GAZA - Through the Squalls of Hate.

Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Lou Reed.

I could go on with the list, but that's enough names, indeed 'Through the squalls of hate' is a line from a Leonard Cohen song. These magnificent artists have one thing in common - they're Jewish and currently they would quite likely be booed and attacked if any of them (well Leonard Cohen and Lou Reed probably won't!) set foot on an Australian university campus.

These are indeed interesting times - it wouldn't surprise me to wake some morning and find somewhere in Australia we'd had a ‘Kristallnacht’, such is the hatred now openly expressed towards Jewish people, not just here in Australia, but across the world. The famous Martin Niem?ller quote is as relevant today as it was during the Nazi era.

Some quietly advise it's currently too dangerous to publicly support Israel. On Facebook the other day, I was accused of being an Israeli apologist - I'd apparently picked up German guilt about WWII as I’m married to a German. I had the distinct impression he would like me shot for being a dirty Jew sympathiser, rather than being PC and siding with HAMAS.

For the record, although I admire the nation, I don't for one minute think Israel is the greatest country in the world and I loath the hideous Netanyahu and his power base - the thieving, violent, dreadful far - right thug settlers. Like most of us, I fervently believe there must be a two-state solution. However the monstrous butchering actions of HAMAS on October 7th last year and the ensuing vicious, but understandable retaliation by Israel, mean that goal is further down the track than ever.

Unfortunately for the people of Palestine, their democratically elected HAMAS government members are terrorists and now, having started a war, finding themselves loosing, they're falsely portraying themselves as victims, with very clever social media marketing. In the middle of all this madness, stands the terrible insane power of religions and so, as Leonard Cohen titled one of his books of poetry - Let Us Compare Mythologies.

The Christians gave us a couple of thousand years of savagery and violence – there really isn’t much difference between the Crusaders and HAMAS. It's not that long ago, Ireland was the centre of terrorism, with the dreadful Catholic IRA, which we now know, went out of its way to help the PLO, (somebody please tell protesting students about Palestine and the Munich Olympics massacre) and the least said about the equally evil Protestant Iain Pasley the better. Meanwhile the Muslims seem intent on a takeover of the World, bringing things back to their golden days of the Ottoman Empire. Saudi Arabia is keeping the faith maintaining beheadings etc, Iran holds up its end, as well as heading up world leadership in misogyny. ?All the while, Islamic priests, (Imams), are assuring us Islam is a religion of peace, apparently shocked and annoyed that many in the World hold considerable doubts at the veracity of their claim. ?

It strikes me that Islam is about where Christianity was 500 years ago, although in fairness, I must point out that Türkiye stands as a beacon, a great modern Islamic nation, as indeed does Indonesia. The kingdoms of Qatar and the UAE are interesting – on one hand, appearing very 21st century,? I remain uneasy, sensing facades. But turning away from state back to religion, the question is; Do we patiently wait another 500 years (26th century) for Islam to join the 21st century?

Then there’s Judaism. Certainly the Jewish penchant for not only considering themselves to be God's chosen people, but often being at pains to tell the rest of us, is a touch on the nose. ?But and it's a very big but - for three thousand years, they never attacked anyone, unlike the Christians and the Muslims. There was a bit of an understandable change for Jewish people after the Nazis and their 'Final Solution' – the ideal of pacifism hadn’t worked out well and then there was no choice other than to defend themselves after the establishment of modern Israel, with most Islamic nations declaring Israel should be wiped off the face of the Earth as they began decades of attacking the Jewish nation. And now, after the butchering murderous thuggery carried out by HAMAS last October, the Israelis have cracked, saying, "No, this time we’re going all out to revenge the atrocities," with the result that Israel is now fighting a war against terrorism, the likes of which nobody's God has seen before.

Have they gone too far? Did the Allies go too far with Dresden, or Hiroshima? Nobody, hopefully, is ever going to match the Soviet Union – an estimated 62 million dead (some figures go as high as 127 million) and the Chinese Revolution at 60 million. But apparently Israel is the biggest genocidal offender nation. It’s worth noting that 25,000 people died in the WWII Dresden fire bombing raids, 140,000 in the bombing of Hiroshima and 74,000 in the bombing of Nagasaki. Civilians always pay the biggest price of war – of the 75 million people who died during WWII, 40 million were civilians. Horrifying figures that defy comprehension, other than to weep over the insanity of it all.

Back to the Jews - don't they know their place? We prefer them as the underdog, this vengeful thing is the stuff of Christianity and Islam, who do they think they are?? I for one, think they are, perhaps unintentionally, fighting for the very freedom of the Western World, fighting against a barbaric vicious religion intent on conquering the world.

Somebody needs to tell our incandescent students, wrapped in their newly acquired Palestinian keffiyehs, the reason why we are all subjected to intense screening at airports.

I was astounded to learn that a public school in Western Australia has an Islamic Prayer Room, further compounding my disbelief after reading that Imams are expressing annoyance at Police not consulting them before arresting young Muslim men suspected of planning on killing Australian people. Can somebody please explain to me why the Police would ask permission from any religious cleric to talk with a terrorist suspect?

It would appear the West Australian education department and the minister have been seduced by dogma. We all have, in this wonderful nation, the freedom to practise a chosen faith if we wish and religious organisations are free to establish faith - based schools, however the nation is and must remain secular, as must our public school system.

I note Imams are inviting people to attend mosques, to learn of the Islamic faith, a kind invitation, but perhaps it is the Imams who need to learn. Indeed it seems we may not be properly advising intending migrants and refugees of our Australian way of life and practiced, secular democracy. Accurately informed, some may then find Australia is not a nation compatible with their beliefs and lifestyle, I for one have no wish to see the situation Germany witnessed just three weeks ago, where dissatisfied young Muslim men marched through the streets demanding a German caliphate.

Now we have a West Australian Member of our Federal Parliament shouting a PLO / HAMAS slogan, demanding Australia take action to bring Israel into line. This is a war. There is nothing good, or civilised about it and as with every war, it is civilians who pay the price – they started paying that price on October 7th 2023.

Worse than most wars, the soldiers on one side hide amongst the robes of women and the innocence of children, placing themselves in hospitals and refugee camps, deliberately making these civilians targets. But apparently that’s all Israel’s fault.

As I understand the current population figures, there are 100,000 Jewish people living in Australia and 800,000 Muslims. Apart from pleas for safety, the Jewish citizens make no demands, however Muslim citizens are increasingly stridently and aggressively vocal. Surely as a nation we have to draw a line with this growing fanaticism and increasingly obvious intent to demand and impose Islamic beliefs on Australia.

The Catholics and the Protestants have thankfully pulled their heads in in recent years, some would say turning their unwanted attention to children, the Jews have not tried to impose anything, but here we are with another bloody religion demanding changes to our society. By all means have your faith, whatever it may be, but your faith must be a private matter, not something you attempt to impose on fellow Australians.

Meanwhile, the terrible Gaza conflict grinds on its treacherous horrific path and Australians, like many people around the world, are increasingly divided as to fault and responsibility. Many leaders have tried over the years to sort the issues out, but to their discredit, the Palestinians have repeatedly refused all solutions.

Israel under the leadership of Netanyahu and in the last decade or so, his far-right power base, have been inexcusably guilty of land theft and shocking treatment of Palestinian people, inflaming an already dire, explosive situation. One terrible result of the HAMAS attack, is that not only did they butcher and kidnap the very people who most wanted a two – state peaceful solution, ?their murderess actions have kept Netanyahu in power – perhaps HAMAS intended it that way, the terrorist organisation has no more intention of stopping attacks on Israel, than the Far-Right Settlers have of giving the stolen land back.

As a ordinary bloke, watching horrified on the sidelines, the only immediate way forward, is for the Arab nations supporting HAMAS, especially Qatar, to order HAMAS to immediately hand back the kidnapped Israelis, dead or alive and get out of Palestine. At the same time, the USA must tell Netanyahu there is no more support unless he orders a ceasefire and finally, the Israeli people must throw him out. Then a consortium of Arab and other willing nations can step in with the Israeli and Palestinian governments and begin the long and difficult process of establishing peace and an equitable two-state solution.

Greg Ross