Sanctions, Spivs, and State-Sponsored Slaughter
The Australian government has finally done something to highlight the murderous actions of Israel in Palestine.
In a move that counts for something (but not much) the Albanese government has slapped sanctions on two of Israel’s most odious political figures: Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich.
Of course, it’s a small action, far too late for the tens of thousands that have been killed in Israel’s annihilation of the Palestinian people – the latest Nakba.
The sanctions have been met with unsurprising criticism from the Coalition, and particularly Michaelia Cash.
Shadow foreign affairs spokesperson and human screech, Cash tripped over herself trying to criticise the government by initially claiming the government had banned Israel’s deputy foreign minister from entering Australia. They hadn’t but they fucking should have.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich are so devoid of humanity that they should never have been left anywhere near a government role.
Don’t take my word for it, these two assholes are even fucking detested even in Israel. The only reason that they got into the government is that Benjamin the Butcher Netanyahu needed them to form a government.
National Security Minister Ben-Gvir leads the ultranationalist Jewish Power party, is linked to banned extremist groups, and was convicted in 2007 for racist incitement.
Ben-Gvir kept a photo of Baruch Goldstein — the Israeli terrorist who massacred 29 Palestinians in a mosque — on his living room wall.
Finance Minister Smotrich runs the Religious Zionism party and openly calls himself a “fascist homophobe.” You know it’s bad when even his fellow Israeli politicians flinch at his rhetoric.
He’s denied Palestine exists — said it’s a made-up nation. And he’s pushed laws that discriminate against Arabs with the gleeful smugness of a man who thinks apartheid wasn’t a strong enough model. This guy isn’t interested in peace — he’s interested in permanent domination. He’s not just complicit in ethnic cleansing. He’s cheering it on with both hands.
The sanctions are part of a coordinated action with UK, Canada, NZ, and Norway for inciting violence against Palestinians and obstructing peace efforts in the West Bank. Which, if we’re honest, is the bureaucratic way of saying: You fuckers are out of control. These two have escalated settler violence, fanned the flames of war, and used government power to turn brutality into official policy. They make Netanyahu look like a moderate. And that’s saying something.
Sanctions mean they can’t travel here to Australia, and their assets get frozen. Symbolic? Yes. Too little, too late? Definitely. But still — it matters. Because it’s a signal. A line in the sand. And for once, Australia isn’t just blindly backing whatever horror Israel serves up in the name of “security.” This is about refusing to let fascists operate with impunity while the world shrugs. It’s about recognising that the occupation has turned into something even darker — and that these men are the architects.
Of course, the backlash came. Cries of antisemitism from the coalition, a bunch of morally fucking bankrupt spivs. People who’d sell their children into offshore detention if it scored them a few Sky News appearances and a pat on the head from Rupert.
Of course they rallied. The same right-wing politicians who scream about “Western civilisation” while cheering on war crimes like it’s a goddamn spectator sport. Their support for Israel isn’t about Jews, or safety, or peace — it’s about power, militarism, and their fever dream of a holy war where brown people get flattened and the Bible gets waved like a weapon. It’s white Christian nationalism in a yarmulke, and they lap it up. They don't see Gaza. They see a testing ground for their own violent fantasies.
And let’s not forget the evangelical freak show — the Pentecostal prophets and rapture-chasers who think Israel is just the set dressing for their End Times cosplay. They don’t care if Palestinians are bombed into the dirt. In fact, they want it. Every airstrike is a step closer to their deranged idea of salvation, where Jesus comes back, nukes the unbelievers, and they all get front-row seats. It’s not solidarity. It’s a suicide cult with a foreign policy.
They don’t care about antisemitism. They care about power. About protecting a narrative where Israel is always the victim, no matter how many children they burn alive. Where war crimes are "self-defence," and anyone who dares call it what it is — apartheid, occupation, ethnic cleansing — gets smeared and silenced.
But calling out state-sponsored mass- murder isn’t antisemitic — it’s necessary. If Australia is serious about human rights, this needs to be the beginning, not the end. Sanctioning Ben-Gvir and Smotrich is one thing. Now let’s talk about the companies profiting from the occupation. Let’s talk about arms sales. Let’s talk about truth.