2024-11-04
By Chris Johansen, Green Issue Co-editor
A child’s mind begins as a blank canvas. It accepts whatever information is fed into it as it has no terms of reference to do otherwise; and its critical faculties are yet to be developed.
In the 1950s I readily accepted what I had been told about the founding of Israel as a wonderful thing. From my very early years I had been made aware of WW2 (I was actually born into it) and the holocaust, involving the murder of some six million Jews. I shared in the WW2 victory celebrations of my elders and the magnanimity of being able to give a country to a people that had suffered so much. We could do that as, I was often reminded, we were part of the greatest empire the world had ever known, the British Empire, and the country we were giving was just part of the British mandated territory of Palestine.
But there were quite a few facts I was not enlightened about in the 1950s, about which I only became aware of in subsequent decades, as my critical faculties developed and experiences widened. Starting with Great Britain’s Empire, I was not informed that it was crumbling in the 1950s, with so many colonies gaining their independence from it. When I did learn of a colony becoming independent it was explained as Great Britain’s magnanimity in letting those people have a go at governing themselves. In reality, with its economy shattered by WW2, Great Britain no longer had the capacity or will to continue suppressing the freedom movements (or terrorists as they were then labelled) in most of its colonies.
I was not informed about the concept and consequences of Terra Nullius – being able to claim ownership of land irrespective of the rights of the indigenous people who had lived there for centuries or millennia. In 1948 a portion of Palestine was established as the state of Israel without reference to indigenous Palestinians. In much the same way that the British invoked Terra Nullius in Australia to claim sovereignty over that continent.
I was not told about the Zionist movement, an extreme form of nationalistic Judaism aimed at forming a Jewish State in their “holy land” – between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea. In the 1930s and 40s they fielded various militias in Palestine, using terror tactics against the occupying British as well as local Muslims, Christians and less radical Jews. Indeed during this period the British classified these Zionist groups as terrorists. After WW2 the British simply gave up trying to combat these militias and, with the overwhelming sympathy then for holocaust survivors, decided to give up their mandate and acceded to the creation of Israel.
And I was definitely not informed about the Nakba, which means “catastrophe”, in 1948, the institution of ethnic cleansing, genocide, apartheid and colonization which has continued to this day. In 1948-9 some 750,000 Palestinians were forced from their homes within what was then designated boundaries of the new state of Israel. They were forced into neighbouring Arab states, who, not surprisingly, took up arms against Israel. However, with superior military capabilities, backed by western supporters, this simply allowed Israel to conquer and annexe more of Palestine. This is illustrated in the iconic map of shrinking Palestine below.
From thinking that the creation of Israel was a just and praiseworthy outcome of WW2 through the 1950s, my views changed by about 180 ° from some time in 1961 or 62. In one of the first ever ABC Four Corners programs then there were scenes of 12-13 year-old Palestinian youths holding wooden “guns” crawling through trenches under barbed wire. Closeups of their faces revealed that they were not just playing games but were in training for actual military combat. My reaction at the time, which I clearly recall, was “uh oh, this is a bad omen unless the basic reason for such behaviour is soon resolved”. Unfortunately, my diagnosis was accurate, and the Middle East has remained the hotbed of wars ever since.
I have lived amidst Muslims for long, with fellow graduate students during 1968-71, and then ever since from 1979 in Bangladesh, India and Australia. I know that the injustice of Palestine burns deep and the flames will not be extinguished until the ethnic cleansing, genocide, apartheid and colonization against Palestinians ceases. If one examines the basic raison d’être of what western countries label as “Islamic terrorist organizations”, such as Hamas, Hezbollah, Al Qaeda, Taliban and Islamic State, it is fundamentally the injustice of Israel-Palestine. Although Islamic State was pushed to further extremes by the US-led humiliation of Muslims with the invasion of Iraq (e.g. forcing captured insurgents to lie naked on top of one another; Wikileaks videos of a helicopter gunship shooting of Muslim journalists).
It is clear that the Zionists now ruling Israel feel that their original aim of absolute sovereignty from the river to the sea is nearly accomplished. Gaza is decimated and its population forced to flee up and down its length to escape continued bombing and shelling, the idea being that they are either forced out of that territory or rendered so weak that they have no choice but to accede to Israel’s sovereignty. In the West Bank continued ethnic cleansing and the spread of Israeli settlements has accelerated. Israel is now bombing Lebanon to ensure that the Lebanese stay well away from Israel’s northern border.
Most member countries of the UN, led by the Global South, interpret the situation in much the same way as I have described above. And so do the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. But why are they seemingly impotent to intervene? Due to the veto powers afforded to the US, being the major victor of WW2. And why is the US unwavering in its defence of Israel, no matter what atrocities they commit? Because Israel is a proxy state of the US enabling US dominance in that part of the world.
But with a clear view of the ongoing genocide why is the Australian Government commentary on it simply confined to “Israel has every right to defend itself”? The Australian attitude towards Palestine seems no different from mine held over 70 years ago – no sign of any evolution. Two main reasons. Firstly, Australia has evermore firmly entrenched itself as a proxy of the US in the East and South Asia region, e.g. via AUKUS. Whatever is US policy, we are now more than ever obliged to follow.
Secondly, the ethnic cleansing, genocide, apartheid and colonization being conducted by Israel has a very similar precedent in Australia from 1788 to about 1960. Australia is not yet ready for the truth telling and treaty necessary to reconcile with the past, as evidenced by the failure of the Voice referendum a year ago. It is therefore reluctant to criticize a country committing the same sins as its own and from which it has not yet been able to expunge itself.
The only option for peace now seems to rely on the Global South putting its foot down and insisting on the establishment of an independent Palestinian state, perhaps somewhat like envisaged in the 1947 Partition Plan (see map).
Assuming Israel is successful in achieving its objective of absolute sovereignty from the river to the sea, and expanding its borders into Lebanon, Syria and Jordon, this will not bring peace. The additional animosity engendered by Israel’s current military adventure will ensure continuing hostilities involving the latest military hardware enhanced by AI software.
Header photo: Palestinians walk past homes destroyed by the Israeli army in Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip on February 22, 2024. Credit: Reuters/Mahmoud Issa, as viewed on Al Jazeera
[Opinions expressed are those of the author and not official policy of Greens WA]