Ordinarily we are an arts collective that focuses on what can be done within our homes and communities to be less reliant on what we call, hypertechnocivility. That is, how can we support ourselves and others to transition to non-war economies and lifeways that honour life, land and people. But this post isn’t so much about living the new story, at least not in a local, humus-enriching sense. Rather it’s about marking the next stage in the descent of morality in the west, and the next stage in the diminishment of free speech, especially in relation to Israel’s genocide of Palestinian people.

So here’s the thing. A nation state commits a genocide, murders international journalists, doctors and aid workers, purposely starves home-destroyed peoples by freezing supply lines, ignores international condemnation, meddles in the affairs of other countries by misleadingly collapsing Zionism as the same thing as Judaism, and pressures other nations to adopt harsh new laws that give powers to incarcerate critics of its genocide.

How is this happening? Well, let’s hear from a victim of this state violence.

All terrorism committed by empires are the result of big geopolitical and financial forces, playing to win with little care for the rule of law or international agreements. If you apply first principles to the why and how of the current moment you may also arrive where we have: It is Israel and the US wanting to control the middle east to capitalise on all the lucrative resources in the region. This is about empire domination, and most western countries support it and some get perks for doing so.

Iran is the last significant sovereign state in the middle east standing in the way of total American-Israeli hegemony there. Iranians don’t want an American-Israeli regime change in their country; this is just what western governments and the western corporate media are massaging western peoples on the path to war with Iran.

If you are interested to hear a voice from inside Iran, here’s an academic speaking a few days ago on what he is seeing on the ground in his country. Seyed M Marandi takes us through why recent protests began in Iran, who caused them, who escalated them into terrorism, and what counter protests took place in opposition to the terrorists.

It sounds a little more complex than the ‘Iranians want regime change’ routine we get fed in the west, doesn’t it? Marandi said today about the American-Israeli preparation for war with his country, that “Iran’s sin is that it, alone with its allies, actively supports Palestine and opposes genocide in Gaza.”

This week the Albanese government caved in to the Netanyahu government and to anti-Palestinian hard liners in Australia to bring about a royal commission concerning the Bondi massacre, while at the same time pushing through its ‘Combatting Antisemitism, Hate and Extremism Bill 2026’ on January 20. Here is a copy of that draft bill and the memorandum.

The draft states, it’s “immaterial,” whether “the conduct actually results in hatred” or whether anyone “actually” feels intimidated or fears harassment. There is a view (or a political strategy) that criticism of Israel is making people in the Jewish diaspora unsafe, but as Antony Loewenstein, a Jewish Australian journalist argues, this is just a foil for stamping out dissent against genocide and other Israeli atrocities, such as decades of land grabbing in Palestine.

We are a part Jewish household, and proud of it. So please stand with us and millions of others around the world who speak up against the violence imposed by the extremist Israeli regime and its war partner, America.

So what can you can do to help arrest this slide into ever greater authoritarianism and moral decline by western governments using ‘hate’ and ‘safety’ as weapons against peoples’ rights to protest and critique? Send a submission to the Australian Government to reject the draft bill via this page by 4pm tomorrow (15 January, 2026). Share this post because it includes Palestinian, Iranian and Jewish perspectives that are not aligned to the empire. Stay informed using first principles (not team sports) inquiry. And last but not least, steer clear of state-corporate propaganda as the American-Israeli terror alliance escalates its hatred in 2026.