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 20 April 2014

"Carr ... Offers No Criticism of ... a 'Palestinian Lobby' While Acknowledging The Lobbying of ... Arabs on Australia's Foreign Policy"

In an op-ed entitled (should you wish to google it) "A great read with deeply troubling insights into the mind of Carr and his Israel-lobby obsession"  published in yesterday's The Australian newspaper, Gerard Henderson, executive director of the Sydney Institute and a longtime friend of Israel, has offered his thoughts on Bob Carr's Diary of a Foreign Minister, which he considers "very much the real Carr".


And in so doing he's told of an incident that sheds further light on Carr's negative attitude towards Israel, and suggests that it began earlier than often thought.

The incident in question occurred in the immediate wake of 9/11, when Carr was premier of New South Wales.  Ken Burns, the American documentary film maker (his output includes the acclaimed The Civil War, which had been shown on Australian television), was due to present the prizes at a dinner marking the annual event known as The Premier's History Awards.

Reveals Henderson:
"...The date was September 17, 2001....
It turned out that Burns was a last-minute scratching from the event. It was around a week since al-Qa’ida’s terrorist attacks on the US on September 11, 2001. Air transport from the US had been disrupted.
Moreover, word got around the audience that Burns was not keen on flying in the wake of what Americans term 9/11.
At the start of the dinner Carr came over to talk to me. I expressed commiserations that his guest Burns was a non-starter. To my surprise, Carr seemed quite shaken by the 9/11 attack.
He said to me that he had now come to the conclusion that the establishment of the state of Israel in 1948 had been a mistake.
Carr stated his belief that the Arab world would never accept the creation of a Jewish state and that Islamists would continue to target Western nations.
From around late 2001, I noticed a change in Carr’s attitude towards Israel."
Henderson, inter alia, makes the excellent point that Carr's book contains "numerous references" to the importance, particularly in Sydney's western suburbs, to the Arab Muslim votes, and that while he  'is ready to bag what he terms the “Israel lobby” in Australia and to identify ... AIJAC figures ... as allegedly exerting improper influence' he 'offers no criticism of such an entity as a “Palestinian lobby” while acknowledging the lobbying of Muslims and non-Muslim Arabs on Australia’s foreign policy towards the Middle East'.

(For many years the Palestinian representative in Australia was Ali Kazak, whose vigorous lobbying efforts were often in the limelight; see also here)

Henderson believes the book
"indicates that Carr is somewhat unhinged in so far as Israel is concerned. He cannot accept that [Julia] Gillard’s long-time support for Israel reflects her real position...."
Hat tip: reader Ian

11 comments:

  1. What a creepy ugly little man is Bob Carr.

    Have I mentioned that before?

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  2. He is a great subject for cartoonists. I found few good uns

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  3. Sadly, you need to be a paying subscriber to read the article by Gerard Henderson. but how ironic - a politician whose ethics are non-existent. This is Israel's biggest problem in the public relations sphere (perhaps) - those who fear Islam are always willing to sacrifice the Jews to the latest bigot or tyrannical ideology for 'a bit of peace.' But unless we fight tyranny peace is never an option that is granted to us, just the relinquishing of our identity and our humanity.

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    Replies
    1. Excellent point.
      (Try googling by the title of the article, which I give in the post ;)

      Delete
    2. Thanks.
      The title won't let you in. You need the first few lines

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    3. Really? Seems to have worked for me ;/

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    4. I clicked the op-ed link. Got it when I searched the title.

      Dawned on me a short while ago that I have met Gerard Henderson. I had forgotten.

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  4. What a creep, and definitely unhinged.
    John

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