Aletia Dundas, New South Wales Regional Meeting

(When Palestinians were denied the right to display their flag, they displayed images of watermelons instead, depicting the same colours as their flag in quiet and creative defiance.)

Quakers before our time have engaged in nonviolent direct action about a range of peace and justice issues, including against the Apartheid regime in South Africa, which the international community now recognises as so racist and wrong. I had the privilege of meeting and working alongside a Quaker woman in New York who was one of the original sit-inners of the civil rights movement in the USA. Quakers, being mostly white, supported this movement and were influential allies (social justice allies, not allied forces!) Quakers assisted Jewish refugees fleeing the holocaust, and indeed some of our members today are from that refugee cohort who were grateful for Quaker support when they feared for their lives. I know that at least one of these people displays the Palestinian flag in her home, and has been a valiant supporter of Palestinian justice for decades. Our history is not one of remaining neutral in the face of injustice, violence, oppression and power imbalance. Indeed, Desmond Tutu said “when we are neutral in situations of injustice, we have taken the side of the oppressor”. Is that how we want history to judge us in this situation?

I want to address claims that these protests are violent or are somehow inciting violence against Jewish people. I’ve never heard anyone at these protests say anything negative about Jewish people. In fact I have noticed and appreciated the Jewish people who regularly attend and speak at these protests to condemn the atrocities being committed by Israel against Palestinians and to say “not in our name”. Since returning to Australia in 2017 and becoming involved in advocacy about the occupation, I have made many Jewish friends. These are people who share a passion for justice, who condemn oppression, and who can be relied upon to show up time and time again in solidarity. 

And in my memories of conversations with Palestinians in the West Bank there is definitely frustration bubbling away at the ways that their rights are curtailed and the violence of Israeli settlers and soldiers, but never any wish to kill them. What was expressed repeatedly was a longing for a time when the three religions will live together in peace again in the Holy Land.

 I realise that some Quakers might have been influenced by deceptive narratives and formed the view that the war in Israel and Gaza is between two equal sides, both hurting, both partly in the wrong, and that therefore impartiality is about being neutral, or condemning the actions of both in equal measure. But the facts speak for themselves. As I write, the number of Palestinian casualties sits at 27,708 while the Israeli numbers are still 1,200. Just the other day the last university in Gaza was destroyed. And following unsubstantiated claims by Israel, several Governments have withdrawn funding to UNRWA, the key humanitarian institution supporting Palestinians. When one group of people so blatantly bears the brunt of the civilian casualties, when their children, young people and those my age know only the brutality of life under military occupation and as second-class citizens in their own land, how does being neutral sit with our practice of solidarity with nonviolent responses to oppression throughout history? Do we not see Palestinians as being of equal value and worth to us? How does remaining neutral take away the occasion of war? (Which I take to mean addressing the underlying causes of war and working towards a positive peace and a just peace). Would peace be long lasting and meaningful if not accompanied by justice?

 So, my request is for Friends to read these words with a spirit of openness. If you are not convinced by the stories I have shared of what I witnessed, I recommend reading the updates from UNOCHA, listening to UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese’s press club speech and accounts from ex-Israeli Defense Force soldiers about the atrocities they committed. Or consider reading about the situation from the perspective of Israeli human rights groups such as B’tselem and Women in Black who have been documenting and speaking out about the injustices of the occupation for decades. I ask that each of us then looks inward for what love calls us to do. Is it to remain neutral in the face of injustice? Or to speak truth to power?

 Aletia Dundas,
February 2024

Resources

• UNOCHA Statistics and updates United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs – occupied Palestinian territory | Home Page (ochaopt.org)
• UNRWA UNRWA | United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees
• Francesca Albanese Press club speech Australia and other western governments ‘paralysed’ in response to Gaza conflict, says UN expert | Israel-Hamas war | The Guardian
• Machsom Watch: this is an Israeli group, mostly made up of grandmothers who monitor human rights violations at the checkpoints around the West Bank. https://www.machsomwatch.org/en/
• Jewish Voice for Peace https://www.jewishvoiceforpeace.org/ – they’re active in Australia and elsewhere speaking out against the occupation
• Breaking the Silence – ex Israeli Defence Force soldiers speaking out about the atrocities they committed while serving in the West Bank https://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/ A post they made on Instagram Hamas’s attack and the events unfolding since yesterday are unspeakable. We could talk about their cruel and criminal actions, or focus on… | Instagram
• B’Tselem – an Israeli human rights group https://www.btselem.org/
• Women in Black are an Israeli (and now Palestinian as well) group who have been holding a silent vigil every Friday since the late 1980s with signs that say “End the Occupation”. There are other women’s peace groups in Israel as well https://theconversation.com/how-women-in-israel-and-palestine-are-pushing-for-peace-together-215783