Herzog’s tree and Australia’s complicity

Behind the pageantry of Herzog’s visit, critics argue Australia is ignoring legal warnings and moral responsibility for Israel’s behavior in Palestine, writes Lyn Bender.

PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL Isaac Herzoghappily supporting uproot The olive fields of the Palestinians had the audacity to plant a tree. olive tree In the name of Israel on Australian soil. He now stands alone and is trapped in the Israeli Embassy in Canberra.

“Hypocrisy doesn’t even begin to cover it up.” declared Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi On the lawns of the Houses of Parliament. His anger is similar to mine. Greens Senator faces racist accusations. Because I am Jewish, I am accused of being a traitor to the Jewish people.

I wonder what was going on in Herzog’s mind as he caressed the soil at the base of that tree. Was he claiming ownership of decades-old olive trees destroyed by West Bank settlers? Or symbolically claiming that European Jews claimed a Middle Eastern identity and displaced indigenous people.

Thus, it was declared that the Palestinians did not exist as a people with rights to the land and olive groves.

Israelis will remove or plant decades-old beloved olive trees as they wish.

A few weeks before the terrible incident Murders in BondiI also planted an olive tree in my own garden. I thought of them as I planted olive groves in honor of the Palestinians. I thought about how the trees and Palestinians were displaced.

Protesters across Australia bravely waved banners accusing Isaac Herzog of being a facilitator of genocide.

Meanwhile, Herzog and his wife were smiling as they planted olive trees in Australian soil. Because how can planting trees be seen as anything other than supporting life?

Bending down with a shovel to dig the ground to find a tree is a more beautiful sight than bending over. sign the bomb.

This regulation will be a gift to Palestinians seeking refuge in the derisively called “safe zone” from which they may have fled. The olive tree will bear fruit for future diplomatic personnel. The bombs will kill and vaporize innocent Palestinians who stand in the way of imperialist goals. Will this lonely tree make the Israeli ambassador feel at home?

Any propagandist knows that a demonstration of planting trees is a good image, while signing a bomb to destroy families is a “bad point of view.”

But Herzog’s tour of Sydney, Canberra and Melbourne revealed the Israeli story. Deny the truth and act as if the opposite were true.

Frequently repeated distortions are used to counter the evidence of our eyes:

There is no genocide.

There are so many Palestinians still alive that this cannot be genocide.

Hamas used those killed as human shields.

Hamas started October 7, 2023.

The Holocaust is often invoked to explain impunity for Israel’s atrocities.

Anyone who criticizes Israel is antisemitic.

Even if you are documented as Jewish and criticize Israel, you will be dismissed as an antisemitic or self-hating Jew.

Even if your family was killed by the Nazis in Poland, you would still be declared an anti-Semite if you said even one word in support of the Palestinians.

Anyone who supports the Palestinians is considered anti-Semitic.

Those who protest the genocide are Hamas sympathizers and anti-Semites.

Saying that Israel has the right to defend itself legitimizes oppression.

Palestinians who try to defend themselves are terrorists.

The Israel Defense Forces is the most moral army in the world.

New Jewish CouncilIt was dismissed as a fringe group by Zionist Lobby groups advocating Palestinian Rights.

The opposite of this:

All violence is abhorrent and must be condemned.

All victims deserve support and compassion.

Palestine is under a brutal and illegal occupation.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese He called for calm and social harmony, but his fawning over the Israeli President had the opposite effect. At the same time, ignoring the pain Palestine The diaspora in Australia is remarkable.

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu The government blamed the Albans for the Bondi massacre. recognized the state of Palestine. Support for Palestine was paired with the idea that this somehow led to what is now simply called “Bondi”. It was around October 7th.

Australian Prime Minister and his new wife, Jodie, booed loudly At the memorial service for Bondi. The Prime Minister walked through the booing crowd of mourners, looking distraught while Jodie looked shocked. he stopped accused By commentator as Premier of NSW Chris Minns was hosted.

This may have figuratively twisted Albanese’s arm and forced him to embrace Herzog.

In my experience growing up in a community of Melbourne Holocaust survivors, you resisted the Israeli-backed Zionist community at your own peril.

Since childhood, we have been taught to believe in the myth that Israel made the desert bloom and fought bravely against its barbarian Arab enemies. They declared that Israel was promised by God to the Jewish people. Despite some Orthodox scholars I refute this. Nakba The massacre and displacement of 1948 were never acknowledged. The “Arabs” were less human. Now they are described as animals by the extreme Zionist government.

President of Israel, accused of inciting genocideHe was welcomed by Albanese.

Legal experts condemned the visit.

human rights lawyer Chris Sedoti He stated that he should never have been invited, declare Herzog’s visit was for propaganda purposes. Professor Ben Saul agreed with these views.

Amnesty International He also stated that Australia had an obligation to investigate the head of a state believed to have committed genocide.

International Criminal Court (ICC) to have Issue Arrest warrant issued for war crimes committed by Netanyahu and Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant. Also, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) provision confirmed the illegality It’s about Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

Despite all this, Albanese greeted President Herzog with the respect befitting a beloved hero.

NSW has outdone itself by allowing police to crack down on protesters in an ICE-like manner. Muslim demonstrators were dragged from prayer. It was as if this violent crackdown was timed to make the President of a rogue nation feel right at home.

Israel adds respected institutions, including the UN Special Rapporteur, to the list of those declared antisemitic Francesca Albanese.

The Prime Minister seems unable to recognize the obvious. He called out in a sorrowful and somewhat peevish voice:social harmony”, instructs Australians “Reduce the temperature”. Another unfortunate instruction from the Prime Minister as climate change wreaks havoc.

Albanese sought his late mother’s wisdom: “If you’re going to make your bed, you should sleep in it.” regarding ISIS women and their children are stranded in filthy Syrian camps. Is this his perspective on Palestinian families carrying rags for beds?

I wonder if Prime Minister Albanese’s missteps, blunders and calls lead to a time when he can declare that he needs to spend more time with his family?

My dilemma is: what would happen? Jillian Segalspecial “Zionist” Ambassador Decree to define what antisemitism is and what it is not? Defining anti-Semitism in connection with anti-Zionism, criticism By the UNSW Human Rights Institute.

My questions:

Is my olive tree planted in honor of Palestine antisemitic?

Will a tree planted by President Herzog at the Israeli Embassy in Canberra, which evokes genocide, somehow complete the genocide?

what happened to you olive trees and their growers in Palestine?