I’m just wondering what people mean when they chant ‘Free Palestine!’ There are pretty much no countries between Morocco and Pakistan that champion the Western ideals of ‘freedom’. In fact the only country that does is Israel.
In Israel all citizens (including their 20+ per cent Muslim population) have equal rights, can rise to the highest levels in any profession (including government, judiciary, military, police), can dress however they want, have sex with whoever they want (regardless of gender or marital status), they have the right to protest, worship where they want, badmouth the government, etc. You want to try any of that in Iraq, Iran or Afghanistan? Or Gaza?
Since the barely held together ceasefire in Gaza, Hamas has been rounding up people and executing them for not being Hamas-ey enough! Is that your idea of a free Palestine? As long as religious nutjobs are in charge, no part of the Middle East will ever be ‘free’ by any Western definition of the word.
Then there’s the ‘globalise the Intifada’ chant. Well the Intifada came to Bondi recently and if you endorse that you’re really not Australian.
Of course I expect the standard responses to this, parroting mindless nonsense about colonisation, genocide, apartheid and whatnot but I genuinely wonder what you think a ‘free Palestine’ looks like.
Think about what you are actually chanting for.
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. 
