Aussie Greens Senator Defiant Over BDS

The Reginald Theatre at Sydney’s Seymour Centre is to be transformed next month into a German cabaret for Der Gelbe Stern – “The Yellow Star," a one-woman show performed by its co-writer Alexis Fishman.

But, thanks to the fanatical BDS-mongers among extreme lefties and their unlikely bedfellows, that is not the only reminder of 1933 Berlin to be found in, and of course beyond, Australia's most iconic city.

Prominent Labor Member of the House of Representatives and pro-Israel activist Michael Danby, who represents Melbourne Ports, has their measure:

A few months ago, given the outrage over Greens-led inner Sydney Marrickville Council's repellent BDS antics, Greens Party leader Bob Brown distanced himself from their stance.

But old habits die hard, and Marrickville mayor Fiona Byrne, unrepentant, was soon photographed proudly displaying an encouraging letter of endorsement from no less a personage than that old (many would not hesitate to add "antisemitic") rogue Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Similarly, New South Wales Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, a hard-leftist from way back, remains defiantly attached to the BDS cause.

A few days ago Senator Rhiannon spoke at an anti-Israel event in Sydney.
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According to an eyewitness she said of the BDS resolution meeting adopted by the NSW Greens State Delegates Council on 8 December 2010:

"It was put forward by the leadership of the Newtown Group and adopted unanimously.  It was a well attended meeting… The State Delegates Council is the key decision-making body of the NSW Greens…The proposal, as required under our rules, had been sitting on our notice paper…for a month so that people could consider it. There were about 60 people in the meeting, 29 local groups represented, 9 groups represented as observers, all our State parliamentary MP’s and passed unanimously...

At the national level the Greens have adopted a boycott on military trade and links with Israel.  One of the pieces of misinformation was that the NSW Greens were going against the national policy. As a Greens MP I don’t do that...

So the boycott [resolution adopted by the NSW Greens in December 2010] was not in contravention of our [the Greens] national policy and actually we do have a position calling on the Australian government to boycott any military arrangements with Israel.

There is a diversity of opinion only about how we take forward the Greens position."

And despite the fact that the Greens have never attempted to boycott China, for example, just Israel, she declared:

"The other thing that we saw coming from the tactics that played out in this period is this attempt to suggest that we, the Greens, wouldn’t take on other countries, that we were only taking on Israel.  Now that is so untrue.  We have a very fine track record. I can say that I would hope and would like it if we could be more active if we had more members. But I am proud of our track record on Tibet, on Burma, on Indonesian issues, on East Timor, on West Papua, on peace in the Pacific, on Sudan.  it’s a really fine record. But again if you read the News Limited papers and many of the other media commentators, you would think that the only country in the world that we paid attention to was Israel. 

“So I am very proud that the Greens adopted our position on the Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions."

See Aussie columnist Andrew Bolton's take on this:  http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/rhiannon_backs_the_campaign_that_whips_up_such_familiar_hatred/

As another Aussie commentator, Andrew Landeryou, writes:

"The Greens party’s muddle of half-truths, deceptions and bigotry in their divisive policy on the Middle East that has a scandalous double-standard where every failing of Israel democracy is exaggerated and every disgrace of its misogynist, militaristic and maniacal enemies is minimised must be resolved.

While Bob Brown and the Leader’s office has a publicly-expressed view for Press Gallery consumption, it’s clear from what Rhiannon says that she doesn’t much care what he says or thinks. As a well-organised scion of a tough Stalinist Communist Party family, Rhiannon has the numbers in the New South Wales Greens. That’s enough of a base for her to do what no other Greens parliamentarian would dare: publicly defy Bob Brown." http://www.vexnews.com/2011/07/rhiannon-lets-rip-nsw-greens-senator-defies-federal-leader-bob-brown-on-boycotting-israel/

But there's one piece of good news: cosmetics firm Lush's Australian wing will not be joining its UK counterpart in pushing an anti-Israel agenda.

Hat tip: reader Shirlee