CONTENT WARNING: This article discusses war crimes and includes links to graphic, distressing footage
Standing up for human rights in the 2020s is something that moves at a glacial pace.
Back in 1972, one horrific image of a naked child running from a napalm attack in Vietnam inspired worldwide anti-war movements, influencing global public opinion and hastening the withdrawal of Western involvement in the Vietnam War.
Today, it’s not enough to see the ever-rising death toll of innocents as the bombardment of schools and hospitals continues, streamed live into our living rooms every day.
It’s not enough to witness Israel opening fire on unarmed civilians, including women and children, medics and journalists, burning down hospitals, and even burying alive the injured with bulldozers.
It’s not even enough to witness the deliberate starvation of an entire populace as famine takes hold.
Despite the International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest for war crimes, Netanyahu continues to deny the famine and Israel’s deliberate bombardment of civilians, both of which are clearly evident to anyone with an internet connection.
Two years of observing all these things in our daily news cycle have not been enough to drive world leaders out of their apathy.
Protests and open letters from academics, lawyers, doctors, artists, journalists and others, decrying the genocide seemed hardly to have an effect on our politicians, who continued to echo the Zionist lobby’s claims of “antisemitism” every time the Gaza genocide was mentioned.
As the horror of this humanitarian crisis has continued to unfold, Western leaders have been content to offer platitudes from the sidelines.
In many countries, Australia included, there have been moves to silence peaceful protests on Gaza.
Fully aware this is beyond my UN remit. BUT.
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) July 25, 2025
As a conscientious European I ask: will anyone confront Germany for its POLICE’s shameful, sustained, and widespread violence that, after a year, reveals an institutionalized descent into repression?
While too many Germans remain,… https://t.co/nAJdrlRXYW
In Germany, police brutality against those who dare to protest the genocide in Gaza has become commonplace, prompting UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, to post on social media:
‘…Have we truly learnt anything from history, or only memorised it?’
Inexplicably, as global public opinion shifted away from sympathising with Israel and justifying its atrocities against the Palestinian people, world leaders are finally beginning to speak out, albeit tentatively.
Perhaps the UN officially recognising famine conditions in Gaza was the final straw. It’s hard to say.
But yesterday’s statement from UK PM Keir Starmer, following French President Emmanuel Macron’s lead earlier this week, to formally recognise a Palestinian state in September, has been welcomed by many as a positive step in the right direction.
In Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken a step in the same direction, as reported by ABC:
'In a joint statement with 14 other countries, including several who already recognise the Palestinian state, Australia welcomed a series of commitments by the Palestinian Authority (PA) which could pave the way to recognition.’
Though Albanese has not committed to a specific date for such recognition or if it will even occur, stating he is "waiting for the right moment", this has been labelled "an historic shift".
The PM also referred to remarks from Netanyahu, who said on Monday there was “no starvation in Gaza” and Israel’s Deputy Head of Mission, Amir Meron, who claimed the images of starving children were “false”.
Albanese described the "no starvation" claims from the Israeli Prime Minister and Israel's Canberra Embassy as being"beyond comprehension".
The PM also told Parliament:
Israel's denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children seeking access to water and food, cannot be defended nor can it be ignored.
We have called upon Israel to comply immediately with its obligations under international law.
Even Netanyahu’s BFF, Donald Trump, has begged to differ on the starvation issue, acknowledging "real starvation" and telling Israel to allow “every ounce of food” into Gaza. He has also pledged U.S. humanitarian support.
The Federal Opposition, meanwhile, appears to be sticking to its Hamas started it, so we should just let Palestinians suffer indefinitely line.
Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash even went as far as to blame the famine on Hamas, accusing them of ‘stealing the humanitarian aid for their own purposes’ and admonishing the PM in a media release:
'It is disappointing that Prime Minister Albanese’s statement about Gaza once again fails to place any blame on Hamas, a listed terrorist organisation, for the delays in aid reaching the people of Gaza.'
Still in Aus, journalist Mary Kostakidis is defending herself in the Federal Court against racial discrimination charges brought by the Zionist Federation of Australia. The Zionist Federation is claiming Kostakidis' posting of tweets criticising Israel's actions in Gaza amounted to "antisemitic hatred".
This court case against a journalist is the latest in a series of attempts to silence those who speak out about Israel's war crimes.
And then there's Jillian Segal, whose family trust donated $50,000 to the Far-Right anti-immigration group, Advance. Segal also released a report to combat antisemitism, straight from the right-wing lobby group Executive Council of Australian Jewry's 15-point plan, which included seeking to put universities under its control.
Nonetheless, Segal is still the Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia.
But after two years of standing by in silence, watching Israel's atrocities in Gaza escalate, what does it really mean to say to Palestinians, We’ve decided to recognise that you exist, maybe, … sometime in the future, when the death toll is rising right now?
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