So this is the world now, no truth to power allowed, I think Public Enemy had something to say about that back in the day, and it's never been more relevant.
It is mind boggling how much influence the Zionists have in the West
So fun fact about that quote,
It wasn't actually said by Voltaire, it was actually originally from a neo-nazi named Kevin Strom who pled guilty to possession of child pornography.
Snopes: https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/massie-neo-nazi-voltaire/
If you want a deeper dive into this guy Molly Conger did one on her podcast Weird Little Guys. It's the "Do We Really Need to Talk About Kevin?" Episode.
It is!
I'm German and pretty much very disappointed in how we are handling this.
I understand that we will always support and stand by the Jews and have nothing against that.
What Israel/Netanjahu and his hardliner base is doing, has nothing to do with that.
Still, we stand with Israel no matter what.
Apparently the xitter tweet was a eulogy for Yahya Sinwar.
Now Yahya Sinwar was a war criminal, so they kind of have a point.
However, if that is the standard they set, saying anything positive about Benjamin Netanyahu, Yoav Gallant, Ron Dermer, Aryeh Deri, Benny Gantz, Gadi Eisonkot, Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, who are all also leaders who have supported war crimes should also be grounds for having awards rescinded. But what are the chances that there is a double standard?
Perhaps a good approach is to check other recipients who are pro-Zionist‡ and see if they have anything praising war criminals, and complain - if there is no similar response, it is clear there is a double standard.
‡: And before anyone tries to twist my words as a smear, I define a modern Zionist in the usual way as someone who wants to expand the state of Israel beyond the 1967 boundaries, other than as a one-state solution with the consent of the people of the lands.
The Liberal National Coalition (right wing party) arts minister John-Paul Langbroek told parliament it was incumbent on the State Library’s board to ensure that the activities and associations of the library reflected community standards and upheld the integrity of the institution.
“Whilst I support the principles of free expression and creative diversity, any perception that taxpayer-funded awards being granted to individuals who justify terrorism undermines public trust, both in our institutions and in the cultural sector more broadly” Langbroek said.
This would possibly be fine if I didn't constantly see supportive tweets for the current Israel administration by Australian right wing politicians: ie, those given a paycheck by public.
Tweets in support of Netanyahu: great!
Tweets in support of the Israel Defense Force: keep em coming!
Tweets heaping praise upon Israeli government's recent terrorist actions: OK!
Tweets from 9 months ago showing empathy at the deaths of Palestinian leaders, deleted just minutes later by the author: this is justifying terrorism and undermining public trust!
The irony of censoring a First Nations writer for having an opinion about genocide is fucking palpable.