Invitation to Josh Burns MP
April 8 2024
29 Adar 5784
Dear Mr Josh Burns MP
Invitation: please join us at the Loud Jew Collective public Pesach seder
We write to you in your capacity as Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Chair of Parliamentary Friends of IHRA and Member for Macnamara.
We write to you as members of the Jewish community, some of whom live in your electorate. We wish to invite you to join us for a public Pesach seder to call attention to the desperate situation in Gaza and the atrocities the Israeli military is perpetrating.
We are sure that you are aware of the countless human rights breaches Israel is perpetrating against the civilian population in Gaza. Just recently we have seen horrific acts such as the destruction of Al-shifa hospital, the killing and torturing medical staff and those sheltering in the hospital, bombings in Rafah amidst fears of a ground invasion, and the targeted murder of foreign aid workers including one Australian. This comes after six months of deadly war that the International Court of Justice has found to be a plausible case of genocide. The Australian judge on that court made clear that the military operations need to cease. At the time of writing over 33,000 Gazans have been killed and millions are displaced and starving.
Pesach is a time for remembering and retelling the story of Jewish liberation and freedom. Pesach is also a time to reflect on injustice and oppression that still exists today, to remember our Jewish values, and to think of those who suffer under cruel regimes. This year we cannot look past the suffering that the Israeli State is inflicting on innocent Palestinian people.
We know that you have previously opposed a ceasefire and have recently led a delegation to Israel but still we invite you to reflect on your values, and the value of all human life. We call on you as a leader in the Jewish community and as Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights to stand with us to speak out to end the violence this Pesach.
Please will you join us at 7.30am on Monday 22 April outside your office to call for a permanent ceasefire, an arms embargo, the free and unrestrained provision of aid, proper medical care, the release of all hostages and political prisoners, and a move towards a resolution that furthers the freedoms and liberation of all?
Yours sincerely
Loud Jew Collective