Show kindness at home amid violence overseas: minister
Politicians have called on Australians to look for humanity amongst the violence in the Middle East and show kindness to diasporas caught in the crossfire.
Jason Clare Photo: “X”
Jewish and Palestinian Australians are scared and angry at the scenes of violence thousands of kilometres away, and the nation should come together and show compassion at home, a Labor minister says.
Education Minister Jason Clare reiterated the distinction between Hamas, which is designated a terrorist group by the Australian government, and the civilians living in the occupied territories of Palestine.
“There are a lot of innocent people that are caught in the crossfire,” he told Seven’s Sunrise on Friday.
“All of those dead bodies we see on our TVs every night – if you’re a Jewish Australian or if you’re a Palestinian Australian – are different because those people often are their family.
“That’s why they’re angry, it’s why they’re scared, that’s why they’re asking for a bit of compassion from us.”
All Australians, whether they are Jewish, Muslim, Christian or otherwise, should unite to turn down the heat, Mr Clare said.
“We can’t change what’s happening on the other side of the world, but we’ve got to keep this country together.”
Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said she had never seen such discord within Australia before.
“I have despair at the lack of humanity from Hamas to the Palestinian people of Gaza and we have to remember that using those people as human shields in this conflict has triggered some pretty awful results,” she told Sunrise.
“We have to remember that there are Jewish Australians who are fearful to show the symbols of their faith to get on their school buses, to worship at their synagogues.
“This is a lack of social cohesion that I have never seen in the finest multicultural country in the world.”
The tone of debate and level of animosity in the community over the conflict between Israel and Hamas cannot be judged by the loudest voices, Employment Minister Tony Burke said.
“There is a risk that if people just go to the loudest voices, they’ll find the most offensive comments,” he told AAP.
“You can misjudge a whole lot of the goodwill that is in fact there in Australian society.”
On Friday (AEDT), two Hamas gunmen killed three people at a Jerusalem bus stop.
Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham echoed his colleagues’ calls to maintain peace within Australia.
“People are free in Australia to express their views (but) they should do so never in a way that intimidates others,” he told Sky News.
“They must do so in a way that is respectful of complexities here and the fact that there are tragedies felt by all sides.”
A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was extended for a seventh day on Thursday (AEDT) as hostage and prisoner swaps continue.
This follows weeks of violence sparked by the militant group’s attack on October 7 that killed 1200 Israelis and led to hundreds more being taken hostage.
This event itself was the latest catalyst in a 75-year-long history of discord between the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel.
Prior to the truce, Israel responded by unleashing a bombing campaign and imposing a blockade on food, water and electricity that has killed more than 15,000 Gazans and displaced nearly 80 per cent of the population.
By: Kat Wong and Dominic Giannini/AAP
In fact, you can’t draw such a distinct line between the operative Hamas terrorists and the civilians of Gaza. You only have to witness the treatment on the streets of hostages brought back to Gaza, where many of them were ridiculed and beaten. The 12 years old French-Israeli hostage was one who was beaten badly by civilians.
So, yes there may be many Gazan citizens who have no truck with Hamas, but it doesn’t apply carte blanche to all of them.