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)

Tuesday 17 January 2017

UnAbel to Attend, UnAbel to Comprehend, Abel to (Try to) Claim an Alibi

Photo: Tom Koprowski
Dr Peter Abelson (pictured left at a Polish communal event) is the Mayor of Mosman, on Sydney's North Shore.

As reported here, this elected functionary has refused a personal invitation to attend the annual Law Service at Sydney's Great Synagogue that marks the beginning of the legal year, informing Rabbi Benjamin Elton that the reason for this boycott is ascribable to Israel.
 "Thank you for your invitation to the Great Synagogue Law Service for 2017. I will not be attending.
I should express my deep personal concern about the gross and illegal occupation of the West Bank which creates intense international division and bitterness and, unresolved, will cause endless terrorism across the globe, including here." [Emphasis added.]
The reply has left the rabbi a trifle shaken:
"Sometimes people decline with thanks, but to receive a reply with a stark message that attacked Israel’s policies ... I’m astonished, really.
The policies of the state of Israel is another discussion. To boycott a Jewish event in Sydney because of the actions of Israel, that’s a form of antisemitism."
 "A form of antisemitism".  That view is reflected in the following from Mr Vic Aldaheff, president of the New South Wales Board of Deputies:
"We are appalled that you would refuse to represent the Jewish constituents of your ward because of your views on the Israel-Palestine conflict.”
He cited the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism, a section of which defines antisemitism as “holding Jews collectively responsible for actions of the state of Israel”.

But Dr Abelson is having none of that.  
"To say someone who is critical of the West Bank is anti-Jewish is just nonsense." 
 After all,
"My father’s family was wholly Jewish."
And

"There is no discrimination against Jewish or any other race in Mosman."
I wonder whether the Mayor would boycott a Muslim function on the grounds that most terrorism around the world is being perpetrated by, er, well, by Muslims.

 I reckon we know his answer to that.

Would he boycott a Muslim event in protest at the appalling misogyny that exists in some Muslim communities, including here in Australia, where the sexual-apartheid practising Hizb-ut-Tahrir calls openly for a Caliphate, where an imam has just been convicted of facilitating the forced marriage of a minor, and where female genital mutilation (on girls as young as five months old) has been found to be occurring.  And where books such as this are found for sale, yep, right in Sydney:
'Mansoor Abdul Hakim’s charming 2009 text, “Women Who Deserve to go to Hell.” Turns out there are quite a lot of them.“Some people keep asking about the denizens of Hell and the reason why women will go to hell in large numbers,” writes Hakim in the book’s foreword before listing various types of hell-bound females, including the grumbler, the quarrelsome woman, women with tattoos and women who refuse to have sex during menstruation.  “Men’s perfection is because of various reasons: intelligence, religion, etc,” Hakim explains. “At most, four women have this perfection.”.'
 Maybe we should ask him.  It would surely be difficult to pin the blame for those excrescences on the Zionist Project (as rabid Israel-haters seem to be terming Israel nowadays).

 A commenter on J-Wire here observes:
'Mr Alhadeff and Rabbi Elton’s response should have been to point out to this person that Judea and Samaria are an integral part of the Jewish National Home, and were recognised as such in secular international law in 1922 in the Act of Law known as the Mandate for Palestine. UN Security Council Resolution 242 endorsed that ruling by clear implication. Mr Alhadeff and Rabbi Elton should have pointed out to this person that in the 1947-49 War of Arab Aggression the Arab princedom of Transjordan (now called Jordan) ethnically cleansed all the Jews out of Judea and Samaria, including the old part of Jerusalem.
Mr Alhadeff and Rabbi Elton should have pointed out to this person that Jordan’s illegal occupation between 1948-1967 does not diminish Israel’s national territorial rights nor impart any collective territorial rights to the Arabs who call themselves ‘Palestinians.” Mr Alhadeff and Rabbi Elton should have pointed out to this person that the Arabs who live in Judea and Samaria and the rest of Eretz Yisrael enjoy more civil rights than any Arab in any Arab state.
 Instead, Mr Alhadeff and Rabbi Elton chose to respond in an entirely inappropriate apologetic manner that will merely reinforce the kind of atavistic predisposition of people like this mayor.
 None of the above facts would have influenced the mayor’s animus, but my suggested response would at least have demonstrated some Jewish dignity.'
Perhaps the mayor might consider boycotting his own functions in future, since many Australians would argue that Mosman occupies "stolen land".

7 comments:

  1. anti-Semitism in Australia Julie Nathan report

    http://www.abc.net.au/religion/articles/2016/12/29/4598364.htm

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ok well if the Synagogue board has any courage at all they should call him out by name and tell him he is never to set foot on their grounds again, for life, subject to police intervention. We wouldn't want him to sully his precious hatred.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Forgotten Muslim Oppression against Jews:
    by Mr. Cohen


    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/01/guest-post-forgotten-oppression.html

    https://shilohmusings.blogspot.com/2017/01/guest-post-seven-times-stronger.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. In that 'Australian' newspaper report Abelson tries to worm his way out by saying 'I don’t think my views are that important'. Since they're not important he shouldn't have used them as his excuse to boycott the synagogue event, the obnoxious old fool.

    ReplyDelete
  5. The thing that disgusts me most about this vile racist is his attempt to play the "Jew card" to deflect attention from his rabid antisemitism "My father's family was wholly Jewish so therefore it is absurd to say I am an antisemite ".

    It is not absurd. It is a simple statement of the truth. They do

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  6. They don't come much uglier than the mayor of Mosman.

    I agree. This sleazy creep must be boycotted. He should not be allowed on any community property. He sh be prosecuted. If you are not going to use 18C in cases as blatant as this then repeal it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. What strikes me about a lot of the signatories to anti-Israel statements is the number of persons of part-Jewish ancestry there are. It is almost as if they are trying to discard that part of themselves.

    ReplyDelete

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