Daniel Weil

I participated in the anti-Vietnam War and anti-conscription movement of the late 60s and early 70s. I opposed Australian and US involvement in the war but did not support the Communist leadership of the Vietnamese resistance because they were clearly going to institute a one-party state. I was critical of my own government but did not support its violent overthrow. Some in the movement however did support the Communists and did support the violent overthrow of capitalism and, especially in the US, this took the form of the terrorist organisation -the Weather Underground - that carried out numerous bombings. I am worried that history is about to repeat itself, only more dangerously this time. While I support the call for peace in the Middle East and am critical of the policies of both Trump and Netanyahu, there is a line that I think the pro-Palestine movement must not cross but are in great danger of doing so. The calls for the destruction of Israel, the glorification of the authoritarian, terrorist, Islamist groups Hamas, the blanket condemnation of “Zionism” and calls to “globalise the intifada” (both of which imply that any Jew around the world who supports the state of Israel is a target) all buy into a narrative that fails to notice when red lines get crossed. I greatly fear we will see the emergence of home-grown terrorism in the coming period from a small minority who have bought this narrative and crossed the red line into violence.