I am the child of holocaust survivors. I cannot remain a member of a party which turns a blind eye to the ongoing persecution of millions of people who have a right to live in peace and freedom in the land of their ancestors.
On the 19th of May, 2023, I tendered my resignation from the Australian Labor Party and gave my reasons below in a letter to the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and to my local branch:
It is 75 years since the formation of the State of Israel and the consequent casting out of the Palestinians from their land. This event (named by Palestinians and others as the Nakba or Catastrophe) was memorialised for the first time three days ago by the United nations with a commemoration ceremony at UN headquarters.
Those who were forced out either by fear or violence have never been permitted to return and they with their progeny now live in neighbouring countries (Lebanon and Syria among others) often with no working rights and no opportunity for citizenship. Australia boycotted this ceremony along with many other countries including the USA.
At national Conferences in 2018 and 2021 the following resolution was passed:
- (The Labor party) Supports the recognition and right of Israel and Palestine to exist as two states within secure and recognised borders;
- Calls on the next Labor Government to recognise Palestine as a state; and
- Expects that this issue will be an important priority for the next Labor Government.
Read the article by Jennifer Bush on Pearls and Irritations.