“Many Jewish people see as appalling the dominance of the Zionist as ‘God’s chosen people’ and their approach to the complete destruction of Palestine,” writes political columnist MICHAEL MOORE.

There is a reluctance amongst journalists and columnists to call Israel out on its totally disproportionate war on the Palestinian people. 

So powerful has the pro-Israel lobby been in Australia, and internationally, any valid criticism creates a fear of being branded as antisemitic – and therefore racist.

The powerful Israel lobby is in no position to call Jewish people “antisemitic”. So, what are Jewish writers who oppose the war saying?

According to Wieland Hoban, chairman of Germany’s Jüdische Stimme (Jewish Voice): “There is no inherent contradiction between being Jewish and supporting Palestinian rights”.

He told Euronews that “progressive” Jews often face marginalisation from all sides. It is not just the gentiles who are marginalised when they speak out about the innumerable atrocities that have been committed and framed as “retaliation”. 

More than 40,000 people are dead including more than 14,000 children in the name of retaliation. More than 50,000 children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition through the siege of Gaza. This is hardly “retaliation”.

Max Kaiser is one of the executive officers of the Jewish Council of Australia and the author of Jewish Antifascism and The False Promise of Settler Colonialism. Writing on Crikey.com, he is concerned about “the systemic erasure of Palestinian humanity that has become deeply entrenched in our society”.

Dr Kaiser makes the point that “for many Jews like me, our Jewish heritage teaches us the importance of ‘Tikkun Olam’ – repairing the world.”

“Today, that repair means confronting a truth that might make some people uncomfortable: the state of Israel is purposely destroying hundreds of thousands of Palestinian lives and attempting to erase Palestinian culture and memory,” he says.

In using the word “purposely”, Dr Kaiser refers to the United Nations’ Human Rights Council’s 55th Session earlier this year. The report’s title was “Anatomy of a Genocide”.

Section 93 of the report finds that “the threshold indicating the commission of the following acts of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza has been met: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to groups’ members; and deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part”. 

The report added that “genocidal acts were approved and given effect following statements of genocidal intent issued by senior military and government officials”.

Dr Kaiser was criticising the action of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in cancelling the performance by Jayson Gillham of the world premiere of a 2024 piece by Australian composer Connor D’Netto called “Witness”. 

Mr Gillham wanted to dedicate the performance to journalists that had been deliberately targeted and killed by Israeli armed forces.

Mr Gillham, in his dedication, pointed out that “over the last 10 months, Israel has killed more than one hundred Palestinian journalists. A number of these have been targeted assassinations of prominent journalists as they were travelling in marked press vehicles or wearing their press jackets. 

“The killing of journalists is a war crime in international law, and it is done in an effort to prevent the documentation and broadcasting of war crimes to the world”.

Zionists ‘complicit’ in seeking to end Palestinian existence

Dr Kaiser, argues that anyone who supports this form of Zionism is “complicit” in seeking to end Palestinian existence. 

“In the destruction of Palestinian cities, universities, hospitals, schools, and libraries, Israel seeks to create a world where Palestinians simply do not exist,” he says.

The actions of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra “reveals the extent to which the Israel lobby has succeeded in rendering Palestinian suffering invisible and Palestinian lives disposable”.

He is not alone in his criticisms. Many Jewish people see as appalling the dominance of the Zionist as “God’s chosen people” and their approach to the complete destruction of Palestine. 

The “progressives” have formed groups such as Rabbis for Ceasefire and IfNotNow. 

IfNotNow is an American Jewish group opposed to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories that started during the 2014 Israel-Hamas War.

As of mid-August, two thirds of people fleeing Gaza and seeking an Australian visa have been refused by the government. They worry about the extent to which their lives, and that of their children, are expendable. Safe zones in identified schools and hospitals are now a myth.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton believes that no Palestinians should be allowed a visa to enter Australia.

Dr Kaiser and other Jewish writers are challenging us to consider where complicity in this genocide starts and ends.

Michael Moore is a former member of the ACT Legislative Assembly and an independent minister for health. He has been a political columnist with “CityNews” since 2006.’