As I write this email John Howard will be arriving at the crown of thorns gambling den (Crown Casino) in Melbourne to receive an "honour" from the Jewish Nation Fund (JNF) of having a forest named after him in occupied Palestine (Israel). About 10 years ago then Premier Jeff Kennett was offered a similar "honour" but I understand rejected it.

What concerns me is that Howard has agreed to receive this award less than 1 year since the IDF bombed thousands of Aussies visiting Lebanon in the Hezbollah/Israel war in mid 2006. The Aussies like most of the Lebanese victims were mostly 100km from the combat zone in the border.

Further during the war my local MP's Michael Danby ALP (Melbourne Ports) and Senator Mitch Fifield Lib (Victoria) plus Helen Shardey Lib (Caulfield) attended a pro Israel rally at Melbourne GPO. These MP's should not only be sacked but I think should be brought before the courts if guilty of some offence like treason or aiding the enemy. Who were they supporting Australians in Lebanon or a foreign power?

The ALP and Liberals pander to minority groups not because they necessary like their views (eg) Zionism, but because they want their money in the form of donations and the minority group think that they are loved if party officials attend their functions. Having been a Liberal member from 1994-2003 I heard lots of bias and bigotry leveled a Jews, Roman Catholics, Muslims and gays etc by members at closed party functions after a few drinks.

Political parties are designed to oppress any independent thought of its members who are then herded around like sheep. Never join a party.

For my part I criticize some groups openly. I dislike the fascist political movement called Zionism but I do not hate Jews. However the likes of Manny Waks attack anyone who opposes Zionism calling them anti semitic. A Semite is a Jew, Muslim or Christian who has lived in the Middle East for centuries. In short all Jews are not necessarily Semites and all Semites are not exclusively Jews either.

sganot,
I try to steer a middle road on International discussion but admit I get the hackles up when there appears, on the evidence placed in front of me, to be an indifference to the Human Rights of the less powerfull and defenceless, wherever they are in the world. This is not bigotry .

I do not appreciate Australia's PM becoming party to the Middle East's Human Rights problems that are occuring within Israel's borders .

The fact you offer a particular Jewish opinion is of interest to me and should be good for the discussion .

Incidently my father's Jewish mate became my Godfather during the Second World War ; this makes it almost impossible for me to be biased ,but it does give me considerable room for concern for events there.

It has helped me maintain my interest in the State of Israel and hopes for a peacefull and just settlement to it's massive problems, that to many people appear of no particular concern at all to the present Israeli Government .

Let's put this into perspective.

When the Ottoman lands was divided, the Arabs received 1,905,458 square kilometres of land while the Jewish National Home (Palestine) covered less than 17,702 square kilometres and was to be shared with the Arabs already there.

Anybody who has studied the Middle East will tell you that there is no such thing as a separate Palestinian people, distinct from other Arabs. Many believe the Palestinian Arabs are seemingly entitled to an ethnically based state, even though they are surrounded by fellow Arab states inhabited by the same people. Odd how it is considered perfectly acceptable for Arab, Asian and African countries to be ethno-centric, but not European or European-derived countries.

The Arab states could have absorbed the Arab population in Palestine, but they chose to exploit the misery of their fellow Arabs in order to fight a proxy war against Israel.

Frankly, why aren't the anti-Israel types on this forum protesting against Indonesia's treatment of the West Papuans? Are you aware that Indonesia is engaging in demographic warfare against the West Papuans as we speak? Ethnic cleansing by our nearest neighbour doesn't even get a mention by this lot, but they jump up and down with indignation every time SBS screens a story about the Israel-Palestine conflict.