An Israeli “settler” *
steals the donkey of a Palestinian farmer
ignoring the commandment of the faith
he professes to follow
“Thou shall not covet thy neighbour’s house…nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s”
The “settler” ties the donkey
to the rear of his vehicle
and drives away at speed
The donkey runs behind the vehicle
clearly struggling to keep up
pulled along by the machine
driven by the “settler”
The donkey stumbles
begins to limp
becomes lame
falls
The “settler” looks back
but does not slow.
The donkey is dragged
battered against the road
flesh torn by rocks
until the donkey is dead.
Only then does the settler stop
gets out of the vehicle
looks at the donkey
and grins
This is the morality of the “settler”
A hypocrite
A thief
A sinner
A transgressor
An apostate
Immoral
Repugnant
Disgusting
Harper Lee, in “To Kill a Mockingbird” could have been describing the “settler” when she wrote, if I might adopt her words:
As you grow older, you’ll see [Israeli] men cheat [Palestinian] men every day of your life, but let me tell you something and don’t you forget it—whenever an [Israel] man does that to a [Palestinian] man, no matter who he is, how rich he is, or how fine a family he comes from, that Israeli man is trash
And Harper Lee could have been describing the Palestinian when she wrote:
Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what
Perhaps the “settler” and his ilk might reflect on the words of Terrance McSweeney, Irish author and politician who died on Hunger Strike in Brixton Prison in 1920 (incarcerated by his colonisers):
It is not those who can inflict the most but those who can endure the most who will conquer
On 20 August 2026 video footage was shared of an Israeli “settler”, Avichai Suissa, stealing a donkey from a Palestinian farmer in the southern Hebron hills region of the West Bank He then tied the animal to a utility vehicle and dragged the donkey along the ground, resulting in the death of the animal.
Outrage followed, more outrage than followed, for example, the shooting and killing by Israeli forces on 13 May 2026 of 18-year-old Yusuf Ka’abneh as he tried, with his father, to recover a flock of sheep stolen from his uncle during a joint attack, by “settlers”, military forces and police, on three communities in the Ramallah area, or any of the other 1,115 Palestinians killed in the West Bank by Israeli military and “settlers” since 7 October 2023.
Under international law and official Australian government positions, Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank are considered illegal. Several Australian registered charities with tax-deductible status have funnelled millions of dollars overseas to projects linked to Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. In March 2026 the Albanese government (with support of the Liberal/NP coalition) rejected a proposal to strip tax-deductable status from Australian charities supporting illegal settlements arguing that existing rules were sufficient and allowed such charities to be deregistered. None have been. Hence, Australian taxpayers contribute to such settlements.
*“Settler”: A shorthand term for murderous, psychopathic scum, supported by the Israeli government and protected by and acting in concert with the Israeli military and police. Several Israeli government Ministers such as G’Vir and Smotrich are “settlers”.
