I just watched a news report about a the defacement of an Israeli memorial plaque by a Catholic Priest in Wellington, in protest at the events in Gaza. A member of the local Jewish community was interviewed, clearly upset by the ‘vandalism’ of the monument. It made me mad. How could someone be so upset about the defacement of a monument when the people it represents, his people, are not just defacing but seem set on destroying people.
The Catholic church has distanced itself from the action.
The New Zealand government remains ‘nuetral’.
I’m not going to say more because the whole Gaza situation just makes me angry.
Later:
Anita at Kiwipolitico has a more thoughtful post on the blood on the memorial protest.
The Hand Mirror has a good round-up of reactions to Gaza from the progressive blogosphere in Gaza on our minds. I particularly like the following quote which kind of sums up how I feel-
Like many others I feel utter despair and a complete lack of ability to do anything that would make even a smidgen of difference. I hate feeling powerless. And if I hate it, here on the other side of the world where the sun is shining and no bombs are falling and my son is not in danger of being killed because of an argument between powerful people with guns, then I can’t imagine how bad it must feel to be there.
Filed under: New Zealand, Wellington, news, politics, social justice
