Jews against the Occupation sent the following open letter to the Mayor and councillors at Randwick City Council requesting it revisit its decision to fly the flag of the State of Israel on April 26.
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Jews against the Occupation wish to express our deep concern at the Council resolution of February 23 to fly the flag of the State of Israel on April 26, the 75th anniversary of Israel Independence Day.
Council’s decision is regrettable and flies in the face of the brutal realities on the ground and cruelly dismisses the suffering of the Palestinian people, the necessary corollary of their life under Israeli rule.
The current government of Israel is leading the country towards authoritarianism and fascism, and deepening its oppression of all Palestinians under its authority. Unfortunately, there is little recognition there that the price of Jewish freedom in Israel is the subjugation of Palestinians.
Israel Independence Day is also the anniversary of the Nakba, the planned dispossession and expulsion of over 750,000 Palestinians that preceded the declaration of Israel’s independence in 1948.
The current unprecedented protests in Israel are, apart from a brave minority, concerned solely with democracy for Israeli Jews. The recent elections have brought outright fascist politicians to senior ministerial posts. They are now energetically implementing the policies they campaigned on. Israel until now has denied Palestinians human, civil, political, and national rights. Now it is threatening the rights of Jewish Israelis too.
This is no time to celebrate the anniversary of a nation that practices apartheid. If the Council wishes to defend human rights, you should be flying the Palestinian flag.
We urge you, in recognition of the double standards that Israel has always practiced and the current developments there, to rescind your February motion and resolve to support Palestinian rights instead.
Please rescind your February decision.