Zoe Daniel (Goldstein, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

In Goldstein there are children who have barely slept since the Hamas terrorist attacks on October 7 last year. Having a family history linked to the Holocaust means that even small children are aware of what can happen. Some have refused to go to school for much of the time since. One primary-school-aged child that I know of was only convinced to attend school when he knew that armed guards would be there to protect him—in Melbourne, Australia.

People in our community who are not Jewish say, 'Why is this our problem here?' It's because of the threads that bind us to Israel via our large Jewish communities in Sydney and Melbourne, many of whom live in my electorate of Goldstein, just as, in other parts of Melbourne and Australia, Palestinians have settled, also seeking peace. Everyone deserves that simple thing. I note the opposition leader's comments arguing that mentioning both sides in this conversation is unhelpful today. Respectfully, I disagree. The pain of more than one group of people can coexist, no matter where that pain began. Shouting at each other in this place does not cancel out anyone's pain either. I would argue that that's actually what's unhelpful. This isn't a political conversation, or it shouldn't be.

In Goldstein we welcomed refugees from the Holocaust. We offered them and their families refuge and safety, and they have flourished. In Caulfield, in Elsternwick and in Balaclava, especially, they have grown families and lives. Like my neighbours, the members for Macnamara and Isaacs—who I offer my sincere support to for the anxiety that they and those around them have suffered this year—they hoped the terror would never find them again. But it did on October 7, from across the seas. The spike in antisemitism since has been horrifying.

On the weekend I attended the 100th birthday of Abram Goldberg. Abram last saw his mother as they lined up in Auschwitz in 1944. As he told the Australian Jewish News in 2022:

When we lined up and heard the screams from the SS—'men one side, women and children the other side'—my mother realised that she was not going to get out alive …

And in those few, precious moments she told me, 'Abram, you should do everything humanly possible to survive and when you will survive, wherever you will find yourself, you should tell people what actually happened.'

Abram's mother was immediately sent to the gas chambers. He has since kept his promise, telling his story with bravery, generosity and understanding to all. As he said at his birthday party on Sunday, 'There is no place for hate between people, no matter their colour.' I have heard Abram speak several times and each time I've learnt and grown from hearing his story. I have learnt about humanity.

As we pass this anniversary we must continue to press for the release of all hostages, for a ceasefire and for parties to come to the table. This will require carefully calibrated international and regional leadership to create a regional peace framework, to keep the peace in Gaza, to dismantle Hamas and to build an organisation capable of leading the Palestinian territories on a reasoned path through negotiations with Israel. Protests are understandable, but they won't fix it.

I did hope to see bipartisan support today—to see a day that changes the conversation to one of hope. This is apparently not that, sadly. War is real. War is bloody. War is tragic. War is avoidable. As the conflict escalates into the region—attack, retaliate, attack, retaliate—soon it will be impossible to arrest that cycle. The word we need now is 'de-escalate'. We must, because the safe and secure future of the Israelis and the Palestinians is intertwined—and with our own stability, too.

Last night, I joined thousands of members of Melbourne's Jewish community to mark one year since October 7. I wasn't sure what to expect on such a difficult and emotional day, but what I felt there amid, among and between that crowd was love. Let us find our shared humanity.

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