By Stephen Tardrew
The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas demands a hard look at Australia’s political response, particularly from the Labor Party, which has often aligned itself with U.S. and Israeli narratives. This alignment risks perpetuating a cycle of violence that many argue stems from decades of Israeli policies – policies that critics describe as colonial apartheid, land expropriation, and ethnic displacement. Rather than confronting these root causes, some see Labor’s rhetoric as subtly shifting blame onto Hamas, a tactic that echoes the “blaming the victim” trope and sidesteps the broader historical context.
Hamas, elected by Palestinians in Gaza in 2006, emerged as a response to prolonged oppression, including restricted access to land and resources. To its supporters, it represents a legitimate resistance against a state they view as having engaged in territorial expansion and systemic discrimination since before 1948. Yet, the focus on Hamas as a terrorist entity – often amplified by Western governments – diverts attention from holding Israel accountable for its actions, a pattern that critics say plays into a strategy of perpetuating conflict.
This double standard is not lost on Indigenous Australians, who recognise the familiar language of colonial justification. The invocation of the Holocaust as a shield for Israel’s policies, meanwhile, is seen by some as a moral inversion – using one tragedy to excuse another. Such framing demands scrutiny, not blind acceptance.
Labor’s approach appears driven by geopolitical loyalty to the U.S. and its allies, including both Republican and Democratic administrations, rather than a commitment to impartial truth. This perceived subservience, coupled with a lack of rigorous analysis, frustrates those who expect a more principled stance. The narrative that Hamas is merely a tool of U.S. and Israeli manipulation oversimplifies a complex struggle but highlights a broader failure to engage with objective evidence.
Two years into this devastating conflict, with thousands of civilian deaths, the reluctance to challenge these dynamics remains striking. This is not the Labor Party many once supported – one that might have demanded accountability from the outset, perhaps a year ago when the scale of suffering became undeniable. The absence of vocal opposition then, and now, suggests a missed opportunity to break from hypocritical neo-colonial posturing.
Ending this war requires an honest reckoning with these realities. Survival in an era dominated by figures like Trump and Netanyahu hinges on moral courage, not complicity. Australia and the West have shown too little of this decency, and the resulting shame may leave a lasting mark. The time for action is overdue, and without it, the West risks entrenching itself further in a cycle of violence and moral compromise.
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The clarity and weight here make this vital reading, but many will not read, or know, or even care. Zionism is and was, effectively, a policy of rendering extreme superstition into a reality, based on inevitable murder of a resident population, by invaders. Only one noted zionist was born in the British Palestine, Rabin, who was murdered by a fanatic for being decent. Undoubtedly, no Israeli today has any acceptable legal paperwork even of family tree, let alone deeds, rights, proof, of property and ownership rights going back far, certainly not thousands of connected years. They cannot even sue the British, the Ottomans, let alone the Romans. No promised land, no chosen race, just deep, delusional, destructive, divisive, disastrous superstition, irrational and uncivilised…there is no god, none ever seen, no proof.
Yes, agree 100%, Phil. Now all we have to do is to undo the irrational attachment that thieves, ignoramuses, liars, cheats, the faux religious, and criminals, who are the majority of Western politicians and their followers, to the deeply flawed, Israeli State and bloodthirsty Zionism.
A letter signed by 6000 members of the worlds Jewry calls upon Netanyahu to end the war in Gaza and stop damaging Israel and Jewish communities around the world. It is known as The London Initiative and demonstrated how far Netanyahu and his right-wing supporters have strayed from their original objectives : this is the letter and it brings into a proper perspective how the majority of Jews feel about what is going on in Gaza: https://thelondoninitiative.org/a-letter-from-world-jewry/
In another letter written and signed by a group of some 600 retired Israeli security officials, including former heads of intelligence agencies, addressed to US President Donald Trump in an attempt to gain his influence on Netanyahu to immediately end the war in Gaza, they stated that.
“It is our professional judgement that Hamas no longer poses a strategic threat to Israel.”
They went on to say “Your credibility with the vast majority of Israelis augments your ability to steer Prime Minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu and his government in the right direction: End the war, return the hostages, stop the suffering.”
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crkznje8nz8o
I believe that these are the facts and the nonsense being promoted by Netanyahu supporters including News Corporation and SKY in Australia is intentionally malicious, misinformation.
Regardless of what previous Australian Governments and Oppositions may or may not have said historically, Prime Minister Albanese is addressing the current Gaza – Israel policy as a matter to be decided by Australian independent sovereign governance and not as a response to foreign politicians or lobbyists. The clarion ad hominem ad nauseum response from Mr Netanyahu confirms that Australian diplomacy is directly “over the target”. Mr Netanyahus’ response is indicative of the morally weak leadership that has trashed Israels’ image abroad.
This piece highlights exactly what has been missing from Australia’s approach to the Israel-Hamas conflict – moral clarity and the courage to address the root causes. Our leaders cannot keep parroting U.S. and Israeli talking points while ignoring decades of occupation, land theft, and systemic oppression that fuel this cycle of violence. Condemning Hamas without equally holding Israel to account is not balanced, it is biased.
Australians expect our government, especially Labor, to stand for justice and international law, not geopolitical expediency. True leadership means recognising the humanity of all victims, rejecting colonial double standards, and demanding an end to policies that perpetuate suffering. This is the moment to step away from complicity and use our voice for peace and accountability, not to justify more bloodshed.
Denis Hay I totally agree.
Not only has Albanese Labor sleep walked into taking minimal action against Zionist Israel’s trashing of international laws and conventions it remains in lock step with other morally bankrupt Western countries whose credibility and authority to the Global South is now zero.
There is some powerful stuff here. I find the trashing of values goes with the trashing of Gaza and loath the creeps who enable the horor.