Former Australian diplomat: Economic Corridor Express Way is the Fastest Route to Hell.
My grandfather, Bishop Faik Ibrahim Haddad, was the first Palestinian Anglican Bishop of Jerusalem. From him, I learnt my sense of service and duty, always seeking to apply myself to do what is good, and just.
My love of community led me to serve Australia for nearly 20 years at all levels of government including serving as a career diplomat since 2017 in Egypt and Pakistan. I left the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) in October last year.
Since then, I turned my heart to grieving with my community of Australian Christian and Muslim Palestinians during the State of Israel’s genocide and attempted erasure of the Palestinian people.
The urgent and grave threat to the existence of the Palestinian people requires me to remind Australia of its special responsibility toward the Palestinian people.
As the first country to vote in favour of the 1947 UN partition resolution, Australia’s decision to support the partition has led to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, and creation of the State of Israel.
Unfortunately, Australia’s foreign policy decisions since then have systemically reinforced the apartheid, and given the State of Israel licence to continue to commit international crimes, including genocide and occupation.
On this occasion, the Israeli regime’s genocide in Palestine has caused the deaths of over 30,000 civilians, most of them are children and women. Nearly 70,000 people are injured or permanently disabled. Over 1.7 million Palestinian civilians were displaced.
While the United States played British word games about genocide at the International Court of Justice, the Palestinian population were being exterminated by the Israeli regime. Anyone with half a heart cell, can feel that.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong continues to insist that Australia supports the ‘international rules-based order’, although all indications now suggest that this order is based on race, not rules.
No one is saying Australia is a racist country, even though it is black, and definitely does not have a problem with white supremacy. As the proverb goes, ‘the hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbour, but through knowledge, the righteous will be delivered.’
Perhaps we are heading to Hell, on the India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor Express Way. Or maybe we already arrived there. Either way, it cannot be worse than dropping bombs on children in Palestine, so Europeans can buy more goods made in India.
Unlike Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, my Palestinian grandfather did not know much about the ‘rules-based international order’, and he wasn’t very good at British word games, either.
He taught me the words of his Father, provided without procedural instructions, or political calculations, or additional clarification about which race His Rules did, or did not apply to. He put it simply:
Rule Number Six: Thou Shalt Not Kill [children].
John Na’em Snobar is a former Australian diplomat and lawyer of Palestinian heritage.
@JohnNaemSnobar