JEWISH ANZAC TO DIE FOR
April 25th 2007 00:19
[]I'M NOT JEWISH BUT
some of my best friends are.
And one of my best Jewish friends, a journalist caught up in the traditional strictures of his trade thinks he always has to be intellectual, serious and quasi academic etc in his writing.
But, like many journalists, his best writing is his personal observations that he shares with friends.
A pity that he won't pen (or keyboard) such items for the mainstream papers, but on the other hand they probably wouldn't publish them anyway.
I won't name his but here's an example of his latest cute little item that he sent to friends in Israel:
FRIENDS IN ISRAEL: WHAT IS ANZAC
As you have Yom Hatzmaut (Independence Day) we are having our own very strange day of ultra-nationalism, Anzac (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) Day. For many it is a celebration of the good things of war: killing, death, boys with toys; and for many others including the older veterans it is a commemoration of why we should not send boys to die in wars, all of which have been foreign and with the exception of World War II impossible to justify and on behalf of the Great Powers the UK and the US.
In particular it commemorates the terrible loss of Australian and New Zealand troops in Gallipoli in 1915 when Churchill made them land on the wrong beach facing a cliff heavily fortified by Turkish troops. After the war Ataturk said that anyone who died on Turkish soil was a son of Turkey and would be honored and there are significant monuments to the Anzacs at Gellibolu (Gallipoli). So that’s alright then.
When New Zealand defied America and said it would not accept nuclear armed or powered ships in its ports Australia reduced its military ties with New Zealand and strengthened them with America, which calls into question the politicians commitment to “the Anzacs”.
Today the spirit of the Anzacs is acknowledged through a well-attended Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance, little biscuits made from flour wheat and Golden Syrup sugar treacle, called Anzacs, and a football match between my team Essendon and its great rival Collingwood. We’re the Anzacs and they’re the Turks, but we generally win. Before the football match we watch the amazing contribution to global warming made by our Air Force formation flying team the Roulettes and commandos sliding down ropes from a helicopter as well as para-gliders with colored flares (smoke generators not 1970s trousers).
And we stand up for a really silly national anthem that no one knows the words to.
Then the footy match starts, the adults have a drink and the kids have a play and we go home and watch the parade on teevee.
some of my best friends are.
And one of my best Jewish friends, a journalist caught up in the traditional strictures of his trade thinks he always has to be intellectual, serious and quasi academic etc in his writing.
But, like many journalists, his best writing is his personal observations that he shares with friends.
A pity that he won't pen (or keyboard) such items for the mainstream papers, but on the other hand they probably wouldn't publish them anyway.
I won't name his but here's an example of his latest cute little item that he sent to friends in Israel:
FRIENDS IN ISRAEL: WHAT IS ANZAC
As you have Yom Hatzmaut (Independence Day) we are having our own very strange day of ultra-nationalism, Anzac (Australia and New Zealand Army Corps) Day. For many it is a celebration of the good things of war: killing, death, boys with toys; and for many others including the older veterans it is a commemoration of why we should not send boys to die in wars, all of which have been foreign and with the exception of World War II impossible to justify and on behalf of the Great Powers the UK and the US.
In particular it commemorates the terrible loss of Australian and New Zealand troops in Gallipoli in 1915 when Churchill made them land on the wrong beach facing a cliff heavily fortified by Turkish troops. After the war Ataturk said that anyone who died on Turkish soil was a son of Turkey and would be honored and there are significant monuments to the Anzacs at Gellibolu (Gallipoli). So that’s alright then.
When New Zealand defied America and said it would not accept nuclear armed or powered ships in its ports Australia reduced its military ties with New Zealand and strengthened them with America, which calls into question the politicians commitment to “the Anzacs”.
And we stand up for a really silly national anthem that no one knows the words to.
Then the footy match starts, the adults have a drink and the kids have a play and we go home and watch the parade on teevee.
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