Stop the world... I want to get off.
I've been thinking all day about how to write this latest post and I still have no idea. I think I am just going to start writing and see where this takes me.
It's been one hell of a weekend here in Sydney. It started when I went to go shopping up the road from my house. In the 100m or so between my front door and the local supermarket I was bombarded by not one, but two sets of protesters trying to shove flyers into my hands with the following messages scrawled across them: "stop the genocide in Palestine" and "Stop the Israeli terrorists! End the occupation of Lebanon".
Every instinct in my body wanted to go up to them, and tell them where they could shove their bulls&%t pieces of paper. I wanted to scream at them, make them understand how ignorant they really are.
But I didn't. Why? I am not really sure. I confronted the very same people, who two weeks ago were camped outside my local train station, handing out more propagandist hateful lies. Within seconds I had the lot of them yelling at me, and screaming after me as I walked away, "Israel is the most racist country on earth!"
No. This time, I walked past them. I shook with rage. I could feel the blood boil through my veins and all I wanted to do was cry.
Tonight I turned on the television and caught the local news.
Last night, a 36 year old Israeli citizen was brutally murdered in Bondi - one of Sydney's most well-known beach-side suburbs. It is also a well-known Jewish area, with many Israeli travellers living there. As yet, the police don't know who did it, or why. There was this disturbing story in the Sydney Morning Herald today.
And there was another story - same day, same city. My so-called "home town" of Sydney.
This was a story about a peace rally in the city today. The rally was actually meant to mark the anniversary of the dropping of an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945. Instead, it was hi-jacked by anti-Israel protesters who marched through the city chanting, "Down, down Israel!".
A 16-year old Lebanese Australian boy draped in a Lebanese flag, defended Hezbollah.
"We're here to protest, to get Israel out of our country," he said.
"The world, USA, George Bush, John Howard, they're calling our Hezbollah terrorists. They're not terrorists; they're freedom fighters; they're just defending our country."
I am sorry - but has the world lost its mind? Is this Australia, or am I living in some kind of twisted alternate reality?
Since when did terrorists become the new super heroes for our children?
Next thing you know we'll be hearing that Al Qaeda's job on the Twin Towers was a justified act by "freedom fighters" who were just letting off a bit of steam. And hell, it was just America, and everyone knows that it's America (or better yet, the American Jews) who are behind it all anyway.
Oh, and while we are at it, how about the Bali bombings? I suppose Jemaah Islamiyah are just a bunch of misunderstood "freedom fighters" who thought Aussies were over-running Kuta?
Read the whole damn article if you dare.
When I was at high school and studying the events that lead up to the Holocaust, I remembered struggling to understand how an entire country like Germany could be completely brain-washed into believing that the Jews were single-handedly responsible for all their woes and misery.
We can't find work. BLAME THE JEWS.
We've got no money. BLAME THE JEWS.
We can't feed our kids. BLAME THE JEWS.
We all know what happened. No need for a spoiler here.
There will be those out there reading this and thinking, "hang on a second! Who said anything about antisemitism? This is a legitimate criticism of the actions of a country i.e. Israel."
Anti-Zionist, Israel-bashing, Antisemitism... call it what you like. Just don't be a hypocrite and tell me that they are not all one and the same thing. "Anti-Israel" is just the 2006 version of what Jews have been subjected to for centuries.
If my grandparents (G-d bless their souls) were alive today, I think they would be very frightened. What we are seeing now would have been all too familiar to them.
I never would have believed that in a country like Australia - a country built on migrants - that I would live to see what I am seeing today. And it frightens the shit out of me.
Where is the voice of reason in all this madness?
Where is the voice of truth?
It's been one hell of a weekend here in Sydney. It started when I went to go shopping up the road from my house. In the 100m or so between my front door and the local supermarket I was bombarded by not one, but two sets of protesters trying to shove flyers into my hands with the following messages scrawled across them: "stop the genocide in Palestine" and "Stop the Israeli terrorists! End the occupation of Lebanon".
Every instinct in my body wanted to go up to them, and tell them where they could shove their bulls&%t pieces of paper. I wanted to scream at them, make them understand how ignorant they really are.
But I didn't. Why? I am not really sure. I confronted the very same people, who two weeks ago were camped outside my local train station, handing out more propagandist hateful lies. Within seconds I had the lot of them yelling at me, and screaming after me as I walked away, "Israel is the most racist country on earth!"
No. This time, I walked past them. I shook with rage. I could feel the blood boil through my veins and all I wanted to do was cry.
Tonight I turned on the television and caught the local news.
Last night, a 36 year old Israeli citizen was brutally murdered in Bondi - one of Sydney's most well-known beach-side suburbs. It is also a well-known Jewish area, with many Israeli travellers living there. As yet, the police don't know who did it, or why. There was this disturbing story in the Sydney Morning Herald today.
And there was another story - same day, same city. My so-called "home town" of Sydney.
This was a story about a peace rally in the city today. The rally was actually meant to mark the anniversary of the dropping of an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima in 1945. Instead, it was hi-jacked by anti-Israel protesters who marched through the city chanting, "Down, down Israel!".
A 16-year old Lebanese Australian boy draped in a Lebanese flag, defended Hezbollah.
"We're here to protest, to get Israel out of our country," he said.
"The world, USA, George Bush, John Howard, they're calling our Hezbollah terrorists. They're not terrorists; they're freedom fighters; they're just defending our country."
I am sorry - but has the world lost its mind? Is this Australia, or am I living in some kind of twisted alternate reality?
Since when did terrorists become the new super heroes for our children?
Next thing you know we'll be hearing that Al Qaeda's job on the Twin Towers was a justified act by "freedom fighters" who were just letting off a bit of steam. And hell, it was just America, and everyone knows that it's America (or better yet, the American Jews) who are behind it all anyway.
Oh, and while we are at it, how about the Bali bombings? I suppose Jemaah Islamiyah are just a bunch of misunderstood "freedom fighters" who thought Aussies were over-running Kuta?
Read the whole damn article if you dare.
When I was at high school and studying the events that lead up to the Holocaust, I remembered struggling to understand how an entire country like Germany could be completely brain-washed into believing that the Jews were single-handedly responsible for all their woes and misery.
We can't find work. BLAME THE JEWS.
We've got no money. BLAME THE JEWS.
We can't feed our kids. BLAME THE JEWS.
We all know what happened. No need for a spoiler here.
There will be those out there reading this and thinking, "hang on a second! Who said anything about antisemitism? This is a legitimate criticism of the actions of a country i.e. Israel."
Anti-Zionist, Israel-bashing, Antisemitism... call it what you like. Just don't be a hypocrite and tell me that they are not all one and the same thing. "Anti-Israel" is just the 2006 version of what Jews have been subjected to for centuries.
If my grandparents (G-d bless their souls) were alive today, I think they would be very frightened. What we are seeing now would have been all too familiar to them.
I never would have believed that in a country like Australia - a country built on migrants - that I would live to see what I am seeing today. And it frightens the shit out of me.
Where is the voice of reason in all this madness?
Where is the voice of truth?
7:40 am
You need to know that the whole world is not against Israel. People in Canada in particular recognize the value and the strength of the Jewish people and it's nation and there is not doubt whatsoever that Israel will prevail in this battle gainst the terrorists . We are grateful that a Country - israel - is willing to take a military stand against the radical element and they are in fact helping to protect the whole world and hence make us safer here even in Canada. Thank you israel and my God protect you. top
6:00 pm
Interesting blog Sefton. I read your piece. Took me a couple of reads to get where you are coming from. I think I get you...! top
1:24 am
"And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed." Genesis 12:2-3
Might be a good idea for all those pseudo-peaceniks who oppose Israel to read what God thinks about His people and those who hate them.
Shalom, my friend! top