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 26 April 2020

In Australia, "A Zionist Attack on Free Speech"

Israel-critical Australian former federal politician Melissa Parke sat from 2007 to 2013 as Labor (ALP) member for Fremantle and was briefly minister for international development.  To quote Wikipedia, which provides footnotes for these statements,
'On 22 January 2016, Parke announced her retirement at the next federal election, to spend more time with her family, following her marriage to Perth businessman and patron of the arts, Warwick Hemsley.
In April 2019, she was selected by the Australian Labor Party to contest the federal seat of Curtin in the 2019 federal election. This seat had been held by former Deputy Liberal Leader Julie Bishop since 1998. Parke withdrew her candidacy for the seat following negative media coverage after she was reported to have told a meeting that Israel's treatment of Palestinians was "worse than the South African system of apartheid". She said her views regarding Palestine-Israel were well known but that she did not want them to be a "distraction from electing a Labor government which will take urgent and strong action on climate change".
In January 2020, Parke sued Liberal MP Dave Sharma for defamation over a tweet in which he accused her of anti-semitism and "trafficking in conspiracy theories". She also sued Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, and the West Australian and Herald Sun newspapers, over a press release from Rubenstein and stories run in the West Australian and Herald Sun that she alleged defamed her.[23] On 8 January 2020 the West Australian published an apology and published an article by Parke.[24] On 26 March 2020, the Herald Sun printed an apology to Parke and published her op-ed entitled Criticism Not Same As Racism.'
Positive reaction to this development can be seen, as Ms Parke indicates in the above tweet, here, as well  as here (in the comments to which I found the following charmer)


and, with images, here

Meanwhile, on the subject of antisemitism and anti-Zionism, here is an article that appeared in the British journal Patterns of Prejudice (volume 4, 1970, issue 4), and published online by publisher Taylor and Francis on 28 May 2010 (Download citation https://doi.org/10.1080/0031322X.1970.9968931).


I found it via a tweet by the estimable British scholar Dr James Vaughan (@EquusontheBuses)

2 comments:

  1. Why on earth did they apologise for calling out this dirty evil for what it is?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Is support for "Palestinian rights"antisemitism?


    Who has ever suggested it is?
    Now that she has raised the issue I guess there is a good chance it could be.

    Define "Palestinian rights"?

    Does calling for the tearing down of Israel antisemitic?

    Of course it is.

    ReplyDelete

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