As a sixth-generation Australian and the daughter of a decorated WWII veteran who fought against fascism, racism, and expansionist aggression, I must respond to M McCormack’s letter in last week’s Echo with deep concern.
Sir, you do not speak for all Australians. Certainly, you do not speak for me.
To say Áine Tyrrell and Subhi Awad, who have a pro-Palestinian stance, are spreading a toxic narrative of ‘rape denial’ and ‘hatred’ is not only a misrepresentation – it’s a wilful shutdown of dissent and the very freedom of speech Australians have fought for, bled for, and are proud to uphold.
When artists and activists are hounded out of town for expressing their views on humanitarian crises, we should all be alarmed.
You invoke historical fact to support your worldview while ignoring other fundamental truths – like the continuous displacement of Palestinians for over 75 years, and the fact that many Jewish and Israeli scholars themselves acknowledge the complexity and pain on both sides. To suggest there’s only one historical narrative worth validating is itself a form of denial.
And while you’re invoking ancestral rights to land, may I ask: are you prepared to return your home to the First Nations people from whom it was taken? Or does the principle of historical justice only apply selectively?
Australians are not a monolith. We are a mosaic – diverse, evolving, and increasingly unwilling to be spoken for by those who conflate disagreement with betrayal.
I, too, care about truth, history, and justice. That is precisely why I stand with those who dare to question power – whether in Israel, Australia, or anywhere else injustice festers.
And let me be clear what is happening to Palestinians is not just a conflict – it is a slow-motion genocide. To deny or minimise this, to intimidate those who speak up, is not just morally indefensible – it is complicity. We should not be vilifying those with the courage to say what many are too frightened to admit.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
