Eretz Israel is our unforgettable historic homeland...The Jews who will it shall achieve their State...And whatever we attempt there for our own benefit will redound mightily and beneficially to the good of all mankind. (Theodor Herzl, DerJudenstaat, 1896)

We offer peace and amity to all the neighbouring states and their peoples, and invite them to cooperate with the independent Jewish nation for the common good of all. The State of Israel is ready to contribute its full share to the peaceful progress and development of the Middle East.
(From Proclamation of the State of Israel, 5 Iyar 5708; 14 May 1948)

With a liberal democratic political system operating under the rule of law, a flourishing market economy producing technological innovation to the benefit of the wider world, and a population as educated and cultured as anywhere in Europe or North America, Israel is a normal Western country with a right to be treated as such in the community of nations.... For the global jihad, Israel may be the first objective. But it will not be the last. (Friends of Israel Initiative)

Sunday 31 July 2011

Anti-Israel Fanatics DemonstrateTheir "Fascism" Again In Melbourne (videos)

On Friday evening a vast intimidatory throng of possibly as many as 500 screaming anti-Israel fanatics (the "Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid," spearheaded by Students for Palestine and radical leftists including Socialists, Greens, and some trade unionists), angry as hornets and perhaps four times times the number that the police recently dispersed from the same location http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/07/cops-get-tough-with-anti-israel.html, descended again on the Max Brenner premises in Central Melboune, to screech their grotesque vitriolic lies against what one female speaker called "the vile and repressive state of Israel".

They also shrieked their indignation against federal parliamentarian Michael Danby's support of Max Brenner http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/07/prejudiced-fanatics-who-should-look.html
Whether they recognised themselves in Danby's apt characterisation of those who support boycotts against Israel as "fascists" (see the following video) is unrecorded.



This time, unlike the last, when three police officers were injured, there were no arrests, but there was a heavy police presence, including several mounted officers.




An eye-witness, Michael Burd, told the antipodean J-Wire service:
"My estimate of numbers is between 300-400 protesters and  80-100 police involved between the State Library and the two Max Brenner outlets.
The  bulk of protesters  displayed banners and balloons and distributed  propaganda. Protesting were Socialists, Muslim Arab community members including Palestinians, Sudanese, Somalis, Ethiopians and a group of multicultural activists.
Some of the speakers had been arrested a few weeks ago at the  first Max Brenner protest and were out on bail. Some said  they were quite proud that they had been in jail and  brazenly told reporters  how badly they had been treated by the police and how they were being silenced by the Zionists. One of the main instigators, James Crafti,  a radical anti- Zionist Jew who works very closely with the Palestinian activists told the audience how evil Israel and Zionism were....
The protest started outside the Victorian State Library at 5 pm in a party atmosphere complete with balloons in Palestinian colours and speeches from the organisers. Maritime Union secretary Kevin Bracken, Sarah Harris,  Students for Palestine, James Crafti,  and South  African activists who compared Israel with apartheid South Africa. Muslim singers and entertainers also spoke about the evil Israelis....
Some  of the Pamphlets  and posters read "Max Brenner proudly supports the Displacement Torture and genocide of Palestinians".
After about one hour at the Library the protesters marched to the first Max Brenner store  where police were waiting.  They spent  around 30 minutes chanting their slogans before leaving for the second Max Brenner store around the corner where they did the same thing. This caused major disruption to both Melbourne Central and Q[ueen]V[ictoria] shopping centres.
Police handed out pamphlets which warning that would  arrest troublemakers.  Their pamphlet was titled Boycott Apartheid  Israel Rally.
There were no violent incidents
The good news was  both Max Brenner stores were full of customers and remained very busy regardless.'
More good news is that in Sydney recently a number of well-known Aussies, including columnist Gerard Henderson, comedian Austen Tayshus, and broadcaster Jana Wendt, joined Michael Danby and members of the Jewish community at Max Brenner to enjoy hot chocolate and show support.  Referring to the protest against Max Brenner, Warren Mundine, an Indigenous Australian and formerly president of the Australian Labor Party, described the BDS movement as "anti-Jewish," and trade union official Paul Howes observed:
"The violence outside the Melbourne outlet earlier this month shocked me. The violence I witnessed in our media after the anti-Israel BDS mob targeted a Jewish-owned business  was far too reminiscent of Hitler-era mobs targeting Jewish businesses in Berlin.... There is simply no excuse for the Extremist Far Left seemingly mimicking the behaviour of the Nazi thugs...."
For an earlier pro-Israel speech by Howes see http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2010/10/australian-trade-union-chief-speaks-up.html

Hat tips: J-Wire and reader Shirlee 
Update: For even more of that demo: http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/08/ugly-hate-filled-demo-against-israel-in.html

6 comments:

  1. 'Warren Mundine, an Indigenous Australian and formerly president of the Australian Labor Party, '

    I take it this man is Aborigine and knows Apartheid when he sees it, right Daphne?
    So being as he supports Israel he realizes Israel isn't Apartheid state!

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  2. Anon, I don't know a great deal about Mundine but he is indeed an Aborigine, and it would be interesting to have a transcript of his speech.
    It's wonderful that someone of his background is in the pro-Israel camp, and as you imply, his support for Israel reinforces the absurdity - and obscenity - of the apartheid slur against Israel.
    Aborigines were not given Australian citizenship until 1967 (!) whereas Arabs have enjoyed citizenship of Israel from the state's foundation.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for the links Daphne. Used one of them here:

    http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/3194#comments

    As part of the global BDS (Bloody Disgusting Stalinists) campaign against fascism, antisemitism and the Greens, Melbournians took to the streets in their hundreds last Friday to vent their anger at the sheer, nasty minded, hate filled hypocrisy of a fringe political party that used its numbers to attack the Middle East's only liberal democracy and the world's only Jewish state the moment they took control of a Sydney inner city council.

    They marched between hot chocolate shops in the Melbourne CBD chanting "Israel is a party state" in an obvious reference to the little country's reputation for hospitality and living life to the full.

    "We could hardly just stand by and watch" , explained rally organiser Sheila Knowsthelot. "Picking off Jews just because they happen to be Jews in their own homeland is ... you know... wrong .. isn't it?"

    http://webdiary.com.au/cms/?q=node/3194#comments

    ReplyDelete
  4. Great, Geoffff!
    So many of these rallies seem to feature women speakers (some young, some of mature years) inveighing against Israel in shrill, near-hysterical tones.
    It never fails to amaze and disgust me that these radical feminists are so full of hatred against a country where women are treated as human beings and not as sub-human chattels.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have witnessed these hateful rallies. It breaks my heart. Occasionally a lone soul will stand up to what they are doing.
    Interestingly you point out the hysterical fervor which is apparent when these women are speaking. (A case study in the making for an insightful psychologist) I think there is something repressed about the gals.
    Hope the police keep cracking down on them.

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  6. I did a blog on that theme last year, SG - and I know Caroline Glick and Phyllis Chesler have too.

    http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2010/10/here-come-girls.html

    ReplyDelete

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