Jennifer's Jesting? "Turnbull Must Urgently Clarify Whether or Not He is Entitled to Israeli Citizenship"

The Australian "Dual Citizenship" debacle, which has seen several federal policians departing their parliamentary seats because they are dual citizens of Australia and another country grew ugly during the past week or so with suggestions, lauded by antisemites, that energy minister Josh Frydenberg, may be ineligible to sit in parliament because his mother was born (1943) in Hungary, a claim roundly denounced by prime minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Now, antisemites and anti-"Zionists" are jubilant over the issue of whether Mr Turnbull himself is ineligible to sit in Parliament owing to the Israeli Law of Return!

"Turnbull must urgently clarify whether or not he is entitled to Israeli citizenship

The S44 citizenship saga has thrown up possible queries concerning the citizenship status of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The first is this interview with the Times of Israel in September 2015, recorded when Turnbull ousted former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and took over the top job:

My mother always used to say that her mother’s family was Jewish, he (Turnbull) told the Australian Jewish News two years ago. Judaism is passed from generation to generation on the mother’s side, so if his mother was in fact Jewish, so is Turnbull.

The second is a piece from the Australian Jewish News, August 2013, headlined “Menachem Mandel Turnbull?” in which the same statement is made by Turnbull about his mother, Coral Lansbury.

If Turnbull is Jewish, he is, as is every Jew in the world with the exception of criminals and terrorists, entitled to Israeli citizenship under the 1950 Law of Return.

How does this bring into question Turnbull’s legitimacy as an MP?

Section 44(i) of Australia’s Constitution disqualifies someone from office if that person:

…is under any acknowledgment of allegiance, obedience, or adherence to a foreign power, or is a subject or a citizen or entitled to the rights or privileges of a subject or a citizen of a foreign power… (emphasis mine)

We know from recent events that:

The High Court’s reading of section 44 is strict and unsurprising. It means that a dual national is barred from Parliament even where they were born in Australia, are ignorant of their other citizenship and have never attempted to use the rights or privileges of another country. A person can even be disqualified where they become a dual national later in life due to legal changes in another country.

Obviously his citizenship status and S44 were far from Turnbull’s mind in 2013 and 2015, when the interviews were recorded. Yet he was, at the beginning of his political career, like any other aspiring MP whose background carries the possibility of dual citizenship or entitlement to that citizenship, required to establish his status before standing for parliament. His failure to do this places his legitimacy as an MP and Prime Minister in doubt.

For the sake of the country’s stability, Turnbull must immediately address these issues, and rapidly and transparently convey his citizenship status to the Australian people. It is unthinkable that we should continue with a Prime Minister who is ineligible to sit in our parliament.

Energy Minister Josh Frydenberg is in the same situation as Turnbull. Frydenberg’s mother is Jewish, and he is also entitled to Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return."

The originally appeared here: the comments below the line there tell their own story.

Its author, Jennifer Wilson, is thus described:

"Jennifer, who has a PhD, has worked as an academic and a scholar, but now works at little of both her careers. She has published short stories in several anthologies, academic papers and book chapters, frequently on the topic of human rights. Her interests and writing are wide ranging, including cultural analysis. Jennifer has written for On Line Opinion, Suite 101 and ABC’s Drum Unleashed. Jennifer is well-known for her long-running blog No Place for Sheep: an eclectic blog that covers politics, society, satire, fiction and fun stuff."

So I'm assuming that it's a clumsy satire on her part, misrepresented by the Jew- and Israel-haters who have shared it on Facebook.

Mr Turnbull is certainly a firm friend of Israel, and as I've written before, he's hinted more that once that he is of Jewish descent on his mother's side. 

To quote the Australian Jewish News in 2013:

'....“My mother always used to say that her mother’s family was Jewish,” the member for Wentworth said....
Asked if his mother’s revelation has shaped his views he said: “Yes, maybe.”
 “I grew up in the Eastern Suburbs and as we all observe there were a lot of Jews in the Eastern Suburbs and I have always been very comfortable.
“There is no doubt that the strong traditions of family and the whole heimishe atmosphere of the Jewish community, which I’m sure some people don’t like, for me – as someone who is a good friend, but not part of it – I find very admirable.”
Reflecting on his mother, he noted, “She had a lot of Jewish friends in Sydney and a lot of Jewish friends in Philadelphia, where she was living when she died.”....'

 But as commenter Max stated on this post of mine, he (Max) failed to find a definitive answer:

'Turnbull's being pretty well claimed as of Jewish halachic descent by half the Jewish press in the world! If he wants to be Jewish - great - who are we to keep him out? As far as I can make out his mother Coral's mother was May Morle whose own mother was Alice Harriet Hawes, born GB 1848, her mother being Sarah somebody - there the trail runs cold.'

And as far as "dual citizenship" is concerned it wouldn't matter if he had! Being eligible to emigrate to Israel under the Law of Return does not an Israeli citizen make.

Au Revoir, Bibi! We Love You Heaps!

If there is one thing that has come over with crystal clarity in the footage of Mr Netanyahu's visit to Australia, it is the obvious genuine delight that Mr Turnbull has shown as the Israeli prime minister's host.  That he has a deep emotional investment in the welfare of Israel is palpable.  It is written on his face.  It is heard in his voice.  This has been an extraordinary state visit; the welcome accorded Bibi and Sara and the entire Israeli delegation by Malcolm Turnbull has been almost over the top!

The Australian prime minister has spoken in the past of his belief that his mother, Coral Lansbury, cousin of the actress Angela Lansbury, was of Jewish descent on her mother's side, and although that belief appears to be misplaced, he can claim, through the Lansbury family, mishpocha of sorts, in the person of his great-grandfather George Lansbury's son Edgar's first wife, suffragette and social reformer Minnie Glassman.  (George Lansbury, to whom Mr Turnbull as he ages bears a striking physical resemblance, was of course leader of the British Labour Party between the wars, and had spent some time in Queensland.)

What a pity that all of Australia's Jewish day school children  could not have met  Bibi, like these lucky children at Moriah College in Sydney.

Before Bibi flew out of Sydney today he met with Aussie Foreign Minister Julie Bishop:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LoX8vx4Ze4

An interview by ABC journo Stan Grant with Zionist Federation of Australia president Mark Leibler and an Israel-hater here


As the president and the executive director of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry have said of the visit:

“The historic visit to Australia by Benjamin Netanyahu, the first by an incumbent Israeli Prime Minister, was of tremendous positive significance to the Australian Jewish community and to Australia as a whole.

Australia’s Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, made a point of attending and speaking at every official and non-official function that was addressed by his Israeli counterpart, and of aligning Australia with Israel at every opportunity.   A highlight was Prime Minister Turnbull’s declaration that Australia would have voted against UN Security Council resolution 2334, and Prime Minister Netanyahu’s response praising the “down-to-earth Australians” for “puncturing UN hypocrisy”.

Despite the inordinate focus of some sections of the media on the conflict with the Palestinians and the settlements issue, it quickly became clear that the priorities of the two leaders and their respective governments lay elsewhere.  They discussed issues of vital concern to the national interests of both nations – intelligence sharing, counter-terrorism, thwarting Iran’s aggression, cyber-security, science, agri-tech, energy and resources and the environment.

The events organised by the Jewish community at Central Synagogue and at Moriah College, and the speeches made there by both Prime Ministers, were unforgettably moving and uplifting.  These events further galvanised the already-strong support for Israel among Australian Jews, and left an indelible impression on everyone who attended them.  Surveying the capacity audience at Central Synagogue, crammed with political and communal leaders and other dignitaries, Prime Minister Netanyahu was moved to begin his speech with a simple exclamation: “Wow!”.”

This best sums up his entire visit to Australia.  It was an outstanding success, and a great morale booster for the Jewish community and Israel’s many other friends in Australia.'

For more Jewish communal summations of the impact of the visit see J-Wire here

Bibi in Australia: "Standing Up for Israel Means Standing Up for Simple Truths"

Early on Wednesday evening, 22 February, at the Central Synagogue in Sydney, in the presence of a large, enthusiastic and appreciative crowd that included two former Liberal prime ministers of Australia and staunch friends of Israel John Howard and Tony Abbott, a marvellous speech from current Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull followed by a marvellous speech from the prime minister of Israel.

The warmth between the two leaders, and Mr Turnbull's delight in being there and in addressing Bibi was palpable, even to people not fortunate enough to be at this unforgettable event in person, who watched the live-stream instead. 

 Malcolm Turnbull:

'I came here to the shul with a message, a message of absolute solidarity for the state of Israel.
I came here with a message of solidarity on behalf of the Australian Government in the wake of that UN resolution [SC 2334] which was so regrettable. A resolution we would never support.
My Government will not support any more than the government of John Howard would, or the government of Tony Abbott would a resolution so one sided, attributing fault only to the state of Israel. That has no contribution to make to the peace process.
It was an unfortunate resolution. We regret it and we disassociated ourselves from it in our public statements and here, right here in this shul.

You know we’ve spoken of security a lot today, both at the lunch and of course Bibi and I have spoken about that in our meetings and it is plainly simple. The first duty, as I said out our press conference, the first duty of every government, of every prime minister, every president, is the safety of the people of the nation they lead.

And so the fundamental requirement of what we hope will be a negotiated outcome between Israel and the Palestinians, a two-state solution negotiated between the parties, but the fundamental condition, the foundation of that must be the safety, the security of the state of Israel and its people.
We do deplore the efforts that de-legitimise the state of Israel. We deplore the boycott campaigns. We stand with Israel. We are a committed and a consistent friend. We have been so, from the beginning [see here] and we will always be so.

Now, I want to say, however, as I observed in the article that was published in ... The Australian today – it is easy to see Israel and its situation entirely through the prism of security.
That is inevitable, I suppose, given the existential threat that Israel faces.
And given the miraculous success of Israel brought by the determination, the enterprise, the indefatigable courage of its people, not simply to establish the state of Israel – that a miracle in itself – but to maintain it, to continue it, to enhance it for it to succeed again and again against extraordinary odds. That has been an extraordinary achievement. Wondrous, miraculous and now we see the state of Israel leading the world in the most important technologies of the twenty-first century.

As I said today at the luncheon which I know many of you have been at, which we were at earlier today in the city, I said that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery and indeed it must be that Israel should be sincerely flattered because so many countries, including our own seek to capture some of that extraordinary innovative chutzpah which enables Israelis, in a nation, until the recent discovery of gas I might add, but until then, absolutely devoid of natural resources other than the brilliance and the enterprise of its people enabled Israel to develop that culture of innovation to lead in technology, to recognise, as Bibi said today, that once a nation has achieved that middle-income status, to get from there to great success and greater heights, you need to be competitive, you need to be productive and the key to that is innovation.

That is why it is an essential part of my Government’s economic plan because I know, we all know, that is the key to our success. And it is not a theoretical thing anymore than free trade is a theoretical thing which we also strive for. All of those open markets, innovation, productivity, competitiveness – all of that enables us to deliver the greater and greater opportunities for our children and grandchildren in the years ahead.

We have so much to work on together. So much more collaboration to undertake. We stand together in the battle against terrorism. We are on the front line, each of us in our own theatres and each of us indeed in the Middle East.

We stand in the front line against terrorism, we are united by shared values, democracy, freedom, the rule of law. They tie us together and of course all of you, the extraordinary people to people links. The Jewish Australian community without who we could not imagine modern Australia. As I said 
today, I salute you and I thank you. You have been remarkable. You have helped us make Australia the extraordinary nation that it is. We could never have done that without the brilliance and the enterprise of the Australian Jewish community.

So, here, in the mishpocha of Wentworth [Turnbull's constituency], so many visitors, including we have Julian Leeser, my federal parliamentary colleague who is one of our distinguished Jewish parliamentarians.

Photo credit: Henry Benjamin/J-Wire

And then coming up from mishpocha of Melbourne, we have Josh Frydenberg. We have Mark Dreyfus and of course we have Michael Danby as well. I see Richard Marles has joined us as well, also from Melbourne, so that is good.  And we have our remarkable talented premier, Gladys Berejiklian.

We are all here to hear from you. Bibi, prime minister, it has been a very productive day and we have more discussions to go over the next few days. But we have a lot of work to do together.
[Zionist Federation of Australia president] Mark Leibler asked the question at the lunch about how important were people to people links in collaboration, in technology, in innovation. And the truth is that they are absolutely critical. There is no substitute for them and that is why this visit is so important. It has taken seventy years. Mark has been uncharacteristically passionate. But he may not be, he certainly won’t wait another seventy years. So we’ll have to increase the tempo of business. But we will be there in Beersheba in October, we will be there.
And Bibi has promised everybody a horse, so –'

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4otJmdCi7xs

Bibi Netanyahu:

Bibi at Central Synagogue: photo credit: Haim Zach/GPO

'It’s an honour to be the first Israeli prime minister to visit Australia. I have to say that I hope the next trip doesn’t take another sixty-eight years. I agree completely with Malcolm Turnbull that people-to-people contacts, that the ability to meet, see each other, hear each other, talk to one another is crucial, and for this we need a Dreamliner and I’ll say it five more times before I leave because you in Australia are used to flying in your own country for several hours. It takes four minutes to cross the State of Israel so we’re not used to it. A Dreamliner would help us acclimate.

I want to salute this Jewish community, which is unusually committed to the State of Israel, to the Jewish people. You’ve shown it time and time again, you show it here today even though I think we’ll have some problem with the Jewish community in Melbourne, but that’s for the next trip, for the next trip. They’re wonderful people and you have been stalwart champions of our alliance. 

Israel and Australia are two vibrant democracies. This is not something that is self-evident. Democracy has to be nourished; it has to be protected; it has to be maintained. In the nineteenth century, the great English writer George Eliot [author of Daniel Deronda] wrote, “There will be…” she said, “…in the van of the [Middle] East… amid the despotisms of the East… a great beacon of freedom.” 

"A great beacon of freedom", she said prophetically. And indeed this is exactly what has happened. Israel is a beacon of freedom, of tolerance, of progress in a very dark expanse that I hope and I believe will change as many Arab countries understand that Israel is not their enemy, but their vital and indispensable ally in warding off the barbarism that threatens all of us.

There is, I think, an opening, as Malcolm and I discussed, for the first time in my lifetime, because the Arabs understand that Israel could be a key to their future. I’m not looking at reality through rose-colored glasses. I’m, I think, a realist.   But as a realist, I see not only challenge but opportunity that grows from this challenge. And I think that if anyone understands the hopes of the people of Israel for peace and security it is you. \

You have shared this hope and this dream with us day in, day out. And you have this strong bond with Israel. You have relatives and you have friends, I have friends and relatives here, believe it or not. And you have them in Israel in abundance, so I want to thank you for your consistent support over the years.

A few days ago I visited the Jewish community in Singapore. There’s a Jewish community in Singapore. And like the joke, they have two synagogues – one they go to and the one they don’t go to. An amazing community.

And a few months ago, I visited Jews in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan, two Muslim countries. They sang Jewish songs in Muslim countries and that’s the kind of coexistence and tolerance that we’d like to see everywhere.

 Jewish customs vary but the spirit of our people is universal and there’s a question that many people ask: “Why did the Jews survive? What is the secret of their survival and their success?” Well, I had an inkling of that when I was first elected prime minister and I visited a small country, China. And the President of China, the leader of China at the time, Jiang Zemin, he said to me: “You know, I really admire the Jewish people.” And I said, “I really admire the Chinese people.” And he said, “Well, the Jews and the Chinese are two of the oldest peoples on Earth.” And I said, “That’s true.” And being not that experienced, I added the Indians too, but, you know, it goes back 5000 years, in our case almost 4000 years. And he said, “Yes, this is true.” 

And I said, “But there is a difference.” He said, “What’s the difference?” I said, “Well, how many Chinese are there?” He said, “Well, 1.2 billion.” And I said, “How many Indians?” He said, “About one billion.” And then I said, “How many Jews?” And he said, “I don’t know.” I said, “Well, there are about 13 million Jews at the time, 13 million Jews.” And there was absolute silence in the room, you could hear the jaws drop because that’s, you know, a suburb of Beijing. 

And I said, “Mr. President, isn’t it odd? We’ve been around for thousands of years; you exceed a billion and we’re only 13 million.” He said, “What happened?” And I said, “A lot of things happened.” But they boiled down to one thing. You, the Chinese, have kept China. The Indians kept India. And we, the Jewish people, lost our land and were scattered to the far corners of the Earth. And for the last 2000 years, we’ve had one goal: To come back to our ancient homeland and reconstitute our life, build our own state, define our own future, control our own destiny.

This is the source, this is the thrust of Jewish history.

Now, by all accounts we should have disappeared, because most nations in antiquity do not exist anymore. There are exceptions, but they’re very large exceptions and very few. Most nations disappeared. Nations go through predictable cycles: they’re born, they flower, they shrivel, they die. But the Jews are different. The Jews refused to die. They’re reborn again and again and again. And throughout the centuries, our people never succumbed to their fate, no matter how large the oppression, no matter how great the oppression and the persecution. Generation after generation, Jews said, “Next year in Jerusalem. Next year in Jerusalem.” We never gave up the dream.

And finally, after twenty centuries, led by a modern Moses named Theodor Herzl – changed our history, a prophet of old reemerged and worked for a brief eight years and changed the course of the Jewish people. We came back to our land, reconstituted our sovereignty; built an army second-to-none in its courage, its ability to defend our people, its willingness to step into the breach; built an economy that is now becoming an innovation nation, an example for the entire world.

And you know, there used to be a joke when I was a young man in Israel, growing up: How do you make a small fortune in Israel? You start with a big fortune.

No longer. Some big fortunes are made in Israel, because of the ingenuity of our people. And guess what? We liberated the economy and allowed the natural enterprise, the natural capabilities that are inherent in our history, in our traditions, to burst forward.

So we’ve built this future and I was approached by African diplomats in the UN a few months ago. You know, I give a speech at the UN every year, but this year was different because so many of the African countries want to partake of our experiences, of our innovation, and we had an exhibit there of Israeli technology – absolutely amazing, amazing stuff. And one African leader said to me, “Can you tell me? Can you tell me the secret?” He wanted to know the secret. And I said, “You mean the secret of our success?” And he said, “I want to understand how Israel is able to do what it does.” 

And I said, “Look, it’s a combination of two things: a continual quest for the future with a deep regard for the past, a deep regard for our roots. It’s like a tree that has deep roots in the land and yet seeks to grow the branches all the time, reaches upward.” And it’s that combination of tradition and innovation that makes Israel what it is, and make the people of Israel what they are. And make you the community that you are.

We respect our traditions, we respect our roots, and yet we are constantly inquisitive, constantly seeking to improve the life of our people and the life of all mankind. This is what characterises the Jewish People; this is what characterises the Jewish State.

Now, I know that we are much maligned in the United Nations. I salute you, Malcolm Turnbull, and the governments of Australia who have stood up time and time again against this demonisation, including recently. 

You ... refuse to accept this hypocrisy. And standing up for Israel means standing up for simple truths. It doesn’t mean that we don’t have our imperfections. Which country is perfect? Well, Australia is pretty close, but none of us are perfect. But we seek all the time to improve. We seek all the time to do better. We seek to do better for all our peoples and we also want Israel to be the home of all Jews. I want every Jew in the world, every Jewish man and woman, to feel comfortable in the State of Israel.

I also think that we have a battle against those who seek to demonise our people and the resurgent antisemitism that we see in many parts of the world. It is something that we need to fight together. I think this is important in Europe. It’s important in America. It’s very important that President Trump took a strong stand against antisemitism. And it’s important that we all continue to do so in the years ahead.

So we have performed miracles, but we have performed miracles because we’re committed to our destiny. I want all of you to come to Israel. I want you to visit your friends and your families. I want you to walk the streets of the Old City in Jerusalem, hike in the Golan. By the way, the Golan will never go back to Syria. It will always be a part of the State of Israel. 

Spend time with our brave young soldiers. Get to know the land. See this miracle. See the Land of Israel. See the people of Israel.The State of Israel lives. The people of Israel thrive. Am Yisrael Chai.

We are part of you.  You are part of us. 

Thank you for this warm welcome, and This Year in Jerusalem with Prime Minister Turnbull in Be’er Sheva. We’ll get a horse for every one of you. Thank you very much, thank you.”

Bibi at Moriah College, Sydney (Henry Benjamin/J-Wire):

  
And:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNudmRg5fUg

More:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMZi5gb6228

See also here

By George, Vicar! Another Turbulent Priest!

To date, the Asia Pacific regional contingent on the rather strangely titled "Board of Reference"of Rev Dr Stephen Sizer's so-called "Peacemaker Moderators" outfit, which is to be launched on 6 May following the vicar's resignation from his Surrey pulpit on Easter Sunday, consists of the following persons:

 Dr Philip Church, a senior research fellow at Laidlaw College in New Zealand whose publications include (as joint editor) The Gospel and the Land of Promise: Christian Approaches to the Land of the Bible, published in 2011.

Alistair Donaldson, who lectures in Biblical Theology, Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics at Laidlaw College and is the author of“The Kingdom of God and the Land: The New Testament Fulfillment of an Old Testament Theme,” an essay in the above-mentioned book.

The Right Revd Azad Marshall, about whom I wrote here

Rev Abraham W. Yeung, principal of the Macau Bible Institute (more here)

and

Sydney Anglican priest and keen amateur boxer Father Dave Smith, a sort of antipodean Sizer whose anti-Israel bias will be familiar to regular readers of my blog.

See, for example, his breath-taking Al Quds Day corker here

 Father Dave is seen in this photo practising some nifty dance steps at a function given by the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network (APAN) last year.

The president of APAN (the top photo, rather tellingly showing Arabic poems superimposed on a certain map, was a prize at their annual dinner in 2015) is another cleric with a hostile view of Israel.

For report click here

He's British-born, Aussie-raised George Browning, former Anglican Bishop of Canberra and Goulburn.

A firm and outspoken BDSer is he.

Yesterday (4 January) a letter by Browning was printed in the Brisbane Courier Mail, which has long been one of the most anti-Israel of Australian newspapers.

It's behind a paywall, but is entitled "Malcolm Turnbull is wrong Australia must not side with Israel"

Intended as a riposte to  prime minister Turnbull's condemnation of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, it consists of the usual bile, with all the usual Israel-hating disregard for Israeli sufferings, Hamas atrocities, and Arab rejectionism.

It concludes:

"For the prime minister to ally Australia with Israel against both our ANZUS partners and almost the whole of the international community raises some troubling questions regarding his foreign policy priorities.

What Australian interests are being served in taking such an isolated position on an issue of such international sensitivity? Has Mr Turnbull thought through the national security implications of this policy?

While such partisanship may win him the support of certain powerful domestic constituencies [emphasis added], it is no substitute for a realist foreign policy based upon an understanding that Australia’s interests are best served by upholding a regime of collective security grounded in a commitment to universal human rights and international law."

(Above at left, a "domestic constituency" with which APAN flirted in May last year.)

APAN-indoctrinated Aussie politicians pose in Canberra late last year

What is striking about Browning's letter is the number and calibre of the comments denouncing his stance.

At random:

Commenter Michael:

"So despite the multitude of Human Rights abuses in Saudi Arabia,Syria, Iran and other predominately Muslim countries the UN over the last year has made the majority of it's rulings against Israel.

 The Muslim countries and Palestinians have openly professed to destroy Israel and have backed that up by launching major wars in 1948,1967 and 1973. Followed up by a constant barrage of missiles and Terrorist attacks on the Israeli population to this day. The West bank was secured by Israel 1967 after four Arab nations attacked Israel in an attempt to wipe it out.

Palestininan "ambassador" Izzat Abdulhadi addresses APAN

Nearly 2 million Muslims are free to work and reside in Israel without threat,no Jew is permitted to reside in the surrounding Arab countries. Children in Palestinian are raised and taught to hate the Jews by their leaders so what hope is there of a peaceful coexistence?

Palestinian leader Yassar Arafat in 2000 rejected the two state solution put on the table by Israel which included handing over the Gaza strip and most of the West Bank, simply because they refuse to  recognise Israel as a nation.I am glad that after the Holocaust the Jews swore"Never again" and that because of the hatred shown towards them by the surrounding Arab nations and even yourself. The Jews have far more claim to that land than any other nation,secular history and archaeological finds and the bible  show the deep roots the Jews have with this land. The Israeli's currently share their land with nearly two million Muslims who work and study freely in that nation,it is far more than what the surrounding Arab nations offer to a Jew.

APAN uses a Jewish refugee's poster from the Mandate period

Maybe if the Palestinians had accepted the generous two state solution offered to them in 2000 which included the Gaza strip and the majority of the West Bank it may have produced peace. The offer was turned down flatly by Yassar Arafat the Palestinian leader who refused to acknowledge the right of Israel to exist as a nation and began a series of terrorist attacks on the Israeli population This is still the belief of the surrounding Arab nations openly professed by their leaders who would like to see Israel removed from the map. With this open aggression shown to Israel and it's citizens they have no other choice than to defend themselves."

Commenter Les:

For report (and VIDEO of Turnbull dancing) click here

'The Jews were permitted in Article 80 of the UN Charter recognising the League of Nations "Mandate For Palestine", to live ANYWHERE in Palestine - including Judea and Samaria (Note the Jewish Names) which the Arabs are now claiming for a future Arab State. When Jordan invaded Israel on the declaration of Israel's independence, they moved in Arab settlers, and the UN did nothing.

If this was a war between Arab and Arab over Palestine, no-one would care. Half a million people can die in Syria but this gets only one resolution in the UN General Assembly, but if Israel expands towns and cities in Area C, which even Abbas recognises would go to Israel in exchange for other land in Israel, the UN gets upset, claims "illegality" without any real legal reason, and passes twenty motions against Israel. No wonder even Ban ki Moon, the outgoing Secretary General of the UN said the UN is biased against Israel.'

Commenter Russell

"What's a former Australian Anglican Bishop doing as President of a Palestinian Avocacy Network anyway? Does he support the terrorist activities of Hesbollah and Hamas?"

Commenter Katherine

"Actually he does - in 1993 Bishop Browning, as he was then known, denounced Israel for deporting 415 Palestinian Hamas militants back to Lebanon. They were plotting to murder israeli citizens and were involved in bus bombings. He's be[en] a virulent Israel hater for a very long time"

Commenter Russell again:

Interesting isn't it how the anti Israel constituency simply ignore the terrorists atrocities of Hezbollah and Hamas whose sole aim is the entire destruction of Israel. If these torrorist organisation laid down their weapons there would be peace. If Israel laid down their weapons they'd cease to exist."

Commenter Jonathan:

"Yeah Israel can have peace with a Palestinian government that pays lucrative pensions to the family of anyone who murders a Jew and refuses to recognise that Israel has any right to exist at all. We should totally side with murderers and Muslim extremists"

Commenter Colours:

"I stand with Israel against a genocidal medieval theocracy. It always makes me uncomfortable how often you can scratch the surface of a Protestant minister and find a Jew hater hiding underneath."

Hear, hear, sir or madam!

Any bets the ex-bishop of Canberra and Goulburn will be co-opted onto Stephen Sizer's "Peacemaker Mediators" outfit before long?