrors of the holocaust, I have sympathy for the persecution Jewish people feel, and the defensive/reflexive reaction that seems to engender on any geopolitical discussion about Israel, but I cant help feeling there is an element in all the Jewish lobby groups, the discussions of their leaders to any negative reaction to the killing of civilians in Gaza as a little bit precious. Am I even allowed to say such a thing on a public forum I wonder without accusations of being racist.

For the record I think a Palestinian State is fanciful, the amount of hatred for Jews in the Hamas proportion of Gazans would prevent this, but jeeps how many kids do you want to kill with, what really seems to me, as total indifference.

I haven't ever heard any regret whatsoever from the 'Jewish community', the 'Executive Council of Australian Jewry', 'Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council', there seems to be a million of these lobby groups

“Don’t leave the Jewish people behind. Don’t isolate us,” Aghion urged the Australian public. “Stand with us. Stand against this hate.”

Well, yeah, ok, if you can just seem the slightest bit regretful of killing so many children, even if you see them as a bunch of future terrorists.

Statements like “Awarding antisemitism and terrorism with a state in the heart of the Jewish ancient homeland and cradle of civilisation will invite more terrorism and more antisemitic riots at campuses and city centres, including in Australia,”

I suppose I can agree really. But if you want to win people over, stop with the 'cradle of civilisation'. It just feels so precious, arrogant and smug.

For someone claiming not to be an anti-Semite, you do a good impression of one.

Hamas started the war against Israel on October 7th 2023. Since then, Hamas has been responsible for the death and destruction in Gaza.

Jews don't “feel” persecution; they are persecuted.

The “total indifference” to the deaths in Gaza is down to Hamas: it uses women and children as human shields.

Hi Houellebecq,
"Am I even allowed to say such a thing on a public forum I wonder without accusations of being racist"
- Some will always think of you as racist for criticism of Israel, even if your criticisms are valid.

You should be fine with genuine discussion here though.
I say much more harsher things than you do, so you shouldn't get too much heat.
I'll stay out of this discussion now for at least a few days, I don't want to poison your thread with my rhetoric.

- But it's about time someone else stuck up for all those kids though.

Would it really be so hard for these groups, Zionist Federation of Australia (found another one) to express regret that so any children are being killed?

I'm sure there are a lot instances where Hamas leaders are hiding under hospitals and all sorts, but it's indiscriminate bombing regardless of the human cost to me.

If you want to position yourself up as the cradle of civilisation, shouldn't you attempt to be a little bit better than that? Or at least say something like, 'It is very sad that these young children are being killed in their thousands, but we consider the price of killing a single terrorist worth it?'

They might as well napalm the whole of Gaza an be done with it.

“Behind every terrorist stand dozens of men and women, without whom he could not engage in terrorism. They are all enemy combatants, and their blood shall be on all their heads. Now this also includes the mothers of the martyrs, who send them to hell with flowers and kisses. They should follow their sons, nothing would be more just. They should go, as should the physical homes in which they raised the snakes. Otherwise, more little snakes will be raised there. They have to die and their houses should be demolished so that they cannot bear any more terrorists,”

Hi Houellebecq,

I'd like to add my voice to Armchair Critic's to say -
"Welcome back to the forum".

Regarding Jewish voices in Australia?

We're told that:

"In response to the pressing need for an independent expert
body to address antisemitism and racism in Australia, a dynamic
coalition of Jewish scholars, historians, human rights lawyers,
and writers, have joined together to establish the Jewish
Council of Australia".

"The Council was formed to fill a void in Australia for an
independent expert Jewish body which can speak about
antisemitism in Australia and which acknowledges the diversity
of voices within the Jewish population in regard to the state
of Israel".

"The Council disagrees with the idea that all Jewish people
and the Jewish communities fully support the military actions
of the state of Israel".

"We are concerned that many Jewish representative organisations
in Australia fail to recognise that the Jewish communities
has diverse voices on Israel's military actions and conflate
criticism of Israel and support for Palestinian human rights
with antisemitism".

There's more at:

http://jewishcouncil.com.au/media/jewish-council-lauches-expert-voice-antisemitism-racism-in-australia

Hi AC,

- Some will always think of you as racist for criticism of Israel, even if your criticisms are valid.

It seems that way. The many lobby groups see any criticism at all, even the government backing UN resolutions aimed at reducing civilian deaths (no matter how feasible they would or wouldn't be) as having some relation to 'increasing antisemitism' in Australia.

Why doesn't it occur to them people see this use of the holocaust as a blanket justification for anything Israel does as a bit off.