60 prominent anti-racist Jewish and non-Jewish Australians oppose Israeli crimes & extremist Netanyahu visit to Australia (February, 2017):
“Australia should not welcome the Prime Minister of Israel
We strongly oppose the official visit to Australia of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israel continues to defy all United Nations calls for it to comply with international law in respect of its illegal settlement building, and its treatment of the indigenous Palestinian population. Instead, over the last 50 years, Israel has held the people of Palestine under military occupation and:
·continues to illegally build settlements on Palestinian land in the West Bank and East Jerusalem;
·continues to confiscate Palestinian land;
·continues to demolish Palestinian homes;
· continues its policy of imprisonment of Palestinians without trial even of children as young as 12; and
·continues its blockade of the 1.8 million civilian inhabitants of Gaza.
Those actions are not symbolic of a nation desirous of building peace with its neighbours. Those policies build understandable resentment, anger and desperation amongst Palestinians.
We want all Israelis and Palestinians to have peace and freedom; we oppose all forms of terrorism and criminal violence by either side.
We recognise when there is a gross imbalance of power, conflict will never be resolved. Mr Netanyahu’s policies consistently aim to provoke, intimidate and oppress the Palestinian population which increase that imbalance, thus taking Israel irretrievably further from peace. These policies are inconsistent with Australian values and beliefs and we should not welcome him here.
The Australian Government needs to rethink its one-sided support for the Israeli Government. We are appalled that our Government opposes the recent UN Security Council
resolution supporting the application of international law to Israel and Palestine, when most nations, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France and New Zealand, support it. Even the USA did not oppose it. It is time for the suffering of the Palestinan people to stop and for Australia to take a more balanced role in supporting the application of international law and not supporting Mr Netanyahu and his policies.
Signatories
Gavan Griffith QC, former Solicitor General
Gavan Griffith QC, former Solicitor General
The Honourable Murray Rutledge Wilcox, AO, QC, former Federal Court Judge
Julian Burnside AO, QC
John Karkar QC
Paul Heywood Smith QC
Claire O’Connor SC
Janet Holmes-à-Court, AC
Jon Stanhope, ACT Chief Minister 2001-2011
The Hon Alan Griffin, former Labor Minister
The Hon Melissa Parke, former federal member for Fremantle and lawyer for the United Nations in Gaza
Jill Hall, Former member for Shortland
Laurie Ferguson, Former member for Werriwa
Hon. Sandra Kanck, Former Member of the South Australian Legislative Council
Ms Miriam Margolyes OBE, Actor
Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah, Writer and academic
Sara Dowse, Writer
Samah Sabawi, Author, Playwright and PhD candidate Victoria University
Bishop George Browning, Former Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn, APAN President
Rev Gregor Henderson AM, Past President, Uniting Church in Australia
Associate Professor Peter Slezak, Independent Australian Jewish Voices
Dr Peter Manning, journalist, academic and author
Emeritus Professor Stuart Rees AM, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies
Ms Wendy Turner, Founding and Executive member of Australia Palestine Advocacy Network
Professor Bassam Dally, The University of Adelaide
Professor Mohamad Abdall, University of South Australia
Jo Jordan, Presiding Clerk, for The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Australia
Christina Wilcox, filmmaker
Sara Saleh, media commentator and human rights activist
Dr Jacinda Woodhead, Editor, Overland magazine
Michael Brull, New Matilda columnist
Associate Professor Halim Rane, Griffith University
Dr Marcelo Svirsky, Senior Lecturer, University of Wollongong
Associate Professor Deborah Zion
Associate Professor Barbara Baird, Flinders University
Associate Professor Jake Lynch, Department of Peace and Conflict Studies
Professor Terri-ann White, The University of Western Australia
Professor John Langmore, University of Melbourne
Associate Professor Ahmad Shboul AM, University of Sydney
David Zyngier, Senior Lecturer, Monash University
Venerable Dr Erica Mathieson, Anglican Archdeacon of North Canberra
Hana Assafiri, Restaurateur and social justice advocate
Sister Susan Connelly, Member, Sisters of St Joseph
Father Claude Mostowik MSC, President Pax Christi Australia
Revd James Barr, Past Moderator, Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Connexion in Victoria
Ibrahim Ayshan, President, General Union of Palestinian Workers - Australia
Rev Harry Kerr, Convenor, Pax Christi Victoria
Dr. Mahmoud Abu Arab, Clinical Psychologist
Issa Shaweesh, businessman
David Forde, Pride of Australia Medal 2014
Dr Kevin Bray, Chair, Australians for Justice and Peace in Palestine
Harry Wallace, Director, Major Issues and Theology Foundation
Annette Brownlie, Chair, Just Peace Qld Inc.
Helen Rainger, President, Palestine Israel Ecumenical Network
Nasser Mashni, Australians for Palestine
Hilmi Dabbagh, Coordinator, Australian Palestinian Professionals Network
Assoc Prof Jon Jureidini Vice President Australian Friends of Palestine Association
Dr Vacy Vlazna, Coordinator, Justice for Palestine Matters
Cathy Peters, Convenor, Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine
Jamil Batshoun -President, The Australian Palestinian Club
Bashir Sawalha, President of Australian Palestinian Graduates Club” (“Australia should not welcome the Prime Minister of Israel”, February 2017: https://apanaustralia.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/statement_netanyahu_signatories_for_release_final.pdf ).