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)

Saturday 10 September 2011

BDS Demos Not In Breach Of Australian Federal Law - ACCC Ruling

In a characteristically brilliant new article (be sure to read it!), the great British columnist Melanie Phillips well describes the Israel Derangement Syndrome thus:
"[T]he demonisation of Israel is of a nature and type extended to no other country.
While atrocities by tyrannies and rogue states provoke almost total indifference, Israel is treated as in a class apart: apparently the very worst country in the entire world, a kind of global blight which has to be expunged altogether from civilised society if not from the face of the earth.
.... Part of the madness is that we are totally forbidden to identify what this actually is - a prejudice directed solely at the Jewish people, who in this latest manifestation are uniquely demonised as usurpers in their own historic homeland."  http://www.thejc.com/comment-and-debate/columnists/54423/camerons-dismissal-israel
She's talking about Israel Derangement Syndrome in Britain, but of course the passage refers perfectly to Israel Derangement Syndrome elsewhere in the Western World, including Australia.


A month ago, following mob protests outside the Max Brenner chocolate shop in Melbourne, the Victorian state government of premier Ted Baillieu asked the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) to investigate calls for a consumer boycott of Max Brenner in order to determine whether the BDS campaign is in breach of Commonwealth of Australia law.  The ACCC has now ruled that there is no breach - and the demonisers are crowing.


Here's a consequent report, complete with Israel-demonising Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, from Iran Press TV's Sydney reporter: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xkxw0s_accc-upholds-right-to-protest-israeli-owned-companies_news

Meanwhile (hat tip reader Shirlee) here are two interesting related items.

The first reports that New South Wales Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham has split with his party over the BDS issue, which he labels "counterproductive to the cause of peace and human rights in the Middle East."

The second reports that Victorian Trades Hall Council assistant secretary David Cragg has slammed the BDS drive. He cites the  "totally repugnant history" of boycotting Jewish businesses, and observes:
"If the strategic goal of BDS is not just to end the settlements in the West Bank but to change the demographic composition of Israel, it is clearly a racist and frankly ludicrous enterprise at odds with the global consensus, which has always recognised Israel's right to exist specifically as the state of the Jewish people legitimately created under international law and the UN Charter.
Israel, as it is currently, would no longer exist if BDS achieves its goals."
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/antiisrael-boycott-opens-fresh-split-in-greens-20110908-1jzy7.html
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/unionist-slams-ludicrous-and-racist-anti-israel-drive/story-fn59niix-1226132637719

1 comment:

  1. http://www.aijac.org.au/news/article/boycotters-free-expression-costs-businesses-plen

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