A full-page advertisement in the Nine Entertainment-owned publishers of the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on February 25 called for Israel’s ethnic cleansing of Gaza to end.
It was organised by the Jewish Women 4 Peace Action Ready Group and signed by Jewish Australians from a variety of political backgrounds.
The number of signatories was so large (more than 500) they could not fit on one page.
A similar advertisement had appeared in the New York Times a couple of weeks ago, in response to Trump’s illegal “Riviera Plan”.
It is heartening to see Jewish people around the world speaking out so openly against the ethnic cleansing, in a time when the establishment is making out that criticism of Israel is “antisemitic”.
Despite politicians trying to weaponise criticism of the Israeli state, driven by the Zionist lobby, the success of this initiative is a sign that many Jews are shifting their view on Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Individual members of Jews Against the Occupation ’48 (JAO48) signed on, agreeing with the ad's opposition to ethnic cleansing.
JAO48 goes much further than that, being committed to an end to colonialism and apartheid throughout all of historic Palestine.
Any country upholding racist values and committing such extreme injustice as Israel is inflicting on the Palestinian people must be criticised and boycotted. Apartheid was wrong in South Africa, just as it is in Israel.
I hope this global awakening, shown in the persistent global protests and now, though the advertisement, by members of Jewish communities, will lead towards a further weakening and the eventual dismantling of the Zionist project.
These ads in Australia and the US show that a growing number of Australian and American Jews do not want to be complicit in Israel’s criminality.
[Jepke Goudsmit is a member of Jews Against the Occupation ’48.]