In the recent meeting between President Netanyahu of Israel and President Biden of America, both men were keen to celebrate their "Zionism", and unfaltering support for the "State of Israel". This may be no great surprise, given Netanyahu had just received overwhelming support from Congress for his progress on ridding Palestine of its non-Zionist indigenous population, though it begs the question on what exactly 'Zionism' might be. According to Bibi, he is a "proud Jew Zionist" - while Joe Biden seemed to have no objection to being called an "Irish American Zionist" by his old mate from Tel Aviv. It's important to record this declaration by the current leader of the 'Entity', as Al Jazeera did when it crossed live to the White House meeting, and included in this short video below:
Following that short discussion, Biden talked briefly about his meeting with Golda Meir fifty years ago, and then finished the photo-op. There was an immediate explosion of noise, like a room full of turkeys, as a mass of reporters behind the camera all asked questions at once. Biden switched off his transceiver, while Netanyahu smirked and twitched and looked uncomfortably around until the screeching hubbub finally subsided. As no questions were taken we have no idea what they may have been wanting to ask, whether mundane or provocative; Netanyahu went on to meet Kamala Harris and later traveled to Mar El Lago to talk with Donald Trump, so we may assume the former. Below is the full recording, as a record of the whole of this event from which SBS carefully took its segment, and ending with an NBC test card:
The SBS report on the same meeting, shown on its evening news bulletin of the 26th July included relevant material before and after this segment, but appears to have been edited specifically to exclude the mention of Zionism. While the cutting of Biden's ramble about Golda Meir was reasonable, the clip continues from a different angle after that and with the commentary covering over the uncivilised clamouring of the press rabble. That commentary, about how discussions on ceasefires and Hamas are continuing, does not sit so well with the joint affirmation of Zionist exceptionalism that would preclude any consideration of Hamas and opposition to Zionism and Israeli occupation of Palestine. These men don't recognise the legitimacy of the Palestinian cause and rights and have no intention of suddenly discovering it now.
Coinciding with this meeting, and no doubt intentionally, was a joint statement issued by the Prime Ministers of the three former Imperial colonies and Five Eyes partners of the US and UK - Australia, Canada and New Zealand. What this statement said exactly seems hard to find, but its main points were contained in three slides on this same SBS news bulletin.
The statement also included a demand or suggestion that Hamas should "lay down its arms" and release the hostages, while adding that Hamas could have no place in the future government of Gaza. It is clear that the Australian government is actually committed to guaranteeing the 'security' of the Zionist and Apartheid State of Israel, and ensuring that whatever Bantustan or ghetto is created or partitioned within the boundaries of Palestine it will not prejudice the current rights of Israeli Jews to occupy whatever part of the land they choose to. However, unlike Palestinians, many or most Israeli Jews live in 'Israel' by choice, and if living there becomes too unpleasant and fraught with danger for them then they may decide simply to move back home.
DM 27 July 2024