Cr Jorge Jorquera
Understandably, some in our community have questioned the role of local government in addressing global matters.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been ongoing for over 75 years, but the attacks that occurred following October 7, have been the deadliest and most intense in the 21st Century.
According to Oxfam, the Israeli military have killed roughly 250 Palestinians per day since 7 October.
Of the 30,000 plus killed so far, at least 13,000 have been children according to UNICEF , that’s one child every 15 minutes.
I wanted to take the time to scroll through the list of names of these children, I couldn’t get past the list of those who didn’t make their first birthday.
The first name on that list I will never forget.
It is the single proudest moment of my time as a Councillor that the City of Maribyrnong took a stand with humanity in November last year.
We condemned Israel’s war on Palestine and called for an end to ‘all military, economic, political and diplomatic ties with the state of Israel until it complies with its obligations under international law’.
The motion is a step in the right direction.
As a diverse, multicultural, and multi-faith community, we deplore and actively stand against all forms of racism, including Islamophobia and Anti-Semitism. If local government can’t declare its sympathy for peace and human rights, at best it can be called an apparatus, but certainly not a government.
Whatever else may need improvement in our municipality, and I understand there’s lots, at least we can proudly say the City of Maribyrnong stands with Palestine.
