The president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, has arrived in Australia. Herzog’s visit is a gesture of unified narrative, an about-face by the Australian government after its recognition of Palestine and a return to an endorsement of Israels colonialism and genocide.
While it is a politically charged statement to claim that a genocide is occurring in Gaza, impartial international bodies including the United Nations, International Association of Genocide Scholars, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Doctors Without Borders all agree. And yet, in so many quarters Israel is treated as above criticism or condemnation, and in some cases it’s even illegal to do so.
Hosting the president of Israel is supposedly a renewed commitment to protect the Australian-Jewish community in the wake of the murder spree at Bondi beach, where a father and son took it upon themselves to kill in an act of obscene violence. The massacre of innocent people at Bondi has become an opportunity by the Australian government to pass new laws, ranging from further firearms ownership restrictions to more media censorship. It also signifies the Australian government’s intentional blindness or even endorsement of the genocide in Gaza.
Australia’s new “hate” laws are made to benefit the state of Israel and its ambitions in the Middle East. Among the Australian populace there’s confusion as to what is allowable speech, what some legal scholars refer to as “the chilling effect”; individuals are uncertain as to what is allowed, so they suppress themselves out of fear. As it turns out, calling for the destruction and mass death of Palestinians is not hate, but it may be a crime to describe Israeli actions in Gaza as a genocide.
Prostestors of Herzog’s visit have been met with a heavy handed response by the New South Wales police, leading to beatings and arrests. It’s likely that some individuals may be charged under the new laws and face legal punishment by being present at the protests or exercising the human right of speaking their mind. Grace Tame, the 2021 winner of Australian of the Year, attended the protests and expressed her outrage over the genocide in Gaza. If she does face legal ramifications for her moral position, it’s a further example of the ludicrous nature of liberal democracies and their inability to hold any principles.
As a contrast, President Isaac Herzog has been accused of inciting genocide by the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory. In October 2023, he said, “It’s an entire nation out there that is responsible,” in reference to every person in Gaza being responsible for the October 7 attack by Hamas. What such a man says is less important than what the government he presides over has done and continues to do. And for more than two years Israel has put his words into action, resulting in mass murder by means of collective punishment.
Even though the Australian government is a signatory to numerous international bodies pertaining to human rights and world peace, an exception has been carved out for Israel. Chris Sidoti, a former Australian Human Rights Commissioner for the United Nations, called for Herzog to be arrested once he arrived in Australia. The Australian Centre for International Justice and the Hind Rajab Foundation also called for the Australian Federal Police to investigate Herzog under the Commonwealth Criminal Code. Obviously, neither of these proscriptions have occurred. Herzog and the whole Israeli government know with confidence that they have immunity from such toothless bodies.
Previously, these international bodies were used by liberal democracies like the United States and Australia to wage wars and violent interventions, when it suited their need. But when an ally stands accused, legitimacy is thrown out the window. It also helps that countries like Australia have politically influential lobby groups that participate in setting policy and motivating elected officials into particular directions. The Australia Israel & Jewish Affairs Council is the most influential of the pro-Israel groups, similar to the U.S.-based AIPAC. These organizations ensure money circulates where it needs to while massaging narratives in media and the halls of government according to the interests of Israel.
Criticism of Israel results in an individual or group tarred with the label, “antisemite,” a convenient conflation of Israel and Jewish people around the world. This removes any nuance or sophistication of discourse by design. The pro-Israeli and Zionist organizations in Australia do have power, especially considering the Jewish community is rather small, and Israel is in another region of the world.
Australia is a strategic element to the U.S. empire, and thus is of interest to Israel. Military and intelligence gathering bases such as Pine Gap, being a member of the 5-Eyes spying gang, vast mineral resources, and our defense industry mean that foreign governments need to sway Australian leaders. Australia’s location in Asia is also an important interest to any expansive empire. Australian governments have a tendency to be willing coalition partners and have historically exhibited an insecurity stemming from their geographic position. The paranoia of isolation along with schizophrenic, xenophobic tendencies among Australian policy makers has ensured that it clings to empires, once the British and now the American, while also being dependent on and ensnared by the larger players in the region such as China and India.
Being cosy and friendly with Israel ensures that Australia is a trusted and secure partner in a club of nations. That is why, no matter how loud the protests, or the stream of condemnations from human rights organizations—not to mention the piles of dead bodies, many of them children—no Australian government will really challenge Israeli behavior. The current political leadership in Australia survives through welfare dependency and a lack of any democratic political opposition. And even if the main opposition party was in power, they would be just the same on Israel.
Over the decades, Australian political leadership has gone from a brief period of confidence and a desire for independence, seen under Gough Whitlam, to a sycophantic obedience under fellows like Robert Menzies and his adoration for Mother England. The coup of Whitlam in 1975 is a lesson close in mind for all Australian prime ministers. Australian governments have to adore Washington’s empire, and in turn its closest appendage, Isarel. There is no moral independence, just national dependence.
While many protesters and the common person on the street may be making it clear that they do not support the genocide in Gaza and want it to end, some others are expressing a bigotry against “Jews” that never before was a widespread aspect of Australian society. The special treatment for Israel and the banning of nationalistic or “hate” speech has in turn marshalled a lot of younger people into despising Israel and the wider Jewish community. This is a direct reaction to the Australian government’s own laws and to the genocide in Gaza. It’s an extreme and ugly swerve into a direction that will reveal unpleasant attitudes.
In the meantime, the protests in Sydney and the police reaction will be added to the violence and distress caused by the presence of a man who represents a government in the midst of genocide. Advocates for Israel will cheer as they watch protesters beaten by the police. Critics of the protests are filled with people who hate Arabs and Muslims, and despise the political left—it’s assumed only a left-winger would protest such a thing—or believe that anyone who protests Israel supports Hamas and Islamic terrorism. The Australian government will with certainty remove more freedoms and liberties. And lobbyists from the Israeli government will help them do so, through funding, messaging, and think-tanks.
In a 1973 speech at the Sydney Town Hall, Prime Minister Gough Whitlam said, “While successive Australian governments have maintained neutrality on the dispute, they have not been neutral and are not neutral on basic elements of the dispute. We are not neutral on the sovereignty of Israel…” He would later go on to confirm that there was blackmailing and crude lobbying by and for Israel in Australian politics. The need to bring Australia in line dates back to even then.
Plans to ban pro-Palestine slogans and other critical expressions against Israel include jail sentences. This is coming from a nation that has eagerly gone to war all over the world under the deceitful guise of liberalism, whose government is so insecure when it comes to free speech that it lacks any form of moral dignity. Australian governments don’t have shame because they’re typically full of real estate grifters and those bought by whomever needs a favor done. Australians deserve better and the innocent people of Palestine deserve better. Indeed, the world does. Unfortunately, men like Herzog—a friend of the late sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein—are those who have the power and so long as there are cops willing to beat and censor on their behalf, they will continue to rule.
