Let me be clear: Hamas is a terrorist organisation. The atrocities it committed in Israel are war crimes, including the horrific and indiscriminate slaughter of entire Jewish communities. The taking of hostages, elderly civilians as well as children and infants, is a breach of international law. Hamas should release them without conditions immediately. I’ve also communicated to Palestinian advocates in Australia that applauding the deaths of innocent people is abhorrent and will derail any hope for a return to peace, and I condemn it. The Israeli people have a right to live in safety and security, and Israel has a right to self-defence. However, that response must be carefully calibrated with the safety of civilians front of mind and within the dictates of international law, the laws of war, and in line with international conventions on human rights.
Ms DANIEL (Goldstein) (16:15): Firstly, I want to acknowledge the deep distress and anxiety among those in the large Jewish community in Goldstein. Everyone I’ve spoken to from within our Jewish community has a connection to family or friends directly affected by the Hamas terror attacks on Israel the week before last. There are a range of views in the community about what Israel’s response should be, but the sense of distress about what happened and what happens next is uniform.
Let me be clear: Hamas is a terrorist organisation. The atrocities it committed in Israel are war crimes, including the horrific and indiscriminate slaughter of entire Jewish communities. The taking of hostages, elderly civilians as well as children and infants, is a breach of international law. Hamas should release them without conditions immediately. I’ve also communicated to Palestinian advocates in Australia that applauding the deaths of innocent people is abhorrent and will derail any hope for a return to peace, and I condemn it. The Israeli people have a right to live in safety and security, and Israel has a right to self-defence. However, that response must be carefully calibrated with the safety of civilians front of mind and within the dictates of international law, the laws of war, and in line with international conventions on human rights.
I’ve already appealed for Israel to reconsider its decision to block humanitarian supplies to Gaza, a form of collective punishment, which appears to be in breach of international law. Calls for a humanitarian corridor are backed by the UN and the United States. The rules of war are clear: one inhumane act does not justify another, and the safety of civilians is paramount. I’m pleased that, in a sign of humanitarian concern, Israel has decided to restore some water supplies to southern Gaza. I’m aware that for many Jewish people these acts of humanitarianism will require unprecedented empathy considering the horrors that Hamas has committed. I will also say again: Palestinian civilians are not Hamas. I am appalled at reports that Hamas has encouraged Palestinian civilians in Gaza to stay put in the north. This is tantamount to Hamas turning the people of Gaza into human shields. It is mediaeval in the contempt for human life, as is the holding of Israeli hostages, including small children and the elderly, also being used as human shields.
As a foreign correspondent, I reported from trouble spots around the world, wherever possible drawing attention to human rights. I’ve continued to do so as an MP. The reality is that actions in times of war disproportionally affect civilians and, in this case, if not carefully executed, will and are causing untold death and destruction, potentially not only in Gaza and again in Israel but across a region that is always on a knife edge. This is a clear and present danger.
I have seen the results of conflict—the destruction, people missing limbs, bodies wrapped in shrouds, the grief of those left behind, the squalid camps full of the displaced and the traumatised. I speak with sincerity from the dark places where I hide these memories, with genuine concern for all people, and I grieve deeply for those affected in my own community, touched by the terror that has reached from Israel to Goldstein.
My want is for that to end here.
I note, too, the impact on children, who are being exposed to these brutal events on social media, with algorithms feeding them videos that no-one should see. I’ve raised this with the communications minister and I welcome the efforts of the eSafety Commissioner, who has reminded the digital platforms that they have a legal responsibility to remove such content—content which I know our children, my teenagers among them, are inadvertently being exposed to as they seek to understand what is happening.
I appreciate the efforts of the foreign minister in trying to assure those who want to leave that they have a way of getting out of Israel, and of her staff in addressing my representations on behalf of those in my community who have loved ones who are stranded, including children who are on gap years.
I know from my experience of reporting from around the world—from Africa, Asia and the Americas—that information is everything. I appeal to the government to make updates to information on the situation in Israel and the Palestinian territories as timely as possible. It is also profoundly important to step people who’ve never been in such dire circumstances before through the processes for registration for exit, and for their safety in the meantime.
Many in the Jewish community in Goldstein feel anxious and have concerns for their safety at the best of times, and these are far from the best of times. It was not so long ago, within the last few months, that a group of Jewish school students on a bus on their way home were threatened with a knife and subject to antisemitic abuse. Now students are being advised not to wear their uniforms and police have stepped up visibility and patrols around Jewish institutions. Some schools are said to be considering a return to remote learning.
I thank Victoria Police for their engagement with me and my office—close engagement that will continue, because we must keep our community safe. There is no room for either antisemitism or Islamophobia. I welcome the government’s announcement that security grants will be fast-tracked. I know that will be gratefully received in my community. I’ve spoken to major Jewish organisations within Goldstein and nationally. In the last week I’ve attended gatherings to mourn the worst loss of life in Israel since its establishment seven decades ago.
I note that Australia was instrumental in its foundation, with then foreign minister Doc Evatt taking the lead as chair of the relevant United Nations committee, leading to its international acknowledgement. Doc Evatt was President of the General Assembly when resolution 273 was adopted, admitting Israel to the UN. Australia was the first nation to vote in favour. He was President when the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted and when the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was passed. So Australia had a big part to play in the establishment both of Israel and of the international rules designed to make the world a safer place after World War II and the unparalleled horrors of the Holocaust. This international order stands and must be adhered to by all sides today.
I recently had the honour of visiting Israel and the Palestinian territories as a member of a cross-party official parliamentary delegation funded by the Australian government. My visit reinforced my view that only genuine dialogue can create progress and peace. But, even then, that dialogue seemed further off than ever, amid a leadership void in the Palestinian territories and an understandable sense of fatigue and frustration in Israel. I remain a supporter of a two-state solution as the best way to ensure Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security. How we get there from here, though, is a question with no obvious answer. Australia remains committed to multilateralism, and we must make our best effort with all those with influence in the Middle East to bring the protagonists back from the brink of war and to the negotiating table.
As I said, every member of the 15,000-strong Jewish community in Goldstein has been touched by the tragic events of the last week. I say to those in my community: I know you are not a homogenous group; I know you have differing views; I know some of you will disagree with my positions in one way or the other. But know this: as someone who has borne witness to the horrors of conflict and terrorism, I speak from a position of deeply sincere care and I will represent you, particularly to ensure you get what you need from the government in these shocking circumstances, with absolute diligence and sincerity.