Their Israel Questions: In Australia, party time & pickles

 In Australia, there's to be a General Election on 2 July.

And as we see, the Israel-haters from the "Australia Palestine Advocacy Network"are on the campaign trail:

And first off the mark are:

AIJAC, meanwhile, has posed thirteen questions a-piece to current prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and his main rival, ALP leader Bill Shorten, regarding their respective policies  regarding Israel.

As will be seen by clicking this link, both parties are broadly similar on most issues. There is nothing that can be considered over-the-top hostile or alarming from either of them. Nevertheless, there seems to be little doubt that the ALP is worse from a Jewish communal perspective, especially if we read between the lines.

For unlike the Coalition the ALP is increasingly dependent on the Muslim vote, especially in western Sydney and in north Melbourne. It also is dependent on the Greens, who are openly hostile to Israel. The ALP also has various left-wing anti-Israel activists. 

Reading the answers to the questions, there are several areas of concern:

- Counter-terrorism": The ALP emphasises "early intervention and community engagement" and quotes that "we can't arrest our way to success". These are cop-outs, and suggest that terrorists won't be monitored and stopped as effectively under an ALP government as under the Coalition.

- Schools: There is little between the two parties, but the ALP purely needs-based policy should be looked at closely for its possible impact on Jewish day school funding.

- The ABC (Australia's equivalent of the BBC): The Coalition hasn't been great, not with Turnbull as Communications Minister, but it seems clear that an ALP government would adopt a hands-off policy towards the ABC, even if (as it is) it is blatantly controlled by the Left and is hostile to Israel.

- 18C: This legislation can be used, and has been used, by leftists to silence conservative columnist Andrew Bolt and others, and should be repealed or modified. It is an open invitation, under an ALP government, to silence anti-Muslim blogs. It should have been repealed by Tony Abbott, who chickened out, but at least it is not being used as a left-wing weapon.

- UN Votes: An ALP government would obviously be more critical of Israel at the UN than a Coalition government.

So, leaving aside other policy issues, it seems clear that the ALP is at least marginally worse across the board.

Meanwhile, from the BDSers in Adelaide, who are a persistent bunch indeed, a singularly amateurish piece of work kicks of a new campaign of theirs:

You'd never know the Arabs, through their own bloody-minded rejectionism and aggression, brought defeat and "occupation"on themselves, would you?