Page 12 - October 7 - Teresa Pirola

in Gaza unfolded, often told through strong headlines, front- page photographs and full-page articles revealing terrible scenes of human tragedy and personal anguish. Certainly, the dire situation of Palestinians in Gaza should be reported, highlighted and met with compassion and searching questions about the cause and potential resolution of this wartime catastrophe. However, significant elements of the crisis were too often missing or downplayed in Catholic discourse: the ongoing suffering of Jews and Israelis, the plight of the hostages, the culpability of Hamas and the unbridled activities of its violently antisemitic ideology, the complexities of the war (including compromised UNRWA employees, brutally enforced media censorship in Gaza, the role of Iran and its multiple proxies bent on the destruction of Israel), and the moral responsibility of the Catholic community, among other Christian communities, to provide a robust response to the explosion of antisemitic incidents around the world. For the most part, these were the stories not being pursued with any real energy by Australian Catholic media. Much was being heard from church leaders about praying for ‘peace’ and decrying ‘war’ and the ‘cycle of violence’; yet, despite the trauma felt by Jewish communities everywhere, there was no clear rallying call from Catholic leaders decrying antisemitism, even when its hateful influence became a regular presence in Australian city streets, having erupted within two days of the massacre and before the ground war had started in Gaza.
I have chosen to publish these articles in book form for two reasons: first, as a record for my nieces, nephews and godchildren as to my stance regarding antisemitism during this tense period and, second, as a stimulus for reflection on Australian Catholic responses to the events and aftermath of October 7, for anyone who chooses to undertake such an exercise.
12