Many Australians are understandably traumatised by the past year in the Middle East. Every day, we see more unbearable scenes. The terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7, 2023: the worst loss of Jewish life in a single day since the Holocaust, and almost 100 hostages still held. And in Israel’s response: 42,000 Palestinians killed – including more than 13,000 children. About 2 million facing starvation.

While this conflict might be far away, it is close to many in Australia. Some have lost family – or have loved ones in danger. Communities connect with different sides in this conflict.

Penny Wong addresses the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 27.Credit: Bloomberg

The Middle East’s contested history helps explain these divergent perspectives. Those who know the imperative of Israel for the Jewish people’s survival. Who feel October 7 as part of the long shadow of antisemitism; the abomination of the Holocaust and millennia of Jewish persecution. And those who know the dispossession of the Palestinian people; the failure of the international community to honour the 1947 promise made for a Palestinian state when Israel was established. Who feel that the loss of Muslim and Arab lives has been too easily dismissed.

These two experiences seem less reconciled than ever – and they are intensified in a debate often framed by incorrect information.

For example, people........

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