MAD Max Fury Road is the fourth in George Miller’s beyond civilisation franchise. It could be about the Middle East today. If it was, Israel would undoubtedly be the hero assailed by shrieking barbarians. Beyond its borders lie the moral badlands Miller attempts to capture in his film but here it isn’t fiction.

Occasionally the lawlessness Israel encounters on a daily basis spills over into the streets of global cities like Paris, London, Madrid and Sydney, and most famously Manhattan on 9/11.

When it does so, it is called terrorism and it makes international headlines.

Here, in Jerusalem, where I am writing at the conclusion of the seventh Australia, Israel, UK Leadership Dialogue, an initiative of Melbourne-based Moroccan-born entrepeneur and jazz artist Albert Dadon, it is an accepted part of daily life.

When an act of barbarism was committed in Paris earlier this year, flags were lowered to half-mast around the world, #hashtag empathists emoted in floods of cyber tears.

No-one lowers a flag when an Israeli is murdered. Indeed, no-one blinks when the flags of the terrorist organisations Hamas and Hezbollah are waved at rallies in Sydney and Melbourne by pro-Palestinian groups yet these criminal organisations murder members of the Palestinian community, loot aid money to line their officials’ pockets, and, most abominably, poison the minds of the Palestinian children in a bid to further the virulent hatred on which their corrupt ­societies in Gaza and on the West Bank rely.

Over the past four days, a number of MPs from both ends of the political spectrum, academics and journalists from Australia, Israel and the U.K. have heard an array of opinions. A group was even permitted to journey to Ramallah on the West Bank to hear from the Prime Minister of the state of Palestine, Dr Rami Hamdallah, and Education Minister Dr Sabri Saidam. As no journalists were included in the group, a report was prepared by a neutral member of the delegation and it would be fair to say it was met with lies and blunt obfuscation.

Hamdallah is not a politician and Saidam is, to say the least, agile. Both men were asked about the Palestinian Authority’s contemptible practise of glorifying terrorists as martyrs, or naming schools and sporting teams after individuals who have committed the most appalling crimes, and of the banning of activity which might lead to the normalisation of relations between Palestinian and Israeli children. They denied any knowledge of such activities. They treated the members of the delegation as fools.

In March, the Palestinian Authority celebrated the anniversary of the most deadly terrorist attack on Israelis, the Coastal Road Massacre in which Palestinian terrorists murdered 37 Israeli civilians, 12 of them children.

In addition to the three schools already named for terrorist Dalal Mughrabi, who led the bus hijacking in 1978, a square was dedicated to her memory along with an image of her and a map which includes what the Authority teaches its people is Palestine — all of Israel.

There are 25 schools named after terrorists and pupils wear on their uniforms the logos of terrorist brigades and appear regularly on Palestine television avowing their wish to become martyrs.

There are no schools named after terrorists or suicide bombers in Israel.

Just last month, a little girl about 6 or 7, appeared on social media brandishing a large knife as she chanted: “Stab, stab, stab, stab, stab”.

Given this level of state-sponsored child abuse, it is not to be unexpected that a 13-year-old Palestinian boy was recently involved in a stabbing, though Ahmed Manasra later said his 15-year-old cousin, Hassan Manasra, had made him do it. Ahmed was wounded by security forces and treated in an Israeli hospital by an Israeli Muslim surgeon after the attack.

Children aren’t born hating, they have to be taught to hate.

Contrary to former NSW Premier Bob Carr’s recent claims about the so-called Jewish lobby in Australia, Israel is a transparent liberal democracy which respects the rule of law. His ridiculous remarks will resound in the echo chamber of the socialist Left and gain some traction with Islamic extremists but they don’t stand up to scrutiny.

Israel is being treated unfairly in the court of world opinion and has been since the surrounding Arab nations attempted to invade and obliterate it the day after it came into existence — with the help of Australia.

Our nation was instrumental in liberating Jerusalem from the Ottoman Empire in WWI, after the Australian Light Horse famously captured Beersheba after a heroic cavalry charge at Beersheba in October, 1917, six weeks earlier. Australia was prominent in the negotiations which led to the formation of the state of Israel.

Israel, which adopted the British legal system as its model, is now the watchtower on the edge of the civilised world yet it is offered contumely by people like Carr and associates in the Labor Party, like Fremantle MP Melissa Parkes and shrill followers of the Socialist Alliance and the deluded promoters of the vile anti-Semitic BDS movement.

The daily acts of terror committed with knifes, cars, pistols and bombs by young people have nothing to do with politics, they’re just about killing Israelis because that’s what these kids are being taught.

Cont'd...

This is why Mossad was allowed their "00" license

With terrorists who do not respect civility - you do no extend civility.

Greens are antisemitic as well

sir prince duke alevine wrote on Dec 19^th, 2015 at 6:33am:


Is it okay if taxpayers paid for a journo from a Fauxfax rag?

sir prince duke alevine wrote on Dec 19^th, 2015 at 7:08am:


Why? He seems to form some pretty eloquent thoughts and can string them together into quite lengthy sentences. Seems to meet your criteria for this trip.

sir prince duke alevine wrote on Dec 19^th, 2015 at 7:16am:


You're not biased at all, are you?

Dear AP, I am not Anti-Israel, and I don't contest anything you said in the OP. But these kinds of arguments supporting Israel always avoid the fact that Israel is a nation dedicated to the Jewish faith. You can pretty it up, but its a religious state. I don't support the idea of religious states.

Secondly, while you tug at our heart strings with all the atrocities perpetrated against Israel, you have to acknowledge that the people who established the State of Israel knew full well they were taking on a violent and fanatically religious enemy. It is only the later generations of Jews who portray Israel as a beacon of democracy.

sir prince duke alevine wrote on Dec 19^th, 2015 at 6:33am:


Like you are remotely qualified to make a judgement about Ackerman's journalistic & writing skills.
What an absolute giggle.

issuevoter wrote on Dec 19^th, 2015 at 1:17pm:

Israel is not a religious state.  Show laws that would define israel as a religious state. 

Israel is very much a democracy.