What the fuck is going on?

I’ve discovered over the last few years that I couldn’t be less in touch with what the fuck is going on in the world if I tried. I guess it started with Brexit. And then Trump. But this shit just keeps on going. Is it just that I am getting older? I’m sixty now and some days I feel fucking old. Maybe it’s just me. The world moved on in a different plane and left me behind. Maybe all generations feel like this. We as a generation, in this part of the world, have certainly been blessed for a very long time compared to our forebears. Our generation came to being post the second world war. My parents were children in that time, and what’s more Jewish children, in a time where Jews were being exterminated in Europe. My grandmother had her parents and a whole lot of siblings wiped out by the Nazis (do I really have to give those fuckers a capital letter Mr. Autocorrect). She lived through the great depression where her husband, my grandfather, lost his business and went broke and then died leaving her with nothing but a couple of sons to feed in a time when women typically didn’t work. She left Latvia just after the Russian revolution when Stalin came to power. So, the world has always been mad. And my family have had to be dealing with it for generations, like everybody else’s family. But I guess I felt that mostly I could make sense of it during my time. Certainly at least since I reached adulthood. Now, I’ve got no fucking clue. I know that if my grandmother was here, she’d just tell me to get on with it. But, right now, I feel in despair.

At heart, I’m an optimist. And I want people to get along. Love is the answer. Surely, we all know that, for sure. But I feel so disappointed by my fellow humans. So let down. Not that I am putting myself out there as perfect. Far from it. I know that I’ve been a right cunt at times. And for those times, some of which come to mind, I am truly sorry. But I’d like to think that these days I’m mostly guided by principles of fairness, and compassion, and a desire for equality. And it is in these contexts, that I now pass these following judgements.

I have no understanding for anybody that voted “no” in the recent Australian referendum to give Aboriginal people acknowledgement in the Australian constitution and the forming of an advisory body on Aboriginal issues to Parliament. It was such a simple ask. It would not have affected any non-indigenous person in any way whatsoever, but as a nation we said, “fuck off! We don’t give a shit what you want”. I can’t help but feel that those who voted “no” either have no understanding whatsoever on what Aboriginal people have had to endure in this country, or they simply don’t give a fuck. I don’t see any other option. And either option makes me feel sad. And angry.

And now, we have the whole situation in Israel/Palestine to deal with. So, bear with me while I pour myself another drink, and launch into this dangerous territory. And launch, I will.

 

I’m not really sure where to start, but as a person of Jewish heritage, and so with some inherent bias, I guess I’ll start with the fact that I think that what Netanyahu and his cronies have done over the last fifteen or so years to the Palestinians is a disgrace. The expansions in the West Bank are a crime for which I hope he is eventually called to account. Likewise, the overt policing that has made life unbearable for everyday Palestinians who, like you and I, would just like to wake up in the morning and lead a normal life. They should be free to live in their own country without impediment from some other force. And clearly the response from Israel to the horror of October 7^th has been extreme to say the least.  I’m torn on how justified it is. For those who see Hamas as freedom fighters, just trying to overcome Israeli oppression, you have no clue. They are like the Taliban. And how good are they for the people of Afghanistan? Hamas need to be gone for there to be any chance of peace in this region, because like it or not, Israel isn’t going anywhere.  And like the Mujahadeen may have once seemed like a good idea in Afghanistan to free the local citizens from the oppression of the occupying Russians, it hasn’t worked out so well in the long run. But I also understand why people who are so oppressed take some joy in the death of innocent people from the side of their aggressors, as happened on October 7^th. While it disgusts me, I understand it. Persecution does that to people. But, at the same time, every time the Israelis have given some kind of leeway and pulled back from occupation and control, such as unconditionally withdrawing from Gaza in 2005, members of the Palestinian community have launched violent attacks against citizens of Israel. Be it a bus blowing up or a bomb in a pizza parlour or rockets fired onto towns. And unfortunately, all the rhetoric I see coming from Palestinians and their supporters, indicates that to me this has got a long, long way to play out. Because it needn’t have been like this, and yes, I do also blame the Palestinians for this.

I can’t believe that there is a narrative out there about the Palestinians being the indigenous people to the region that were displaced by a decision of empire for Europeans to come and replace them as part of an imperial colonisation. To that, I say, “fuck off!”. The Jews have lived in that region at least as long as the Arabs have. The sacred Al Aqsa (Dome of the rock) mosque is built on the ruined foundations of a Jewish temple. Who are the colonizers here? And when you put up your Christmas trees to celebrate the birth of a Jew in Bethlehem, don’t come and tell me that Jews have only been living in that region since 1948.

My grandfather was born in a town called Be'er Tuvia, near Ashdod, about 40km north of the Gaza strip in the early 1900s. Long before the creation of the state of Israel. His brother, my Uncle Joe, told me that the family frequently had to take refuge in their stone barn when local Arab youth would come into town to wreak havoc on the Jews who lived there, in the British controlled Palestine. He told me that on one occasion their rabbi was taken by some marauding Arab youths, wrapped up in the parchment scroll of the Torah and set on fire inside the local synagogue. So, all of the people out there suggesting that Jews living in an Arab majority state of Palestine would be able to live a nice peaceful life, if there were to be a single state solution with a majority of Palestinian people, can also fuck right off. You have no clue. This all had nothing to do with the creation of the state of Israel. It happened decades before.

What is it with people? I know that this is an alienating phrase, and clearly I don’t mean you if you have taken the time to read this rant by a drunken lunatic, but the world is full of proudly uneducated people. People who have only the barest understanding of a situation but can form such strong opinions based often only on what seems to be the popular opinion of their political leaning. And yes, I’m looking at you the left. I thought I was one of you, generally speaking. I thought that the position of the left was supposed to be of humanity. For all people. But actually, as a political collective, you are just another bunch of pathetic “black and white” viewing simpletons manipulating facts to suit your political agenda. And that saddens me. Because I thought that in you, there was a hope for a better humanity. I’m not talking of people who want to stop the Israeli bombing of Gaza. I totally get that. I’ve been crying in front of my TV frequently watching that horror unfold. And I’m not talking of people who oppose the policies of Israel. As you can see from my opening paragraph, I have been one of those people over the last fifteen or twenty years. But I am talking of people who question the right for Israel’s existence. Who take the opportunity of this current situation to question whether it is right for there to be a Jewish homeland. The rise of antisemitic crime occurring in the world makes me feel that it’s not only justified, but that it’s required.

I am an atheist. As Nick Cave, who now appears to be a Christian, once said, I don’t believe in an interventionist God. I don’t believe all the Jewish stories of God talking to Moses and all that stuff, but I do do a mighty good impersonation of the almighty when leading a seder at Passover. Just don’t cross me or ye shall be smote. Just make sure you drink that fourth glass of wine while leaning to the left. But the one thing that does make me feel Jewish to my core is antisemitism. And there seems a bit of it around at the moment. But I also hate the kneejerk reaction of people who criticise some shit policy of Israel being labelled as antisemitic. And then there are those who say that they are antizionist, but what really does that mean? To me, from my readings on social media, that seems mostly a convenient modern moniker for antisemitism. Anybody who denies the right for the state of Israel to exist, as a traditional Jewish homeland is denying all archaeological evidence that Jews have been there for thousands of years. How that state goes about its business, and where exactly the borders are, is a different matter, and I’m totally up for the discussion around that. Hopefully one of the positives of this horrific situation is that Netanyahu will be gone soon from Israeli political life. And to that end, here is my optimistic plan for peace in the region.

Netanyahu and the ultra-orthodox right-wing Jews in the Israeli parliament gone. Fuck right off!

Hamas gone. Hopefully the Palestinians can see that Hamas, Islamic Jihad and similar groups are not the way forward for them to achieve their desire for a self-governed homeland where they can live in freedom and peace. That’s clearly not going to happen unless Palestinian people see real hope and possibility of it happening and that Hamas are just getting in the way. And true peace won’t happen until the Palestinians get this and have the power to do something about it.

And maybe, most importantly, but severely overlooked in all the discussion currently going on, the ayatollahs of Iran to fall and give way to a secular society, which it seems is what the majority of people in Iran actually want. Without the support of Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah and other similar groups lose massive funding and armaments and Israel feel less threatened, meaning that they can perhaps lighten the fuck up in their need to defend themselves. They feel less threatened, the Palestinians have a better chance of living in peace. And we’d all be happy. Especially the Iranian women, who can then wear whatever the fuck they want.

Anyway… that’s how I feel today. Some of those feelings will be with me forever. Some will change with circumstances and perhaps with good arguments from my fellow well-meaning protagonists. I welcome dialogue on all this. I’m just trying to sort it out in my own head. It’s all been a bit overwhelming.

Shalom.