Yesterday, The BFD reported that senior Labor senator Penny Wong had condemned the Queensland branch of the party for parroting “talking points disseminated by Hamas”.
Now, Labor elder statesman Bob Carr is furiously denying the obvious: anti-Semitism is a spreading stain on the Labor party.
Former foreign minister Bob Carr has criticised suggestions there is a growing strain of anti-Semitism within Labor, saying the claim was propagated by people who want to “close down criticism of Israel”.
Well, he would say that, wouldn’t he?
Meanwhile, Bob Carr likes to gibber about “the Jewish lobby” controlling Australian politics, while simultaneously lobbying then-PM Julia Gillard to reverse her pro-Israel stance because of “electoral problems in Sydney”. By which, he meant the heavily Muslim-populated western suburbs – Labor’s power base. As another Sydney-based Labor MP said, “Some people would see [supporting Israel] as putting their seats at risk.”
Carr was also incensed when Treasurer Josh Frydenberg criticised Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad. Yes, he who claims that “hook-nose Jews” “rule the world by proxy”.
As journalist Peter Hartcher put it, Carr “is a leader of pro-Palestinian opinion in Labor”. Which, in practice, means “pro-Hamas”. And we all know how they feel about Jews.
As for Penny Wong’s jibe about Hamas talking-points.
Mr Carr, an influential supporter of Palestine in the NSW Right, said there was nothing wrong with Labor being critical of Israel “for its settlement expansion, its evacuation of Palestinians, (and) its nation-state law which creates two categories of citizenship”.
Carr is speaking absolute tosh, of course. Israel hasn’t built any new settlements in the West Bank for 15 years. Construction activity in Israeli settlements has declined by one-fifth in the past five years.
As for the garbage about “two categories of citizenship”, Carr is nodding and winking to the anti-Semitic “apartheid Israel” lie.
His comments come after Jewish groups and opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong condemned a resolution backed at Queensland Labor’s state conference that accused Israel of “ethnic cleansing” and being solely responsible for the recent conflict in Gaza.
ALP member Adam Slonim, co-convener of the Australia Israel Labor Dialogue, said the resolution passed by the Left faction-dominated branch at the weekend “demonises Israel and creates a double standard that no one else is held to”. He said anti-Semitism within Labor was on the rise.
Somewhat ironically, Carr claims that “This is an attempt to close down criticism of Israel by kicking up a debate that took place in British Labor [sic]”.
Yes, let’s talk about that, Bob.
The British Labour party also furiously denied that there was any anti-Semitism in the party — even as it was lead by an odious anti-Semite, and Jews were physically attacked at party meetings. In the end, an internal review conceded “a culture within the party” of anti-Semitism. A culture which reached right to the top, with then-leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese is a great friend of Jeremy Corbyn.
In a joint statement, Liberal MPs Tim Wilson, Katie Allen, Dave Sharma and James Paterson demanded Anthony Albanese condemn and overturn the resolution. “We know Anthony Albanese has ‘palled’ around with Jeremy Corbyn in the past and is borrowing his campaign strategy and slogans, but it is deeply disturbing that the Labor Party is adopting his anti-Israel agenda too,” Senator Paterson said. “Albanese has no choice but to call his left-wing factional allies who run Queensland Labor and demand the resolution to be overturned.”
Mr Sharma – a former Australian ambassador to Israel – said the resolution “passes the hallmark tests of anti-Semitism”.
The Australian
But, hey: Labor aren’t anti-Semitic. Just ask Bob Carr, and he’ll tell you: it’s all just a Jewish plot. You know how them Joos are.
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