The duplicity and the cynicism of the Biden administration knows no bounds. By choosing to abstain from a Chinese/Russian-sponsored UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza without making it conditional on the simultaneous release of the remaining hostages, America has finally done what its enemies have long sought – it has abandoned Israel. In doing so, it has confirmed what this magazine has long argued; that the modern left are the enemies of the Jews, of Israel, and of those who support Israel’s right to sovereignty. This applies to the modern left in its broadest sense, encompassing all major ‘centre-left’ parties including Labour in Britain, Labor in Australia, and the Democrats in America. It also includes those who pretend not to be of the left but who in reality may as well be, such as the Teals in Australia and so-called ‘conservatives’ such as the Israel-antipathetic Lord David Cameron, Britain’s Foreign Minister. It is pleasing to note that even here in Australia the Liberal party ‘bedwetters’ seem to be solid conservatives on this issue.

As Peter O’Brien writes in this week’s issue, ‘What Biden, and all the other “Israel-has-a-right-to-defend-itself-but…” brigade do not understand is that [the assault on Gaza] is not a punitive mission, to which the restrictions of a “proportional response” might apply. This is a war for the survival of the state of Israel.’

It was always going to be the case that the closer we get to the presidential election in November, the quicker Democrat support for Israel would wither on the vine of woke moral relativism. But unless the Israeli unity government now chooses to ignore the United Nations – with all the negative PR baggage that that involves – then the survival of Hamas will be assured. What a gift the UN has given Hamas for Easter. Its own resurrection. Because for Hamas, the game is simply to endure as a viable political entity. That in and of itself spells a glorious victory for these medieval sadists, rapists and barbarians. For the Israelis, anything short of the complete annihilation of Hamas spells defeat, for as they themselves willingly admit Hamas will pursue at every available opportunity, in all areas of the globe let alone behind ‘every rock and tree’, the humiliation, degradation and obliteration of Jewish women, children and men. That is their sole purpose for existing and thus their existence cannot be a matter of compromise or equivocation. The evil entity must be eradicated through whatever means.

That Israel’s supposed ‘allies’ and ‘friends’ in the predominantly left-leaning governments of Australia, the US, Europe and Britain fail to appreciate this point is a tragedy of epic proportions. Sadly, however, it is a case of ideology trumping rational thinking. This fact was highlighted again last week with the decision by Penny Wong, urged on by the Teals, to resume the funding of Unrwa, the internationally discredited UN Palestinian refugee agency. As Baroness Ruth Deech, a crossbench life peer in the House of Lords, explained last week, Unrwa is the problem, not the solution, and indeed, Unrwa with its billions of dollars is responsible for perpetuating the conflict and artificially creating the so-called Palestinian ‘refugee’ problem. Notably, this week the Swiss government refused to continue funding Unrwa. As the Baroness pointed out, the UNHCR agency responsible for the rest of the entire planet’s refugees operates successfully on a shoestring budget in comparison and has managed to resettle millions of genuine refugees.

Had Ms Wong and the Teals bothered to make even the tiniest effort they would have discovered that what they are doing is pouring petrol on the flames of war, in the form of Australian tax dollars.

Gesture eggs

According to reports from the UK, a retailer in Lincolnshire is selling Cadbury’s chocolate eggs this Easter as ‘Gesture Eggs’ rather than as ‘Easter Eggs’, in order to avoid ‘upsetting’ those shoppers of different faiths. Terrified of a Bud Light-style ‘go woke go broke’ consumer boycott, presumably, Cadbury’s parent company proclaimed the retailer is independent and ‘nothing to do with them’ before insisting that the word ‘Easter’ is prominently displayed on their products.

Really? If so, the memo didn’t get through to Cadbury’s in Australia, where a quick Google search of Cadbury’s eggs on sale at our major retailers reveals the word ‘Easter’ barely even popping up in the fine print at the bottom, if at all.

Should we care? Yes we should. The constant erasure of the words and symbols of our Judeo-Christian heritage, along with that of our colonial past, leaves a sickly taste and an empty feeling in the gut. Much like those hollow chocolate eggs.