Letter to the editor by co-CEO Peter Wertheim, published in The Australian on 5 August 2025.
I would never criticise anybody who is genuinely motivated by compassion and concern for the suffering of people caught up in conflicts in other parts of the world. I only wonder why such compassion and concern can be so selectively applied. Hours before the Sydney Harbour Bridge march took place on Sunday, Hamas released images of a young Israeli hostage held in one of its tunnels. He showed obvious signs of being emaciated through starvation, and was made by his captors to go through the motions of digging his own grave. It reminded me of World War II images of the walking skeletons of Australian POWs in Changi prison and among the survivors of the Nazi concentration camps.
Yet not a single placard on the Harbour Bridge called for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages whose capture by Hamas on October 7, 2023 sparked the current war in Gaza. It seems that even people who pride themselves on their compassion can be remarkably callous.
Even people priding themselves on compassion can be callous
Even people priding themselves on compassion can be callous
Letter to the editor by co-CEO Peter Wertheim, published in The Australian on 5 August 2025.
I would never criticise anybody who is genuinely motivated by compassion and concern for the suffering of people caught up in conflicts in other parts of the world. I only wonder why such compassion and concern can be so selectively applied. Hours before the Sydney Harbour Bridge march took place on Sunday, Hamas released images of a young Israeli hostage held in one of its tunnels. He showed obvious signs of being emaciated through starvation, and was made by his captors to go through the motions of digging his own grave. It reminded me of World War II images of the walking skeletons of Australian POWs in Changi prison and among the survivors of the Nazi concentration camps.
Yet not a single placard on the Harbour Bridge called for the release of the remaining Israeli hostages whose capture by Hamas on October 7, 2023 sparked the current war in Gaza. It seems that even people who pride themselves on their compassion can be remarkably callous.
Latest
ECAJ welcomes federal funding budget boost for communal security
Federal Budget allocation of additional funds for Jewish community security
Royal Commission testimonies
Witness evidence from each day of the Royal Commission.
Julie Nathan Royal Commission Testimony
ECAJ Research Director giving evidence to the Royal Commission
Royal Commission Public Hearings
The second week of Royal Commission public hearings runs from Monday 11 May to Friday 15 May. You can watch the hearings live here.