An unprecedented letter signed by six former prime ministers sets the right tone in reminding people of what is at stake in the Middle East.
Unlike old soldiers, retired politicians rarely fade away but when six former prime ministers put aside past differences to speak as one on the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, they surely demand our attention.in Australia and warned against allowing the conflict between Israel and Hamas to stoke division here.
As the killings, kidnappings, bombings and propaganda fuel fears that the Middle East may ignite into wider conflict, our most senior retired politicians have chosen a united voice to remind Australians that, at the worst of times, a nation’s best defence is social cohesion. Labor’s Paul Keating was the only former prime minister not sign the letter. Keating said in a statement he had been contacted last week by Mark Leibler, a prominent Australian Jewish leader and businessman, proposing the joint statement, but declined to be involved. “I told Leibler in a written message that I would not be agreeing to join other former prime ministers in authorising the statement. That remains my position,” he said.
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