Ayalon & The Ambassadors (video)

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon asked a number of ambassadors in Israel to share their impressions of his country:

Do You Support The Palestinian Statehood Declaration? (video)

If so, you may change your mind:

Aussie BDS Fanatics Grouse About The Nazi Comparison (On Would-Be Israel-Exterminator Ahmadinejad's Press TV)

"They don't like it up 'em!" to quote the catchphrase of Corporal Jones in the long-running British comedy series Dad's Army.

No, Australian BDS fanatics are decidedly rattled by the parallels drawn between the BDS movement and the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses.

I wrote yesterday, for example, how the Greens and their BDS running dogs are snapping at the heels of a pro-Israel councillor who's been articulately making the analogy between their relentless calls for the Boycott of the Jewish State and 1930s Germany.

They must have spluttered over their toast and Vegemite when they saw this article today, entitled "Deutschland Revisited" and complete with a swastika upon a green flag: http://austeaparty.com.au/web/?p=4792

Some promoters of BDS, including super-feminist Senator Lee Rhiannon and nice Jewish boy Antony Loewenstein (author of the notorious My Israel Question), are feeling so sore about such comparisons that they've been venting their indignation on the propaganda news station of the misogynistic full-of-human-rights-abuses regime run by the man who would unleash a second Holocaust, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ah, the irony!

Say No To BDS (video) - plus a reminder for Aussies

This is also the title of a rally that will take place in Melbourne on Sunday 4 September outside the State Library of Victoria starting at 4:30 p.m., with federal and state politicians, the Victorian Young Liberals, and the Australian Liberal Students' Federation.

Aussies are encouraged to attend this show of solidarity with Israel.

(Please note the change of venue from the one previously advertised).

Aussie Greens Turn Purple As Pro-Israel Councillor Uses The N Word

Photo: Ari Heber Courtesy: J-Wire

Among the champions of chocolatier Max Brenner who made the spectacularly successful stand in Brisbane on Saturday that  prevented the "anti-semitic socialists" getting near their quarry was Israeli-born local councillor Hajnal Black.  She 'was repeatedly restrained by police as she pushed through the barricade line yelling: "We don't want Nazis in this country!"' http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/chocolate-war-gets-messy-20110827-1jfxe.html

Immediately afterwards Councillor Black wrote:

'Today in the pouring rain hundreds of mums and dads gathered at Max Brenner, Southbank, to stand up for a business who has come under attack because of its connection to the Jewish state. We stood strong, united and defiant as we were confronted by the Green/Socialist Alliance who unashamedly hurled their anti-Semitic and racist chants.

As an Israeli born Australian, I consider there to be no greater affront to our democracy, our freedoms, and our way of life then the Australian Greens policy of BDS which aims to boycott Jewish owned businesses here in Australia.

Average mums and dads said to me today that their Australia was being robbed by the Green’s agenda to turn Australia into the 1920's & 1930's Germany. Today, people from all walks of life turned up to show their support for Israel, a nation besieged by malevolent neighbours.

Despite the weather and the short notice we outnumbered the violent Socialist/Greens three to one. There are many more peaceful people in Australia then there are hate-filled racists. I’ve always found Australians to be quite laid back and tolerant of everyone’s viewpoints, but that was not the case today. The violence that was seen at the Melbourne protest by the Greens stirred average folk into action; taking a stance against the persecution of Jews. I was proud to see average people turn out to reject the Green’s agenda.

Recently, the NSW attorney general Greg Smith, declared at a speech to the Sydney University that the Greens BDS policy was an ‘ugly underbelly’, racist, anti-Semitic and reminiscent of Germany in the 1930's.

More and more Australians are speaking out against both the economically damming and socially repugnant views of the extreme Australian Greens.

....The extreme racist Greens have a policy to intimidate Jewish businesses similar to Hitler’s policies, yet the Premier feels that it is okay to tell others where to put other parties on their how to vote cards. Bligh’s silence on this matter can only be taken as an endorsement of the Green’s BDS.

It is my goal to keep Australians informed of the extreme views of the Australian Greens. Nothing is more offensive then blatant racism in Australian politics.

As prominent American commentator Glenn Beck recently said, we must stand by Israel because since the day Israel was created in 1948 it has been under consistent attack by every single one of its neighbours. Now the attacks on Israel and Jews have come to our shores, a very ugly underbelly. We must stand strong and declare at this juncture; "Never Again!"' Read more: http://www.hajnalban.com/node/102

Today she adds:

'One would be forgiven for thinking the year is 1920’s Germany or perhaps news footage of yet another conflict in the Middle East. But the year is 2011 and we are in Brisbane Australia. On Saturday 27th August 2011, racism of the worst sort reared its ugly face on our shores.

 A group of Socialist/Green activists, laden with extremist propaganda set march to Southbank heading straight in the direction of an unassuming, law abiding, taxpaying chocolate shop known as Max Brenner. With banners in hand the angry protestors stormed what is an otherwise fairly quiet an uneventful cafe precinct chanting, shouting and hurling anti-Semetic [sic] hatred through their loud speakers.

Their bid to obstruct and block the innocent business’ trade by barricading themselves around the shop failed, as the awaiting police contingent shooed them into a confined pen where they stood clearly outnumbered three to one by the counter protestors. With the protection of the good men and women of the Queensland police service, the protestors safely exercised their “freedom of speech” by hurling racial abuse that would see the average person on the street such as you or I referred to the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner.

In amongst all the taunting such as “Jews kill babies” and “Jews are terrorists” there was some mention about Max Brenner “deserving of the attack” because they provide Israeli troops with food ... haa...aah?

It is undeniable that the BDS is a similar policy to those seen in Germany through the 1920’s and 1930’s. That period in Germany was dominated by Nazi policy. This point has been made by the Attorney General of NSW and Senator Ron Boswell, two of Australia’s most senior politicians.

My family and I were at the front of counter-protests against this affront to our democracy. On twitter this morning and in the paper I stated that the Greens were Nazi like in their endorsement of the BDS policy.

My views started a torrent of abuse on twitter, all of which I am happy to take in my stride. It seems the keyboard warriors are much braver than their counter parts who quickly scurried away after their sad protest on the weekend...."  Read more: http://www.hajnalban.com/node/103

It would also appear that extreme left elements have since the successful counter-protest in Brisbane edited her wikipedia entry (under her maiden name Hajnal Ban) in a snide paragraph which ends "Ban has not revealed the precise nature or extent of her involvement with radical anti-Islam and ultra-nationalist groups in Australia."

And popular Aussie columnist Andrew Bolt, quoting Queensland Senator Ron Boswell's contention that "I think people that are trying to hit it [Max Brenner] with a boycott and picketing it, particularly a Jewish business, reminds me of some of the things that happened in the early 1930s" adds:

"I’ve had two threats of legal action for saying exactly that. Say it yourself while we still can" http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/pushing_back_against_the_bigots

Meanwhile, following the rout of the "anti-semitic socialists", Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Wayne Swan joined longtime pro-Israel activist Michael Danby MHR in the targeted premises to show support.

Said Danby, who noted the Hamas-like cry "Palestine shall be free from the river to the sea" cry of Saturday's anti-Brenner mob:

"Many ordinary Brisbanites joined the Queensland Jewish community in the positive manifestation in repudiating the boycotters’ hate-campaign. The event held today with the Deputy Prime Minister illustrates that these campaigners do not represent mainstream Australia....

These are not cuddly Palestinian supporters who want a Two State Solution with a Palestinian state next to Israel.

It is disgusting that this group of leftists were demanding that Australians boycott Revlon and Westfield because simply because their owners are Jewish. Fair minded Australians want nothing to do with such bigotry.

.... The best thing we can all do is attend Max Brenner shops and buy their products.

As Max Brenner himself said, the protest against a chocolate shop is a little bit baffling. Who thinks that a just and fair solution in the Middle East is advanced by boycotting a chocolate shop in Brisbane?" (Source: J-Wire)

The Absent PhraseThat Speaks Volumes About BBC Bias

Spot the difference between these two reports regarding today's terrorist attack in Tel Aviv.  There's the BBC's blatant refusal to use the T-word, of course.  But can you spot another difference?  Clue: it concerns something the attacker said.  The BBC's censorship of the phrase in question typifies the way in which Al Beeb downplays the jihadist threat against the only democracy in the Middle East and the world's only Jewish State.  The BBC is deliberately withholding information that sheds light on the true situation confronting Israel.  This is as unethical as it is propagandistic. It is also typical of the BBC.

Is it any wonder that so many viewers and listeners who rely upon the BBC for news are prejudiced against Israel?  Is it any wonder that so many people who realise the tricks that the BBC plays despise and deride the Corporation for being the Great Whore of Leftism and Islamofascism that it has become?

 Jerusalem Post:

Eight people were injured in south Tel Aviv early Monday morning, when a terrorist from the West Bank carjacked a taxi and rammed it into a police road block protecting a Tel Aviv nightclub, before going on a stabbing spree.

Police said the terrorist, a 20-year-old Nablus resident, entered a taxi near the beginning of Salameh Street, and hijacked the vehicle, stabbing the driver in the hand. He then drove for approximately a kilometer down Salameh Street towards the Haoman 17 nightclub, which was filled with high school children at an end-of-summer party. At the time of the attack, almost all of the teenagers were inside the club.

Border Police had set up a precautionary road block ahead of time at the entrance to the club on Abarbanel Street, in Tel Aviv's Florentine neighborhood. The terrorist rammed the road block, and struck a number of civilians and a border policeman.


"He then got out of the car, screamed Allah Akbar [God is Great], and went on a knife attack," a police spokeswoman said.


The suspect was tackled to the ground by Border Police officers and taken into custody. He was taken to the Wolfson Medical Center in Holon after being lightly injured. He was later released and was taken in for questioning under heavy security.


The eight people injured in the attack were all Border Police officers and club security guards. One was seriously injured, two were moderately injured and three were lightly injured. The remaining casualties were released from hospital after receiving medical treatment.


The cabdriver whose taxi was hijacked, Nachman Azi, said that the Palestinian man got in his cab at the start of Salameh Street and asked to be taken to the Central Bus Station, moments later, said Azi “he pulled out a knife and told me to get out of the cab. I grabbed the knife and started to fight him, but it cut my hand very bad and I told him he could take the car.”


Azi, his hand heavily bandaged and his shirt splotched with blood, said that the terrorist let him take some of his personal belongings, and that he believed he only wanted to steal the car.


A police source said that the road block had prevented a far worse outcome.


Israel Radio reported that the attack was coordinated to strike a large youth party being held in the area.


Police Insp.-Gen. Yochanan Danino said Monday morning that over 1,000 teenagers were inside the club which was targeted. He said Border Police  preparations "were extraordinary and prevented a big disaster."

Al Beeb :

A Palestinian man has wounded seven Israelis near a Tel Aviv nightclub, ramming a car into a checkpoint and stabbing five people, police say.

The man drove a stolen taxi into the checkpoint, injuring two guards. He stabbed two other guards, two passers-by, and the taxi driver.


Attacks by Palestinians in Israeli cities have been rare in recent years.


The incident comes amid heightened tensions after attackers killed eight Israelis near Eilat earlier this month.


Israel blames Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, who crossed from Egypt's Sinai peninsula, for the series of attacks near the Red Sea resort on 18 August.


More than two dozen people died in the week of hostilities that followed, including leaders of Palestinian militant groups killed in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip.


On Monday, Israeli police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the attacker in Tel Aviv was a Palestinian in his 20s from the city of Nablus, in the occupied West Bank.


He was arrested soon after the early morning attack and taken to hospital with injuries sustained during the arrest. One of his victims was in a serious condition, Ms Samri said.


Attacks by Palestinian militants in Israeli cities were common during the Second Intifada - the Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule - that lasted from 2000 to 2005, but have been rare in the years since.

In May, one person was killed when a lorry driven by an Israeli Arab ploughed into traffic and pedestrians shortly after morning rush hour in Tel Aviv.

The Perils Of Disregarding UN Resolution 242, "The Lynchpin That Legally Binds"

Here is yet another illuminating article by Sydney lawyer David Singer, a foundation member of the International Analysts Network.  Entitled "Palestine – United Nations Faces The Music," it comes as usual via the antipodean J-Wire service.

Writes David Singer:

'The horrendous news of the bombing of the UN headquarters in Nigeria’s capital – Abuja – reportedly by a radical Islamist group – killing at least 19 people and wounding more than 60 other persons – has been rightly described by the United Nations Security Council as a "heinous crime".

This is not the first time the UN has been deliberately targeted in the past decade by those who contemptuously dismiss the rule of law as the basic source governing relationships between people and states.
Seventeen U.N. civilian staff members were killed along with dozens of others in two terrorist car bombings that targeted U.N. and other premises in Algiers on December 11, 2007.  The Abuja bombing came just days after the U.N. marked the eighth anniversary of the August 19, 2003 bombing of U.N. headquarters in Baghdad that killed 15 U.N. staff including top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and seven others.

The UN faces another  particularly testing time in September as member states are forced to publicly declare their stance on a resolution calling for the recognition of Palestine as an independent and sovereign State.
If such a resolution seeks to determine the sovereignty of the West Bank and Gaza – then this would amount  to a total abrogation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 242 adopted unanimously on November 22, 1967.

Resolution 242 has underpinned all Arab-Israeli diplomacy  for more than 30 years. Every major Arab-Israeli agreement refers to Resolution 242 starting from the 1979 Egyptian – Israeli Treaty of Peace.
The aim of the negotiations to be conducted by Israel with the Palestinian Authority under the 1993 Declaration Of Principles were intended to lead:

"to a permanent settlement based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). It is understood that the interim arrangements are an integral part of the whole peace process     and that the negotiations on the permanent status will lead to the implementation of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973)".

The Bush Roadmap - endorsed by America, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations itself also called for a settlement to be negotiated between Israel and the Palestinian Authority in the following terms:

"A settlement, negotiated between the parties, will result in the emergence of an independent, democratic, and viable Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel and    its other neighbours.

The settlement will resolve the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and end the occupation that began in1967, based on the foundations of the Madrid Conference, the principle of land for peace,     UNSCRs 242, 338 and 1397, agreements previously reached by the parties, and the initiative of Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah – endorsed by the Beirut Arab League Summit – calling for     acceptance of Israel as a neighbour living in peace and security, in the context of a comprehensive settlement."

Israel however did not accept this provision and conditioned its acceptance of the Roadmap on :

"The removal of references other than 242 and 338 (1397, the Saudi Initiative and the Arab Initiative adopted in Beirut). A settlement based upon the road map will be an autonomous     settlement that derives its validity therefrom. The only possible reference should be to Resolutions 242 and 338, and then only as an outline for the conduct of future negotiations on a permanent settlement."

In a statement to the General Assembly on 15 October 1968, the PLO rejected Resolution 242, saying

"the implementation of said resolution will lead to the loss of every hope for the establishment of peace and security in Palestine and the Middle East region."

In September 1993, the PLO agreed that Resolution 242 should be the basis for negotiations with Israel when it signed the Declaration of Principles.

Resolution 242 is therefore the lynch pin that legally binds Israel, the Palestinian Authority and all  members of the United Nations in the quest to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The main points to note concerning Resolution 242 were detailed by Dr Meir Rosenne – former legal advisor for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, Member of the Israeli delegation to Camp David  and a former Ambassador to France and the United States – in the following terms:

• The USSR proposed on November 20, 1967, to include a clause requiring Israel to withdraw to the pre-war lines of June 5, 1967, but this language was rejected.

• After Resolution 242 was adopted, the Soviet deputy foreign minister admitted: “There is certainly much leeway for different interpretations that retain for Israel the right to establish new boundaries and to withdraw its troops only so far as the lines it judges convenient.”

• Resolution 242 is not self-enforcing; Israel is not expected to unilaterally withdraw from territories to fulfil its terms. It requires direct negotiations between Israel and its Arab neighbors.

• According to Resolution 242, there is no Israeli obligation to withdraw prior to the achievement of a comprehensive peace. Nor is there any requirement of Israel to withdraw fully from the territories it captured in 1967.

• There is no reference to a Palestinian “right of return” in Resolution 242.

Additionally Article XXX1 (7) of the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip signed in Washington, D.C. on September 28, 1995 provides:

"Neither side shall initiate or take any step that will change the status of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip pending the outcome of the permanent status negotiations"

Should any UN Resolution by either the General Assembly or the Security Council attempt to circumvent direct negotiations as called for in Resolution 242 (and reinforced by the Oslo Accords and the Bush Roadmap)  – then the United Nations could  find its authority and integrity irreparably and irretrievably damaged.

The UN would in such case be entering uncharted waters.  It would be solely responsible for the consequences of its decision and open the floodgates for member States to ignore any other UN Security Council resolutions with impunity in the future.

Any such decision will be eagerly seized on as precedent by those who seek to undermine the rule of law and pursue the path of lawlessness.

The 193 members of the UN are soon to face the music in being asked to decide whether to throw Resolution 242 to the wind or stick to the written score.

Hopefully they make the right choice.'

Some Called Them A Pogrom: The Welsh Riots 100 Years Ago

The recent spate of rioting in London and other British cities was in some respects similar to riots in Wales that, coincidentally, took place in August 1911, an exact century earlier almost to the very week.  Like the August 2011 riots they broke out suddenly, on a Saturday evening in a single location, and were renewed the following day.  They then, over the following few days, spread to other locations.  They involved youths who smashed shop windows and looted premises. At first the police were outnumbered and overwhelmed.

A Jewish shop boarded up in the aftermath of the violence of 1911

But unlike the recent riots, the stores that were targeted in Tredegar, the town where the riots began with no readily discernible precipitating cause, were all owned by Jews, and because Jewish shops were also targeted elsewhere (though not exclusively) in the region, some described the unrest as a "pogrom".  Jewish leaders in Wales scorned such talk, and a lively debate still rages among historians as to whether in fact antisemitism was the most important factor underlying the riots.

"The trouble began shortly before midnight, when crowds of people were to be seen in the streets discussing the railwaymen's strike," reported the Western Mail.

"There was, apparently nothing to provoke disorder.

Suddenly a commotion was heard in a bye-street, and there emerged into Castle Street a band of about 200 young men, singing, shouting, and making hideous noises.  It soon transpired that this gang had attacked the residence of a Jew in Salisbury Street, smashing the windows and greatly terrifying the occupants, although no personal violence was attempted.

From Castle Street the mob marched into Commercial Street, and halting opposite a shop kept by a Jew, became very demonstrative and threatening.  By this time the streets had become thronged with people attracted by the general pandemonium, the smashing of glass being frequently heard above the din.  Only a small number of police were available, and they were quite unable to quell the riot. 

A section of the marauders, bent on further mischief, rushed into Church Street, where there are a number of shops kept by Jews.  Halting opposite one of those establishments, they aimed a fusillade of stones at the windows, smashing the glass to atoms.  The hooligans then swarmed round the windows and took possession of everything they could lay their hands upon, including a considerable quantity of jewellery.

A move was then made to the nearest shop kept by a Jew, and this was similarly attacked and looted.  The same fate befell five other shops kept by Jews in the street.  The police authorities exerted themselves as far as possible in preventing the destruction but their efforts were unavailing, the crowd numbering several thousands.

The mob, who had become absolutely out of control, returned to Commercial Street, and of the seven shops kept by Jews in that thoroughfare at which considerable business is carried on - only one escaped complete destruction.  The next locality visited was Bridge Street, where volleys of stones demolished the windows of the shops kept by Jews in that thoroughfare, everything within reach being stolen.

During the hostile demonstration in front of one of the shops, the occupant of which had resided in Tredegar for about fifty years, a number of prominent townsmen placed themselves in front of the premises and appealed to the mob to desist from such madness.

The only response was the hurling of stones, one of which narrowly missed the head of a gentleman who had made a special appeal to the mob.  Almost every shop in the street kept by Jews was wrecked.  Another business establishment in Queen Victoria Street, kept by a Jew, who has always been prominent in the public life of the town, was attacked with great determintion and completely wrecked.  In all eighteen shops, the proprietors of which were Jews, were wrecked and looted.

An exciting incident occurred in front of one of the shops.  A rioter rolled up a large bundle of paper, which he had collected and was about to set it into the shops, where there was a large quantity of inflammable [sic] goods.  His object was foreseen, and what might have been a serious feature in the general pandemonium was frustrated by some bystanders.

Looters could be seen in all directions laden with spoil.  One man was observed carrying his bowler hat half filled with watches.  Another was seen carrying away a bedstead on his back, while others played concertinas, accordions, and other musical instruments taken from the wrecked premises. The crowd were mad with excitement and most threatening in their demeanour.

This wild rioting continued for several hours, the police being quite unable to cope with the disorder.  Eventually police reinforcements arrived in a conveyance from Ebbw Vale.  These were drawn across the main entrance to the town, to prevent the incursion of masses of people who had been attracted by the row, and, after stern measures had been resorted to, the streets were cleared about four o'clock on Sunday morning.

At a meeting of the Tredegar magistrates held at the police station on Sunday afternoon it was decided to requisition the Home Office for 150 troops to be sent to Tredegar, in view of further trouble.

Fifty of the North Lancashire regiment and fifty of the Somersetshires left Cardiff on Sunday night for Tredegar.

The rioting ... broke out afresh on Sunday evening ..."

For a list of articles pertaining to the riots (those in the Welsh History Review seem to be available online) see: http://www.jewishgen.org/jcr-uk/community/val1_tredegar/history_riots.htm

An  historian who downplays the antisemitic aspect of the riots reminds us that:

"The riots were condemned without exception by all opinion-leaders throughout the area, and editorially in newspapers. The Western Mail (28 August 1911) published a cartoon entitled 'Wales Disgraced' in which Dame Wales, holding a copy of the Western Mail headlined 'Riots in Wales/Attacks Upon Jewish Tradesmen', is shaking hands with a Jewish shopkeeper. Dame Wales says 'Well, indeed, now, you have my sincere sympathy. Of all the shocking things that have happened lately, I am most ashamed, look you, of the cowardly attack upon the Jews. The hooligans that did it cannot be Welshmen, no indeed.'

 At Rhymney a special meeting of the local council unanimously condemned the riots.  Very notably, the meeting was attended by many local clergymen, including three Welsh Baptist ministers. The motion condemning the riots was moved by a Welsh Baptist minister, the Revd Thomas M. Evans, who pointedly praised both the local Jewish community and the 'Jewish race'.  'Although they were true to their own Jewish faith', local Jews 'were always ready to help a Christian church', he observed.

At Tredegar, a 'crowded' protest meeting convened by the chairman of the local council also deplored the riots, while the chairman 'expressed his deepest sympathy with the Jewish people who had been victims of this disgraceful outrage'.  Here, the resolution was moved and seconded by two local clergymen and supported by several others, as well as by the local Miners' Federation leader. The meeting also 'decided to form a Defence League' to deal with any future incidents.100 Resolutions protesting the riots    were passed by other local Welsh bodies, ranging from the Bargoed Chamber of Trade to the Cardiff Central Ward Conservative Association.

At Brynmawr, a local newspaper reported that the 'outside hooliganism' of'stone-throwing by a gang of youths and men, the majority of whom had never been near Brynmawr before'was 'prompt [ly] suppressed'. There, 'the Jew is respected and his Gentile friends and neighbours were determined that his liberty should not be interfered with'."

http://cylchgronaucymru.llgc.org.uk/browse/viewpage/llgc-id:1073091/llgc-id:1082967/llgc-id:1083700/getText Welsh History Review : Cylchgrawn Hanes Cymru  -  Vol. 18, nos. 1-4 - 1996-97
The anti-Jewish riots of 1911 in South Wales: a re-examination.

For Your Viewing Pleasure: Pro-Israel Crowd in Brisbane Confronting "Anti-Semitic Socialists"

You've read the report* Now see the pictures! (Each piece of footage is brief)
*http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-sweet-it-was-brisbane-anti-semitic.html

Stand With Israel Rally In Trafalgar Square Today (videos)

Emphasising the inalienable right of the State of Israel to live in security and peace (and don't miss http://richardmillett.wordpress.com/2011/08/28/israels-supporters-out-in-force-in-ltrafalgar-square/).  Chazak V'Amatz!

How Sweet It Was: Brisbane "Anti-Semitic Socialists" Routed By Counter-Protesters Outside Max Brenner

The antisemites of the BDS movement and their running dogs (described by an eyewitness as "enraged with hate and envy") were out in Brisbane on 27 August, to scream the usual lies and insults associated with Israel-demonisers everywhere and the BDS movement in particular.

This lot, targeting the city's Max Brenner franchise, were a mainly 20- and 30-something mix of students, the inevitable Greens (aka the Watermelons, "green on the outside and red within"), GetUp, and Justice for Palestine, plus some Muslim women in hijabs.  A few Palestinian flags were carried.

What the so-called Justice for Palestine group demands is, in their own words (http://www.justiceforpalestinebrisbane.org/), "an end to the occupation of all Arab lands and the dismantling of the Apartheid Wall" plus " the right of return for all Palestinian refugees" [emphasis theirs].  The willful ignorance of the history of the conflict, any semblance of empathy for an Israeli population under constant attack from ruthless terrorists, any concession to the notion that the Israeli government has the right and obligation to defend its citizens, is of course entirely missing. The clear aim of "Justice for Palestine" - as of the entire BDS movement - is the eradication of the world's only Jewish State.

There's a video (I'll tell you where to see it, presently) of the squalid near-hysterical speech in that vein to the rag, tag and bobtail assemblage by one of those strident carbon copy far-left feminists (funny peculiar, that, isn't it?) who seem to be so much in evidence in Israel-bashing circles:

To quote Ari Heber, reporting for J-Wire, the protesters

'bleated their inane anti-Israel slogans as if in a street theater production of George Orwell’s “Animal Farm”.

A crowd of about 130 multicultural multifaith supporters rallied against the demonstrators drowning them out with jeers and generally positive messages.

Hot Chocolate, dancing and a sense of camaraderie made it an enjoyable afternoon.

In an email to the community this week Q[eensland] J[ewish] B[oard of] D [erputies ]President Jason Steinberg had asked supporters not to engage with the protesters and not to provoke them.

Many supporters at the protest felt that there was a need for the community to do something to challenge these protesters and not ignore them.

In the time it took to order a hot chocolate the protesters gave up and moved on down the street claiming a “moral victory” over democracy and free thought.'

And who were those counter-protesters that had the BDSers on the run?  They were an assortment of well-intentioned individuals ranging in age from teens to senior citizens, with input from members of the Australian Tea Party.

One of the architects of the counter-protest was a University of Queensland student, Danielle Keys, who is National Plan Campus Director for the Conservative Leadership Foundation, although the counter-protest was not linked to that organisation.

She has said:

"It is offensive and reminiscent of the 1930’s that a private business should come under attack because of either the origin of the business itself or the origin of the business’ owners.

In a liberal democracy like Australia where freedom of religion, freedom of association and free enterprise is embraced, it is very disturbing to me to consistently see the prejudiced and violent behaviour of groups like the Socialist Alliance.

To aggressively protest and blockade entrance to a private business because of its Israeli origin and association is intolerant and unacceptable."  http://www.menzieshouse.com.au/2011/08/counter-protest-against-socialist-alternative-anti-semitic-thuggary-in-brisbane.html

And of the good work on 27 August she comments:

'When the Socialist Alliance marched down to Southbank they were not counting on being outnumbered by ordinary Australians telling them to go home and that their intolerance was not welcome. They quite seriously didn’t bank on it and were very upset about it (ha-ha!). I recognised quite a few faces from university so I look forward to whatever retaliatory aggression they will have for me in the coming weeks at the University of Queensland....

It was amazing to see the Socialist Alliance and Justice for Palestine outnumbered and placed into a nice little contained area. There were stacks of people and in particular many young people out to stand up against the Socialist Alliance. Unlike in other cities, the Socialist Alliance were kept away from the Max Brenner store (as they would have had to get through 10 police officers and 70 regular Australians who were fed up). Max Brenner Southbank was really busy and business was booming for them. We had random people off the street so disgusted by the Socialist Alliance that they went and bought some chocolate then stood with us.

This rabble of socialist sycophants were chanting about Max Brenner’s support for genocide and how it has blood on it’s hands. I found this particularly disturbing as Jewish people have been systematically persecuted and subjected to genocidal attacks for thousands of years. The conduct of the Socialist Alliance yesterday made it clear their attachment to violent, aggressive and fundamentally anti-Semitic behaviour.

We responded with many different chants and songs, but I think one of the most amazing ones was when a Max Brenner staff member came up to join us before his shift started and chanted about how he loves the company he works for. I was happy to give that guy the megaphone for a welcome break… everyone’s vocal chords have taken a beating!

Anyone who was there would have seen how much fun it was. Everyone there was laughing, chanting, getting stuck into the SA, drinking hot chocolates and dancing around. The Socialist Alliance eventually walked away. Shamed into oblivion. They went and stood in a park somewhere continuing their little rant, where no one could hear them and no one could call them to account. This is unsurprising and indicative of their cowardice.

All fun and exciting times aside, there was a really powerful and beautiful element to this counter-protest movement. I was really humbled and overwhelmed by people from the Jewish community voicing their thanks for the support. It sounds insane but I never really thought of the Brisbane Jewish community when it came to organising this. I was so busy thinking of the political and ideological principles that I didn’t properly see how personally vilified and offended the Jewish community felt over this. They came out in force to stand up for Max Brenner and say no to Socialist Alliance abuses. I met so many wonderful Jewish people and I felt so touched when they said how surprised and happy they were to see non-Jewish people standing by them in an event like this....

As a young idealist and libertarian I got lost in the principled machinations of what is happening surrounding the BDS. What is really important for all people to remember is that there is a huge personal element to these things. Because ordinary Australians stood up and said no to the Socialist Alliance’s intolerance and hatred, the Jewish community has felt a level of support that I am not sure they felt was there before....

If there is an anti-Max Brenner protest in your own towns, I encourage you to gather your friends together and stage a counter-protest!'

 Says David Goodridge, of the Australian Tea Party:

'The Australian TEA party and many other less vocal groups were happy to support Max Brenner’s  We understand not wanting to get closely involved with these anti semitic socialists but they have to be defeated and their actions and message must be defeated.Ordinary Australians are righteously indignant to this outrageous BDS campaign. The TEA Party believes that evil must be confronted and opposed.. and if that means staring them down , shouting back at their bully boy attempts and responding to their chants with "We love chocolate"..and "Go home Nazis!" SO BE IT!…the result??? they gave up , slinking off with their tale between their legs… defeated.... [W]e were all there and ready for them they were unable to get anywhere near Max Brenner’s. The chocolate shop was able to operate normally … victory.!!

 The sight of fear and confusion in these extreme leftists eyes when they realised not only that they were outmatched in numbers but in passion….was priceless.

 If our Jewish friends feel uncomfortable in standing up we will ! This is Australia ..protesting Jewish shops under false pretences about things they have obviously no influence over is 1930′s Germany ..NOT Australia.'

And another comments:

"Yesterday was a real low point for Queensland as the Anti-Semitic socialist BDS campaigners turned their attention to the Brisbane Max Brenner outlet.

As a member of The Australian TEA Party, which as an organisation was influential in organising yesterdays counter protest, and as someone who has zero connections with Judaism or Israel, I must say it was was an absolute pleasure defending free enterprise and the rights of Israelis and Jews alike to go about their peaceful business without fear of persecution or hatred.

Yesterday's counter protest was the first time the socialist BDS campaigners had actually come up against any real opposition on street level, and we did most certainly take them by surprise. After a 30-40 minute loud hailer exchange, the Green/Socialist Alternative BDS protesters retreated to lick their figurative wounds and possibly reexamine there vile campaign which up until now has met little street level opposition.

What yesterday really demonstrated was the support for Israel and Jews from outside of the Jewish/Israeli community and it was a real privilege as an Australian TEA Party member to take part.

Despite yesterdays success, we must always remain mindful that the BDS has defacto support from the Jullia Gillard government as she voluntarily formed a coalition with the Australian Greens who at a NSW level openly support the BDS campaign and at a federal level refuse to support Sen. Ron Boswell’s motion condemning the BDS campaign.

Clearly this situation needs to change, and of course it will when this government either collapses or is voted out next election."

Read (and see) more: http://www.jwire.com.au/news/brisbane-bds-demo-a-fizzler/18703/comment-page-1#comment-9439

As for the routed anti-Israel mob, they are furious, and even calling foul the slogan "Never Again!" raised by the protesters.  Personally, I think it's entirely appropriate to use that slogan against those who would facililitate the destruction of the State of Israel.  This is an extract (notice the disingenuous reference to "semites" in an attempt to wriggle out of the charge of being antisemitic, when as every honest person knows the term antisemitic was coined by Wilhelm Marr to refer not to Arab "semites" but specifically to antipathy towards Jews):

'As we assembled in the park with our 'Tear down the Apartheid Wall' banner intact we were confronted by a mix of Zionists, people mobilised by Max Brenner and University of Qld Liberal club. They were heavily supported by the Australian Patriotic Defence Movement (APDM), a fascist organistion here in Australia. With no irony they shouted slurs like 'racists' 'anti-semites'(curious because some of us are semites) and 'traitors'(to what, the Israeli flag they carried?). Some held up placards of the Australian Flag.'

Read the angry-as-a disturbed-nest-of-hornets piece here (and see that video I refer to above): hat tip Shirlee http://workersbushtelegraph.com.au/2011/08/24/boycott-israel-protest-in-brisbane/ 

Update: See earlier footage of counter-protesters below, and for glimpses of them at the 27 August rally see http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/08/for-your-viewing-pleasure-pro-israel.html

Israel Supporter Baits Anti-Israel Vipers (video)

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, a  line of mainly middle-aged protesters spewing out their venom against Israel for having the audacity to respond to the recent attacks from Gaza on its civilians is approached by a good guy.
"What Jewish family?" asks one, when he tackles them regarding hypocrisy and double standards.  (Watch the derisive, dismissive smiles on their faces as the Israel-supporter explains that it was a family "killed the other day".)
"I hate commiters of genocide, so I oppose the Israeli state!" hisses another, wild-eyed with rage at being cornered.
The recent attacks on Palestinians in Syria? No words of condemnation at all.
The vipers' venom is reserved for Israel, of course.
You might have already seen this video on other blogs, including, inevitably, the fastest draw in the west (and not only the west!), Elder of Ziyon.
In showing up the ignorance, spite, and sheer ugliness of the Israel-demonising Left, including Jews who lustly join in the demonisation of Israel, the video is a classic.

 
Regarding Jews in the ranks of Israel's foes, I'm reminded of Isaac Deutscher's "non-Jewish Jews" (deracinated types like revolutionary Rosa Luxemburg, who refused to countenance a separate destiny for the Jewish People or to protest wrongs committed specfically against Jews), as well as of something Isi Leibler wrote recently regarding pro-BDS elements within Israel:

"The Jewish state remains the only country in the world which, since its inception, has been obliged to defend itself from neighbors committed to its destruction, and whose civilians are still subject to ongoing rocket attacks. In a recent poll, the vast majority of Palestinians reaffirmed their desire to kill every single Jewish man, woman and child.

Yet Israel remains one of the most robust democracies in the world. It boasts the highest level of free press. Its leaders, including the president and prime minister, are held to stricter accountability than ordinary citizens. And Israel provides its Arabs citizens (who amount to 20% of the population), the right to elect radical MKs who express the views of those seeking our destruction....

In recent years, much of the Israeli Left seems to have lost the plot. Not so long ago, the dominant Israel Labor party prided itself on representing the essence of the Zionist establishment. Its role models were pioneers and farmers creating settlements and transforming deserts into gardens.

In contrast, today the Israeli far Left has been hijacked by urban post-Zionists. Many left-wing academics seem to have absorbed the cosmopolitan characteristics of diaspora Jewry. Some, like the 19th-century Russian Jewish Social Revolutionaries who regarded pogroms as necessary to create revolutionary consciousness among the masses, today even identify with the Palestinian jihadists and pay tribute to their culture of death.

They share the outlook of European post-modernists, and classify Israel with European post-colonial guilt. They spew hatred against their own people, demonize the IDF and paved the way for the Goldstone Report. In so doing they were assured instant recognition and standing among their European counterparts. [My emphasis]" http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=230119"

Silencing Israel's Voice In South Africa (videos)

Repugnant scenes from Israel-hating (some would not hesitate to add "judeophobic") Bishop Desmond Tutu's country, where the vicious, mendacious propaganda swirling around the world has infected youth black and white into swallowing the heinous "Apartheid" slur.  A delegation of Israelis attempting to educate people regarding their country are not allowed a hearing through the antics of BDS mobsters. The first two videos (which are not the earliest chronologically) show a flashmob at Witwatersrand University disrupting events. You can hear the despicable inaccurate song promoted by Lush in the background:

The Great White House Hope: Congressman Allen West On Islam (video)

Lieutenant-Colonel Allen West, who among other tweets from Israel this week has said he's "not convinced there is a credible peace partner for Israel"  (http://tundratabloids.com/2011/08/rep-allen-west-in-israel.html), is certainly a no-mince-words kinda guy, isn't he? 

Lush Cosmetics Company's Lush Hypocrisy (video)

Lush, the soap and cosmetics company that prides itself on its ethical campaigns, and which in the UK at least has been busily helping to demonise Israel, has no problems when it comes to doing business with Saudi Arabia, one of the world's worst offenders against human rights, not least of the female of the species:

Lights, Camera(s), Action! Palestinians Cause Road Accident (video)

Apparently deliberately, to score themselves another little bit of propaganda with which to ensnare the gullible.  The unfortunate incident, which occurred last year, is described by Ahmadinejad's Press TV, prompting the usual judeophobic comments, yet some commenters were unconvinced. http://www.presstv.ir/detail/145812.html

Hat tip: hobotzcarandco who uploaded this video on 4 June.

British Minister Alan Duncan In Whitehall Row Following His Absurd Remarks About Israel

Britain's Minister for International Development Alan Duncan has an unfortunate habit of attracting controversy.  During the MPs' expenses scandal his name figured prominently.  More recently, during a visit to the Palestinian Authority, he pompously made outrageous, ignorant claims about Israel in a video posted on his Department's website (apparently in defiance of the Foreign Office).

With cavalier disregard for essential facts, Duncan pontificated:

"The wall [Israel's security barrier] is a land grab. It hasn't just gone along the lines of the proper Israel boundary. It's taken in open land which actually belongs to Palestine.

Israeli settlers can build what they want and then immediately get the infrastructure so that takes the water deliberately away from Palestinians here."

I posted the offending clip at the time: http://daphneanson.blogspot.com/2011/08/david-camerons-man-slams-israels-land.html  You can still read my description there, but you can no longer see the video. It's been taken off by the Department, following a furious response from the Israeli Embassy in London as well as communal leaders.
[Update: you should still be able to view it here: http://jacobklamer.com/pages/videos/israel/vid-israel-palestine-alan_duncan.html Good work, Jacob!]

To quote the Israeli Embassy:

"The reality on the streets of Israel was one where Palestinian suicide attacks scattered the limbs of hundreds of innocent civilians across buses and restaurants.

 Claiming that the security barrier, which has prevented the deaths of thousands more Israelis, is not for security purposes, shows a disrespect for Israeli life, and we are therefore convinced that this could not be the official British government position."

The President of the British Board of Deputies, Vivian Wineman, protested:

 "Mr Duncan's apparent disregard for Israel's legitimate security concerns is of great concern."

Both Foreign Secretary William Hague and Duncan's superior minister at his department were drawn into the row.

In removing the video the Department claimed that Duncan had been "misinterpreted" but refused to comment further.

See: http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/53621/government-chaos-over-alan-duncans-land-grab-video

Much Ado About Israeli Dates (video)

Here's a shopkeeper in London being given a tongue-lashing for stocking Israeli dates.

Europe News has an analysis of issues raised by this incident: http://europenews.dk/en/node/46609
Hat tip: reader Shirlee

Palestinian Intransigence: The Core Issue Of The Conflict

In the following article, entitled "Say No To A Palestinian State At The UN In September," which comes via the antipodean J-Wire service, Ron Weiser (Honorary Life President of the Zionist Council of NSW) cogently presents the case against a unilateral declaration of Palestinian statehood.

Writes Ron Weiser:

'There is only one reason why the Palestinians are going to the United Nations in September hoping for a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian State by the General Assembly.  It is because they are not willing to pay the one price demanded by Israel and the democratic world in negotiations.

And that price is the agreement that the State of Israel can exist and can do so in its current guise – as the Homeland of the Jewish People.

That is what is missing from the Palestinian resolution.

So called obstacles such as settlements, borders, Jerusalem etc are not the core issues at all.

Nor is the existence of a Palestinian State.

The core issue is whether the Palestinians and their supporters can tolerate a Jewish presence, of any size, in their midst.

The consistent policy of the Zionist Leadership has been “Two States for Two Peoples”.

On the 29th of November 1947 that is in fact what the UN agreed upon in Resolution 181 – “A Jewish State and an Arab State”.

As we know, the Jewish People accepted this and the Arab People rejected it.

This has been the pattern ever since – post-1967 in August in Khartoum; Oslo in 1993 ; Camp David in 2000; Annapolis under Olmert; and times in between – our acceptance and their rejection.

And most importantly for those who continue to bury their heads in the sand both on the “ultra left” and “ultra right” – this is the public and repeated and sincere policy of the Netanyahu Government.

Six Israeli Prime Ministers (including Netanyahu) have offered the Palestinians a State, in return for the one real red line Israel has – no Palestinian Right of Return.

As the realisation has dawned on almost everyone, that the Palestinians mean something different from us when we each say "Two State Solution", we have begun to emphasise that they need to recognise Israel as a Jewish State.

For clarity.

And to avoid the continuing Palestinian double speak to the world and perhaps especially, to their own people.

President Abbas’ stated aim is a Palestinian State where no Jews will be able to reside, alongside a State called Israel to which some 4.5 million claimed Palestinians will have the right to return and which will then be a supposed democratic Bi-National State.

This is a reality that should be accepted by those within our community and those people who profess to be friends of Israel generally, when they attempt to lay blame for why no resolution of the conflict has yet occurred.

The constant belabouring of moral equivalence and of blame equivalence is erroneous and counterproductive.

And it is doing exactly what it is designed to do – pushing our own youth away and depressing those who remain.

The Palestinians are continuing their strategy of trying to get what they want piece by piece, without ceding a single thing.

It is beyond time now for the world to finally tell the Palestinians et al a truth they have been avoiding for Israel’s entire existence and at the same time, lying to their own people about.

The Jewish State is here to stay.

This UN move is a tactic designed to avoid that truth.'

Scottish PSC Fights Member's Conviction

The conviction in the Cupar Sheriff Court, Fife, of St Andrews University history student Paul Donnachie, a member of the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, of a racist breach of the peace after he insulted the flag of Israel has been widely reported.

As seen in the Courier newspaper (links below) the external walls of the courthouse were plastered with repulsive posters claiming "Israel is a criminal state" and "To criticise Israel is NOT a crime - it is a duty," and in addition a Facebook page calling for Justice for Donnachie has been marred by a number of outright antisemitic comments, including the Ashkenazim-are-Khazars canard and slurs on the Talmud. The blog Harry's Place (http://hurryupharry.org/2011/08/23/drunken-thuggery-is-the-new-political-activism/) has  screenshots of some of the worst early offenders.

In March Donnachie entered the room in a hall of residence of exchange student Chanan.Reitblat, from Yeshiva University in New York, with another student, against whom a similar charge was not proven.

The Court heard that Donnachie put his hands on his private parts and then rubbed his hands on an Israeli flag belonging to Mr Reitblat.

The flag had been given to Mr Reitblat by his brother, an IDF soldier, and the incident left the Jewish student feeling "violated and devastated".

Mr Reitblat explained in Court:

"Israel is a Jewish state... You cannot separate Israel from Jewishness... Israel is a state I feel affiliated to by religion....Israel is a land for Jews... The Jewish people have a right to self-determination. That is part of my religious belief."

The Sheriff maintained that Donnachie's act was  "done because he [Reitblat] was a Jew and because of his association with Israel."  He went on:

"Saying that a state is terrorist says that everyone within the state is terrorist. He doesn't distinguish between the state and the people.

Mr Donnachie doesn't distinguish between the government of Israel and the state."

He told  Donnachie:

"This flag was his personal property. I consider that your behaviour did evince malice towards Mr Reitblat because of his presumed membership of Israel.

I hold that you said, that's a terrorist flag, Israel is a terrorist state, and you are a terrorist.

Section 50A requires malice or ill will towards a person based on their membership of an ethnic group; which includes nationality and association with that group.

It was malice and ill will because of his presumed membership of Israel."

Donnachie, who has now been expelled from the university, and on whom the Sheriff deferred sentence until 13 September, intends to appeal his conviction, which he desribed as "ridiculous ... I'm a member of anti-racism campaigns..."

He'd told the Court:

"I'm not contending that my action toward the flag was commendable or dignified, but it was a political expression."

At the verdict, the anti-racists (supposedly) of the Scottish PSC booed and shouted in the courtroom and also booed Mr Reitblat as he departed.

Said Mr Reitblat:

"My privacy was invaded in a shocking way.  I am Jewish ... and Israel is an important part of my religious belief.

They attacked my beliefs and the behaviour toward me and my property was humiliating.

I welcome today's conviction.  I want to thank the St Andrews University authorities for their support during this troubled time.

I also want to thank Fife police and officials at Cupar Sheriff Court."

Grumbles the Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign:

"The sheriff ... refused to allow Paul's lawyer to call the three expert witnesses to appear. Liz Elkind and Sarah Glynn, both of Scottish Jews for a Just Peace, and SPSC chair Mick Napier were going discuss the dangers of conflating Judaism with Zionism and Israel, the history of Zionist attempts to do so, and the concepts of Israel and Israeli nationality. The sheriff considered this irrelevant because there was nothing they could teach him that common sense wouldn't provide."

Sarah Glynn, visibly upset, reportedly told the Reitblat family (Holocaust survivors who left Lithuania for America when Chanan was two):

"As Jews you should be ashamed. This is devastating."

http://www.thejc.com/news/uk-news/53598/racially-abused-jewish-student-felt-unsafe-st-andrews
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Fife/article/16740/they-attacked-my-beliefs-former-st-andrews-student-thanks-authorities-for-helping-to-secure-conviction.html
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Fife/article/16726/st-andrews-university-expels-man-found-guilty-of-racially-abusing-jewish-student.html
http://www.thecourier.co.uk/News/Fife/article/1092/tight-security-at-israel-lecture-thwarts-protest.html
http://www.scottishpsc.org.uk/?option=com_alphacontent&sort=5&Itemid=341&limit=50&fontstyle=f-larger 

European Coalition For Israel: Documentary on the Legal Foundations of the State of Israel

On 20 September the Arabs will attempt to have a Palestinian State declared by the United Nations.

In view of this unilateral push, it's therefore important that all concerned know the historical facts which give rights to both sides of the conflict, says the European Coalition for Israel.

Featuring Howard Grief, Dore Gold and Jacques Gauthier, the Coalition's short documentary film Give Peace A Chance is based on the formerly classified minutes of the  San Remo conference of the League of Nations in 1920, which underlies the legal foundation for modern Israel.

The minutes of the San Remo conference explain the legal rights of the the Jews and Arabs under international law.

You can watch the film here: http://www.givepeaceachance.info/

Shome Mishtake Shurely? Bias At The BBC (videos)

Here's Lauren Booth, Tony Blair's sister-in-law, presenting, for Ahmadinejad's propaganda channel Press TV earlier this summer, a feature on bias at the BBC.  Featured are several hardcore Israel-bashers, notably John Pilger and Tony Benn (aka Anthony Wedgwood Benn, the leftwing politician who back in the 1960s gave up his hereditary peerage in order to continue sitting in the Commons) who insist that Al Beeb is perpetually biased in favour of - wait for it - Israel!  As Private Eye likes to observe of improbable situations, "shome mishtake shurely?"

Israel's supporters want nothing more than that Al Beeb shall be impartial, as bound by the terms of its Charter, and accurate (not concealing, for instance, as it continues to do, the antisemitic genocidal nature of the Hamas Charter).  Occasionally, as with "Death in the Med," Jane Corbin's Panorama programme on the Mavi Marmara, there is nothing objectionable about Al Beeb's reportage. But when a scrupulously fair and balanced programme like that is shown, Israel's enemies are enraged, and the fact that there are, on the other side, those who (inexplicably) argue that the Corporation is institutionally pro-Israel, provides the BBC with a very convenient alibi.  It allows Al Beeb to observe that since it receives complaints about its objectivity and coverage from partisans of both sides, it must be "getting things about right".

Why Australia Must Reject The Upcoming Palestinian Statehood Bid

Noting that the 20th of next month is "the date that now looms like a dark cloud on the Middle East horizon after the decision by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to request formal recognition of the state of Palestine by the UN," Melbourne businessman Albert Dadon, founder and chairman of the Australia-Israel Cultural Exchange and the Australia-Israel Leadership Forum, lists a number of reasons why Australia should not support Abbas's bid.

- the fact the UN has been a bastion of anti-Israel sentiment and a platform for Israel bashing

- Australia is committed to a two-state solution

-but this commitment is conditional on Israel's right  to live in peaceful and secure borders, a right denied by the charter of terror group Hamas, whose military wing is outlawed in Australia, and it's also based on bilateral direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, whereas the Palestinian bid for statehood via the UN is unilateral

- Palestinian officials claim to be planning worldwide protests (probably including protests in Australia) on the day of the UN vote, and the likelihood of mass unrest across the dusputed territories and Arab world does not augur well for peace and stability or a kickstart to bilateral talks between the parties

- Foreign Minister Rudd’s alleged preference for Australian abstention on 20 September is widely viewed as a sop to the UN's Arab bloc, whose support he wants for Australia’s bid for a temporary seat at the UN Security Council in 2013, but it's wrong to sacrifice Israel for that aim.

- anyway, an affirmative vote at the UN General Assembly will be legally ineffective, since full membership of the UN for a Palestinian state requires the backing of the 15-member Security Council and the United States intends to veto the proposal.

- an abstention by Australia would be misrepresented by the Greens and their leftist bedfellows as a victory:

Aussie Greens Help To Demonise Israel in 2006

"For despite [Greens leader] Bob Brown’s public statements, among his growing ranks are those who try to disguise their anti-Israel vitriol under the veneer of progressive politics.

The newly elected senator for NSW, Lee Rhiannon, is the quintessential case in point. She openly defended Marrickville Council’s ill-fated support for the Israel boycott, a campaign that has morphed into the targeting of Max Brenner chocolate shops across Australia.

Make no mistake. Factions of this mob of anti-Israel protesters — some of whom are due in court next month for breaching bail conditions after they were initially arrested in the melee outside Max Brenner in Melbourne on July 1 — are red, not green.

One of their chants reveals their true colour: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”

This is straight out of the Hamas song sheet and is not-so-subtle code for the elimination of Israel and, in its place, a Palestinian state between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean.  [My emphasis]

Moreover, what is so galling is their rank hypocrisy. Where are the mass protests about the slaughter of innocents in Syria, or Libya, or Egypt? Their silence about these crimes is deafening."

Read the article:  http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/opinion/gillard-is-right-and-rudd-is-wrong-to-sacrifice-israel-on-altar-of-un/story-e6frg6zo-1226119974007