Anthony Albanese says Palestinian children are taught to hate. My daughter’s first trip home proves otherwise.

A repost from 25 September 2025.

When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood at the UN this week and claimed that Palestinian children are taught to hate, I thought of my daughter Sarah. She was only four years old when I first took her to Palestine. By the time we left, she understood what occupation and injustice mean – not because I taught her, but because she lived it.

In 2010, I travelled with my two young daughters to Palestine. We were living in Abu Dhabi at the time, but I was determined to take them home before their fifth birthdays. Not all Palestinians are even allowed to visit their ancestral land. Because we held Jordanian passports and a fragile permit known as “reunion status”, my daughters had a rare opportunity to see Palestine. If a child visits before the age of five, that status can be passed on. For many Palestinians, that right is forever out of reach.

Our journey began at the Jordanian border. Palestinians don’t simply carry a passport. We carry layers of papers and permits that decide where we may or may not exist. I travelled with a Jordanian passport, a yellow card marking me as a Jordanian-Palestinian, an Israeli-issued Palestinian ID, and a temporary Israeli permit that allowed me to re-enter........

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