I first became interested in Palestine probably in my teens. This is because I had an aunt who married a man from Palestine and our two families were great friends when I was growing up. As a 19-year-old in 1967

“When did you first become interested in the issue of Palestine?
Being raised as a Christian I held the view that the Israelites were “God’s chosen people” and therefore everything they did was blessed. It was not till I was in my mid-30s that I was brought up short. By that time I had rejected Christianity and belief in a god, and was running as a candidate for the Australian Democrats. A potential voter asked me about the party’s position on Palestine, and I undertook to find out and get back to them. That was when I found out the party policy was strongly pro-Palestinian causing me to research why, ultimately resulting in a 180 degree turn in my personal position.”

“When did you first become interested in the issue of Palestine?

My father spoke to me about the Palestinians. He told me that they had been given a raw deal in 1948. I would have been somewhere between the ages of 5 and 12. The family bought a television in 1968 to help with my education and I became fascinated with the news. During the Yom Kippur War, I was grounded for some minor misdemeanour and occupied myself by keeping a map of the Arab progress in the war.”