An Aboriginal elder is to be honoured for his unique role in opposing Nazi Germany's persecution of Jews, with a memorial to be unveiled at Israel's Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum.I'm not so sure that this indigenous Australian man would have experienced similar oppression to that of the Jews in Europe during the war...
Eighty-two years ago, William Cooper, then aged 77, led a protest march in Melbourne a month after the notorious "Kristallnacht" co-ordinated attacks on Jews carried out by the Gestapo and Schutzstaffel (SS).
"He would've experienced a similar oppression ... a similar genocide right here in Australia, so he had a very firm empathy with the Jewish people," Mr Cooper's grandson, Kevin Russell, told AAP on Saturday.He is uncommon in his protest as he was defending the rights of others rather than completely concentrating on the "poor me" and "my ppl" focus of later "activists", who seem determined to blame everyone for their failings.
In a related vein:
The other dead Rachels.
http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/TheForgottenRachels.html
Read it and weep.
Dear Kae,I think more people should voice their support.
Thank you for writing in to us and expressing your support.
The time you have taken to extend your thoughts and opinions to us are welcomed, and very much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Embassy of Israel, Canberra
January 25, 2009: Palestinians have found, in their decades of fighting Israel, that well crafted lies can be an effective weapon. The recent 22 day battle in Gaza, between Hamas and Israel, ended with the Palestinians claiming they had lost 1,300 dead, and the Israelis admitting to 13 (including four soldiers from friendly fire.) Now, as reporters get into Gaza, and start asking questions, the Palestinian death toll is starting to shrink. Medical personnel at the Palestinian hospitals say that there appeared to be no more than about 500 dead, and most of them were young males (guys of fighting age). Civilian dead appear to have been no more than a hundred or so.Read more.
U.N. too late to fix Gaza crisis.Hmm. That's typical of the UN. Late. Unprepared. Useless. Unless you're the despotic leader of a tinpot third world nation. Then they have a meeting and give you exactly what you want.
Palestinian medical sources said at least 800 people have been killed in Gaza since the Israeli offensive began two weeks ago.I wonder how many have been killed more than once...
Hamas' unending barrage had forced hundreds of thousands to live in fear, yet the onslaught drew barely a fraction of the outrage now directed at Israel's exercise of self-defense.
For more than 25 years a ship known as the peace boat has sailed around the world, promoting the cause of nuclear disarmament. Today it docked in Sydney, with some special passengers on board - survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the closing days of the Second World War.Mum's comment: "Australia doesn't have any nuclear weapons. Perhaps they should visit Iran, Pakistan, India and give the message to them."
The Middle East is at flashpoint, with Israeli jets pounding Gaza for the third consecutive day. World leaders and the United Nations Security Council have called for a halt to the violence after more than 300 people have reportedly been killed, including civilians and children.Tzipi Livni was interviewed and her interview is dispersed through the report.
