Melbourne calls out the Red Cross to do its job

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Jewish community members Tamar Paluch and Simone Whine have led a protest held outside the offices of the Red Cross in Melbourne.

JCCV President Philip Zajac    (All photos David Marolow/J-Wire)

The protest was strongly supported by Victorian Jewish community members who attended, calling for the Red Cross “to do its job” with respect to the Israeli and other nationality hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza.  The protesters called for the Red Cross to ensure that the hostages were visited by health professionals and were provided with welfare checks.

JCCV President Philip Zajac told J-Wire that the protest organisers, JCCV and State member Liberal MP David Southwick had requested a meeting with Red Cross management to ask the Australian Red Cross to call on the International Red Cross to do its job in Gaza and look after the hostages.  He said that the offer to meet had not been accepted by Red Cross management.

Zajac spoke at the protest, saying, “I am here, President of the Jewish Community Council of Victoria, to say strongly on behalf of the community I lead: Red Cross, where are you for the hostages taken from Israel by Hamas on October 7?”

The Red Cross must urgently gain access to our hostages. The hostages in Hamas captivity aren’t just Israelis. They are citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Russia, Brazil, Ukraine, Argentina and other countries.

The taking of hostages is a crime against humanity.

Hamas is standing in the way of the Red Cross living up to its esteemed values and reasons for being – the Red Cross’ impartiality. The Red Cross’ neutrality. And the Red Cross’ independent status to allow it to support all of humanity. The Red Cross’ values are being tarnished.

Protest members outside the offices of the Red Cross in Melbourne

After 68 long days and nights, Hamas continues to detain, torture and terrorise 138 people, with barely a whimper from the Red Cross.

Philip Zajac added: “We are becoming far too familiar with the stories of the dozens still being held by Hamas. 19-year-old Naama Levy, who was bundled into a Hamas jeep covered in blood, looking terrified. Red Cross, where is Naama? What are you doing to help her?”

85-year-old Shlomo Mansour, a chicken farmer who made Aliyah from Iraq. Red Cross, where is Shlomo? What are you doing to help this elderly gentleman?

In the tangled web of conflict, the world expects the Red Cross to stand up for humanity. To help the people caught in the crossfires. Today we ask, where are you for the hostages?”

Other speakers included the protest organisers, Dr Miriam Kuttner, who represented Jewish doctors, and Charlene Miller, who represented Zionism Victoria.

In response to the Red Cross protest today, AIJAC told J-Wire that it endorsed the grassroots Australian effort urging Red Cross Australia to lobby its international umbrella organisation to demand access to, and the release of, the Israeli hostages who remain in captivity since being abducted by Hamas on October 7.

Protest organisers Tamar Paluch and Simone Whine

AIJAC also rejected excuses from the International Committee of the Red Cross, saying it was “unable to force our way in (to Gaza)”. (ICRC official communications – 6 December 2023) .”

AIJAC Executive Director Dr Colin Rubenstein said: “Throughout its 160-year history, the International Committee of the Red Cross has repeatedly disappointed and failed the Jewish people, and in recent years it has displayed a pronounced bias against the Jewish State, Israel.

“The Red Cross frequently emphasises its so-called `neutral’ stance and commitment to the well-being and safety of non-combatants and civilians; if this is the case, it should be actively present inside Gaza, ensuring the welfare of the hostages and providing them with urgently needed medical attention.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross has an obligation to demand access, and subsequently demand that Hamas immediately and unconditionally release all Israeli hostages.

The families and supporters of the Israeli hostages have expressed their frustration and disappointment with the International Committee of the Red Cross for its inaction regarding the hostages held by the genocidal terrorist movement, Hamas.

The excuses of the International Committee of the Red Cross ring hollow.”

The Jewish Doctors Association in Melbourne has sent and resent the following letters signed primarily by Palliative Care Physician Dr Naomi Katz and dermatologist Dr Jack Green last month.

The Red Cross has not acknowledged them.

On November 9th

We are writing to you as Australian representatives of a global, apolitical group of medical physicians and healthcare professionals. We are gravely concerned about the health and well-being of over 240 hostages who were violently kidnapped by Hamas from Israel. Our commitment echoes our responsibility to always do our utmost to respect and protect human life and human dignity.

It is with deep concern that we address the situation that unfolded on October 7th, when the barbaric terror organisation, Hamas, mutilated, burnt, raped, hunted, and tortured Israeli citizens and foreign nationals, decimating entire families, and ripping others apart. In addition, over 240 individuals were violently kidnapped and taken to Gaza; including babies as young as 9 months old, toddlers, women, men and elderly people including seriously injured individuals and others on life saving medication. These acts represent a flagrant disregard for humanity and a violation of international humanitarian law.

Despite the continuous communication of the hostages’ health data by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, who have been liaising with you since October 14th, there remains a disturbing silence about the hostages’ current state and living conditions. The lack of any humanitarian visit to assess their physical and mental state is deeply troubling.

While we acknowledge with gratitude the Red Cross’s assistance with the four hostages who have been released, we find ourselves distressed and confronted by the stance that the organisation has publicly adopted. It is imperative to recall the introspective words of Mr. Peter Maurer, President of the ICRC in Geneva, in relation to previous atrocities.  On April 2015 Mr. Maurer said: “…the ICRC also learned some hard lessons. It had failed to protect civilians, and most notably the Jews persecuted and murdered by the Nazi regime; it had failed to respond to the atrocity with the necessary urgency, resorting instead to standard procedures; it had remained passive and silent, not exerting enough effort to honour the principle of humanity… This lapse is now an indelible part of our collective memory.”

We cannot condone inaction as we remember the horrific acts inflicted on humanity during the second world war, and acknowledge that there are innocent kidnapped civilians and casualties from 41 countries, (including Australia), being held by Hamas in Gaza. This is all as we approach eight decades since one of the darkest periods in history. We urgently call on the Red Cross to honour its obligation and mandate, to advocate for and ensure the wellbeing of every person held unjustly by a most horrific terror organisation. It is unfathomable that so many individuals and organisations across the globe, (including health professionals, and humanitarian aid and rights organisations), are calling for a ceasefire without calling for the release of all hostages.

We ask that the organisation exercise its influence and responsibilities to demand immediate hostage access and release. The moment for action is now, and your prompt and decisive response is critical.

And then on November 27th, they wrote:

To the Australian Red Cross CEO and Executive Team,
We assume you are aware of recent coordinated global efforts to express concern about the absence of Red Cross welfare checks for the hostages held in Gaza. Red Cross offices around the world were visited by health professionals concerned for the physical, psychological, and emotional well-being of the hostages and called for urgent action by the Red Cross.

We became aware that six days ago, ICRC director, Ms Mirjana Spoljaric, met with Hamas leader, Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar, and that she shared a statement insisting that the ICRC be allowed to visit the hostages. While we are relieved by the initial release of several groups of hostages, as part of a ceasefire deal, we are troubled that access to all hostages (which was part of that agreement) has not occurred. Even more troubling, is news that some of the hostages’ whereabouts are not even known. Further pressure must be placed on Hamas to allow the ICRC safe access to the victims of terror.

We are sharing a letter written and circulated on November 9th that has now been signed by over 1,000 people.