Perth Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has this week spoken about the violence in Israel.
Speaking in The Australian, Archbishop Costelloe emphasised that the cowardly and murderous attacks by Hamas operatives on innocent Jewish people – men, women, children and babies – in northern Israel on 7 October 2023, sowed the bitter seeds of violence, destruction and untold suffering for thousands of people.
Israel and Gaza descended into chaos on 7 October 2023 following an unprecedented surprise dawn attack by Hamas militants on a major Jewish holiday.
Hamas breached Israeli security along the Gaza border at dawn on 7 October 2023 and attacked border communities amidst a barrage of more than 2,000 rockets that reached into Jerusalem and the Tel Aviv areas some 80 kilometers away.
A ceasefire, now under way after 15 months, aims to bring a permanent end to the fighting and free hostages held by Hamas in Gaza in exchange for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel.
Getting to this point took months of painstaking indirect negotiations, and the timetable and complexity of the deal mean even a small incident could escalate and threaten to derail the ceasefire.
About 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken back to Gaza as hostages when Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October 2023.
This triggered a massive Israeli military offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 47,000 Palestinians, the Hamas-run health ministry says.
The ceasefire was announced on 15 January and began four days later, after months of negotiations led by the US, Qatar and Egypt.
It is based on a proposal set out by former US President Joe Biden in May 2024 and will be carried out in three stages:
Stage one
This will last 42 days, during which:
- There will be a complete ceasefire
- Hamas will release a total of 33 hostages – women (including female soldiers), children, some older men and the sick – at regular intervals
- Israel will release about 1,900 Palestinian prisoners
- Israeli forces will leave populated areas
- Displaced Palestinian civilians will be allowed to return to their neighbourhoods
- Hundreds of aid lorries will be allowed into Gaza each day
- Israeli troops will remain in Gaza’s border areas, including the southern Philadelphi Corridor, but will leave the Netzarim Corridor, a military zone cutting off the north of Gaza from the south
Stage two
Sixteen days after the start of stage one, negotiations will begin on the second stage, during which:
- A permanent ceasefire will be established
- Remaining living hostages in Gaza will be exchanged for more Palestinian prisoners
- Israeli forces will make a complete withdrawal
Stage three
The final part of the agreement will see:
- The return of all remaining bodies of dead hostages
- The reconstruction of Gaza, which is expected to take years
This fragile ceasefire, highlighted Archbishop Costelloe, offers some hope that the worst of the violence might be behind us, but the repercussions from the horrors of 7 October will continue to play out for many years,
“Nothing can compare with the torment and suffering of the victims of that terrible attack, including their families and the wider Jewish community,” Archbishop Costelloe said.
“Nor can we minimise the horror of the death and destruction that has unfolded in Gaza,” he said.
Continuing his opinion column, Archbishop Costelloe, who is also President of the Australian Catholic Bishop’s Conference said Pope Francis is right when he says war is always a defeat for humanity.
“It lays bare the frightening power of evil, which can so easily take hold in people’s minds and hearts, blinding us to our common humanity and leading us to treat others not as our brothers and sisters but as enemies.
“Tragically, manifestations of this inexplicable blindness and evil have become visible in our towns and cities. The violent and senseless attitude that goes by the name of anti-Semitism has appeared in various forms.
“Our nation, which prides itself on its multicultural ethos and belief in a “fair go for all”, is confronted with the deeply unpalatable truth that for some in our society the notion of tolerance and respect for each other should not include our Jewish brothers and sisters.
“It is a cause for shame that places of Jewish worship are being firebombed; that Jewish schools and other institutions are forced to engage security firms; that university students are afraid to be on campus in case they are verbally or physically abused; that Jewish homes and cars are defaced by vile graffiti.
“And all purportedly in the name of peace and justice, but in reality, an expression of that senseless hatred for the Jewish people that, when once it went unchecked in Europe, resulted in the brutal horrors of the Holocaust.
“Hatred and the violence it breeds are at different times directed towards different groups in society. This hatred can be racially motivated, religiously motivated or directed towards other groups.
“In every case, our acceptance of, or acquiescence in, such bigotry attacks the cohesion of our society and gives the lie to our claim to be the “lucky country” and ‘the land of the fair go’.
“It remains true, however, that there is something particularly pernicious and destructive about anti-Semitism.
“Its persistence across so many centuries, its existence in so many countries, its complete irrationality, and its undeniable destructive power laid bare in the Holocaust and reinforced by the deadly attacks of 7 October, make it a test case for our determination to be in reality what we claim to be in our mythology: a land and a people of tolerance and respect, of hospitality and embrace of the other.
“For the many Australians of Christian faith, it is particularly important we recognise the danger of anti-Semitism and do everything we can to work against it.
Certainly for Catholics, we recall the words of recent popes, including Francis and Benedict, that the Jews are our elder brothers and sisters in the faith. We know, even if some choose to forget or deny it, that Jesus Christ was a Jew, born of a Jewish mother and raised in the Jewish faith and traditions.
His first apostles and many of his early followers were Jews. He called upon the language of the Jewish scriptures in his teaching that God is a merciful Father and that we are called to love our neighbours as ourselves. In his teaching, Jesus insists that everyone is our neighbour. That is the point of his parable of the good Samaritan.
“When our neighbours are in need, we do our best to come to their aid. Because of the rise of anti-Semitism in Australia today, our Jewish sisters and brothers now have a particular claim on our support and protection.
“I invite us all to search our hearts and ask ourselves what we can say and do in our local contexts to reassure the members of the Jewish community they are welcome, respected and safe here in Australia.