Albanese hasn’t let Jews down – Netanyahu has

Benjamin Netanyahu claims Anthony Albanese’s actions – recognising Palestine, calling for an end to violence, slaughter and starvation, and cancelling the visa of a far-right provocateur – show he has abandoned Australia’s Jews (“Netanyahu blasts Albanese as ‘weak’ as diplomatic relations plummet”, August 20). Personally, there is only one world leader I feel abandoned by, and that is Netanyahu himself. It is Netanyahu whose disproportionate actions have led to such a global increase in antisemitism, Netanyahu whose actions have gone far beyond any pretense of justice, Netanyahu who makes me feel unsafe and angry and crushingly disappointed. Never again means never again, for anyone. It doesn’t mean you can commit genocide in my name. Ry Feder, North Avoca

Netanyahu’s personal attacks on elected leaders in Australia should be viewed in context of his history of undermining democracy in his own country. Before Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated in 1995 for pursuing peace with Palestinians, Netanyahu led a mock funeral procession with signs saying “Death to Rabin”. After Rabin’s murder, Netanyahu ensured that act of terrorism was rewarded by dismantling the popular movement for peace and crushing any two-state solution. His opposition to Australia’s decades-long bipartisan support for a two-state solution and recognition of Palestine is to be expected. But Australians should not forget his personal attacks on his political opponents have a history of provoking violence, resulting in the death of a popular leader pursuing the same goal. Our democracy could do without Bibi’s brand of political interference. David Snell, Enmore

History will remember Albanese for having the strength to stand up to Netanyahu and to stand with moderate Australians and Israelis, who also denounce the acts of his extremist government. This has nothing to do with antisemitism. Albanese speaks for many Jewish and non-Jewish Australians by calling out a sovereign friend who is on a vengeful rampage. Right-wing Israeli politician Simcha Rothman has rightfully been denied a visa to Australia. He speaks words of horror – of “justified” starvation, of child “enemies” and more. Given his position, these are more than just words of hate. He has the capacity to enact these threats. Netanyahu and his government have betrayed and shamed Israel. It would be weak of Albanese to not speak out. Tell them. Stop them. Take away their keys. Nell Knight, Avoca Beach

Netanyahu is taking a leaf out of the Trump playbook calling Albanese “weak”. Yet, Netanyahu is so weak he delays an election by prolonging his war with Hamas, knowing full well he will probably lose any election and will face criminal changes once out of office. He is fighting a “forever war” to keep himself in power and out of prison. That is real weakness. Neil Ormerod, Kingsgrove

Netanyahu’s claim that Albanese is “abandoning Australian Jews” couldn’t be more wrong: they are our kin, they are our family, we will protect them with our lives as Australians have in the past, as well as anyone else who is persecuted for their religious beliefs. Australia is a nation of decent citizens who abhor self-praising speech from people who have lost their moral and compassionate compass. Vanna Gallassi, Marsfield

More than 100 nations have condemned the Netanyahu government for its actions in Gaza. There are Jews in most of these countries, yet I haven’t heard Netanyahu saying those leaders have “abandoned the Jews”. Does he think Albanese is a soft target, or that his spray will intimidate the others into capitulation? It’s not an intelligent way of keeping people on his side – and that’s what Netanyahu desperately needs right now. David Gordon, Cranebrook

The Coalition sticks by Netanyahu like a barnacle to a ship. It wants Australia to maintain our strong relationship with Israel. In 2021, the total trade with Israel was $1.34 billion, with Australian exports at $325 million and imports from Israel at $1.02 billion. Their importance to us is negligible. It is all fluster and bluster by conservative politicians. And just to add to the hysterics, millions of Jewish people around the world want a two-state solution. Are they being antisemitic? John Rome, Mt Lawley (WA)

It appears that in recognising Palestine, Albanese may have done more potential harm to our relationship with Israel and the US than Scott Morrison did with China. Risking his renewed political capital on a “Morrison moment” so early in his new term will ultimately define it, for better or for worse. William S Lloyd, Denistone

Why the big fuss over a war criminal calling Albanese names? Good on the prime minister for ignoring this hysterical bully. Rob Mills, Riverview

If someone as morally bankrupt as Benjamin Netanyahu condemns your actions, you can reasonably assume those actions were probably the correct ones. Carl Boyd, Cooks Hill

If Albo even felt the need to respond to a certain comment about him, Netanyahu is an anagram for Aunt Hyena. Just saying. Barry Ffrench, Cronulla

If the government thinks its doing such a good job making Jewish Australians feel safe, why are Jewish schools, synagogues, aged care centres and other institutions kept behind high fences and patrolled by armed guards? What other schools, mosques, churches or aged care centres require this level of security in Australia? What punishments have been dealt out to the perpetrators of the high number of recent antisemitic attacks we’ve seen? Margaret Perlman, Randwick

Wasted opportunity

The parlous state of the Australian economy for which the roundtable is desperately seeking answers largely comes down to one incident – the “Tampa crisis” in 2001 which made border security a key election issue and, with its associated lies and misinformation, led to John Howard’s victory. Labor’s Kim Beazley was set to win and would have been the prime minister the country so badly needed. Beazley was a believer in the “smart country” and Australia becoming a highly skilled research and development-based modern economy. Instead, we got Howard gutting medical training, undermining our medical system, particularly rurally, and handing the benefits of the mining boom to the already well-off. Imagine what a Beazley government could have done with that mining boom in advancing this country. Lou Collier, Mapleton (Qld)

Correspondent Mark Wills, who suggests the roundtable should consider removing the diesel fuel rebate scheme, has not fully considered its merits (Letters, August 20). The off-road rebate not only applies to miners, but also to primary producers. If all rebates were removed for miners, fishers and farmers, imagine the price of meat, vegetables, fish and fruit at the supermarket. They would all increase dramatically. Also, the often remote location of these industries dictates that diesel is currently the only viable option to power these sectors. Removing the subsidy would certainly guarantee a higher price for all produce at the point of sale, minerals included. Solar and wind are not yet fully viable alternatives. David Sayers, Gwandalan

Peter Nash suggests three more things that should be discussed at the summit (Letters, August 20). Here is another. With so many demands on our health system and with more coming from people who are retired like me, isn’t it time we made some contribution to the health system from our tax-free superannuation? Might I suggest a flat tax of say $200 a year from everyone over a certain level of tax-free income, which should go straight into the health system. This justifies the heavy use of the health system by the aged who might have an advantage in the tax structure. Ken Pares, Forster

The Manly cafe, like any cafe struggling to turn a profit, now has Northern Beaches Council trying to restrict their trade for the benefit of a few while ignoring the huge boost to public amenity that such active outlets provide (“Popular bakery fights a Sydney council over outdoor seating”, August 20). This regulation over-reach by local government ought to be front and centre of the Productivity Commission’s agenda. It’s the organic, less-regulated nature of such precincts that make them so appealing here in the back lanes of Manly, and indeed in any of our favourite cities around the world. Hands off, council. Paul Johnson, Avalon Beach

It’s a sad fact that the profits versus productivity tug-of-war inevitably ends up in debating the necessary level of regulation (“Go ahead, cut red tape … if you must”, August 20). Ross Gittins correctly identifies the overlap between the three levels of government as the source of much over-regulation. Any regulator needs to ask questions such as: What is the problem? Is regulation required to minimise it? Is someone else already regulating it? Is there another (fairer, simpler, quicker) way to improve things while still adequately protecting the community? Unfortunately, history shows us that while the vast majority of populations, enterprises and individuals behave responsibly and ethically, we need protection from the few that don’t. One of the main problems with any regulatory regime is the difficulty in enforcing it, so the golden rule should be only to set rules you can apply and monitor sufficiently for them to be effective. Jenifer Nicholls, Windsor (Vic)

Thank you, Ross Gittins, for highlighting another thing that should be discussed at the round table – resources tax (“PM cries poor as gas riches go untaxed”, August 13). Billions of dollars of finite sovereign resources are given to foreign gas giants free – no tax is paid. Then Aussies are charged usurious prices for the same gas in the form of imports. To add insult to injury, our PM continues the practice of giving $11 billion in utterly undeserved taxpayer subsidies to resources companies. These contracts are a gross betrayal of Aussie taxpayers. They should be ripped up immediately and a new and fairer deal struck. Sadly, I confidently predict that our PM’s talkfest this week will not discuss this important issue. It would appear he lacks the spine to go up against those who fight back. Dave Panichi, Marrickville

Boys will be boys

Having met genuinely autistic children, one would recognise another straight away (“Seven in 10 new people joining NDIS for autism”, August 20). The fact so many ordinary Australian children are suddenly being recognised as such would indicate an over-diagnosis by specialists and others, perhaps keen to boost their profession and earnings. Unruly and noisy behaviour is typical of many young boys and is just a phase, but they are being drugged out by anxious parents – with the help of doctors. Donald Hawes, Peel

There seems to be much angst about the NDIS becoming a de facto support system for struggling children in Australia. Shouldn’t we be rather asking why there seems to be a meteoric rise in the number of autism diagnoses each year? If the diagnoses are accurate, then we must find out whether it’s a genetic issue or something in our environment – chemical pollution perhaps – or both. Psychologists are either wrong, or autism is indeed growing more common. Whatever the circumstance, our focus should be on the children. Even if the money doesn’t come out of the NDIS, funds still have to be provided under a support budget for children. We already have a low birth rate in this country. Given that we have to look after the children, this is a problem that should not just be seen as a short-term budgetary burden. Kim Woo, Mascot

Zelensky’s last laugh

Michael Koziol’s reference to Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenksy escaping “another [Trump] dressing down” both by dressing up and joking about it with a reporter (“You look fabulous in that suit”, August 19) shows that first impressions matter and that flattery may get you somewhere. Perhaps what ultimately promotes dialogue between leaders is respect, which can be helped by humour. The variously attributed quote “never trust a person who never laughs” may have a grain of truth in it. Perhaps Putin should take note. Paul Casey, Callala Bay

High-risk strategy

Gaming Minister David Harris uses a selective survey which stated that less than 1 per cent of the population experience high-risk gambling harm to justify doing nothing to address an addiction that is continuing to cause great social harm in our society (“Gambling counsellor’s despair as vital funding to be stopped”, August 20). John Cotterill, Kingsford

Privatise and lose

If CSL was still a government-owned company with no profit or share price to worry about, Trump’s tariffs wouldn’t matter and the Australian public would be the winners in terms of affordable pharmaceuticals (“Trump’s tariffs and anti-vaxxer clash with Australia’s $130b health giant”, August 19). What is it about socialism that wage earners with no share portfolios find so scary at election time? So-called “aspirationals” are largely dreamers and, in the real world, often losers. Alynn Pratt, Grenfell

No place for a child

I plead with NSW parliament to read, heed and act on the evidence offered by Arthur Moses and Mindy Sortiri of the Justice Reform Initiative (“Locking up more children costs millions and does not work”, August 20). In the absence of a stable home and good parenting, the state is responsible for a child’s welfare. Prison is not a home. It kills a child’s chances in life. I beg Premier Minns to rethink how we respond to children in need. It takes a community to raise a child, not a prison. Anne Eagar, Epping

Agents of deception

Jenna Price’s article about selling the family home reminded me of when, many years ago, we interviewed representatives from three real estate agencies to sell our house (“No, I won’t remove erotica from my walls, no matter what agents say”, August 20). As the last one was going out the door, she advised us to use her company because of its reputation as the most ethical and trustworthy in the business. My wife hit me when I pointed out that her chairman was serving a stretch in Boggo Road Gaol at the time for bribing a cabinet minister. Her company did not get the gig. Mark Gallagher, West Pennant Hills

I once sold an apartment in a popular beachside suburb. The chosen agent’s feedback once it was on the market was that viewers thought it was too far from the beach. As it was the same distance from the beach as when he had pleaded for the job, it seemed a rather odd reason to try to convince me to lower my asking price. Vicky Marquis, Glebe

One possible antidote sellers have to weed out a suitable agent at the interview stage could be to insist on “no sale, no fee” unless the agent achieves their quoted price or better, and to ensure this is written into the listing agreement to be signed. George Marsh, Clontarf

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