Australian Rightwing Zionists Take Shonky Aim at BDS

How to tell boycotts, divestments and sanctions (BDS) against apartheid Israel are working? Rightwing zionists in Australia are making a stringent attack on politicians and trade unionists who support human rights and justice for Palestinians and have the temerity to back BDS and oppose Israeli apartheid.

Opposition senator Eric Abetz successfully moved a motion raising concerns about the Greens, Labor and union support of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel after Marrickville council’s brief adoption of the policy. “The Senate condemned those in the Labor Party, the Greens and unions who are supporting the BDS campaign against Israel,” Senator Abetz said.
…
NSW Jewish Board of Deputies chief executive Vic Alhadeff slammed Ms Rhiannon’s involvement with the [Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine] forum, which he described as “an activist conference lacking any hint of balance or academic integrity on a divisive and complex issue”.

Rightwing zionists and supporters have already shown their colours by organising against Marrickville Council’s resolution on BDS, marshalling Christian zionists and rightwing Jewish zionists to combine forces in the Inner West Jewish Community and Friends Peace Alliance, which ran a phone push poll and other PR endeavours prior to the NSW State Election in Marrickville.

On March 3 a request from the group was accidentally published on the Jewish news website J-Wire and a blog, requesting $12,000 in public donations for activities ”to research what local people really think … carefully targeted media coverage and advertising in relation to the election … Please also pass this information on quietly to like-minded friends”. It was quickly deleted.

Eleven days later Marrickville Council said it was investigating four complaints from residents about a survey ”asking residents to comment on the GBDS against Israel”. At least one resident complained the interviewer had claimed to be from the council.
…
Vic Alhadeff, chief executive of the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies, said his organisation had no knowledge of the poster campaign, or the phone survey, until afterwards.

However, Alhadeff’s comment was disingenuous – the cached blog post of the Inner West Jewish Community and Friends Peace Alliance says:

Also, we have among our own numbers people who are deeply involved in the Jewish community, and we are in frequent communication with Vic Alhadeff and Yair Miller from the Jewish Board of Deputies as well as Peter Wertheim from the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.

A few days ago, an unprincipled slur against Senator-elect Lee Rhiannon of the Greens was proliferated by The Australian, which has unswervingly offered slanted opinion on BDS, Israel and Palestine, notably failing to publish any stories by Palestinian advocates prior to the NSW State Election and Marrickville Council vote on BDS.

Ant Loewenstein annotates the Senate motion by Abetz and Private Members motion by Julie Bishop in his blog post ‘Palestinian rights barely exist for Australian politicians’. The vote in the Senate was 32 – 30, with the independents voting with the coalition.

In view of the call by the Palestinian Trade Union Coalition for BDS (PTUC-BDS) for solidarity from trade unions around the world, the motion by Senator Abetz to apply political pressure to the ACTU is way out of order. Since when has the Liberal party’s ambit been Australian trade unions and workers? – as ever, Israel is a special case for these sycophantic supporters of the rogue zionist entity. As Australian citizens, we should be extremely concerned that the zionist lobby buys off our politicians’ and Australia’s stance for justice and rights for oppressed people.

Please contact Senator Abetz and Julie Bishop below and tell them Israel, in contravention of more than two score UN Security Council resolutions, should butt out of Australian politics, that they should clarify any lurks and perks provided by zionists to their political campaigns, and remind them that boycotts, divestments and sanctions are the legitimate non-violent tactic called for by oppressed Palestinian civil society for long overdue justice and rights.

Senator Eric Abetz
GPO Box 1675. HOBART TAS 7001
Email:
Web: http://abetz.com.au/contact
Electorate Office Numbers:
Telephone: (03) 6224 3707
Facsimile: (03) 6224 3709
Toll Free: 1300 132 493

Canberra Office Numbers:
Telephone: (02) 6277 3019
Facsimile: (02) 6277 5707

The Hon Julie Bishop, MP
414 Rokeby Road
Subiaco, WA 6008
PO Box 2010
Subiaco, WA 6904
Email:
Phone: (08) 9388 0288
Fax: (08) 9388 0299
Web & Blog: http://www.juliebishop.com.au/

For information on how to address an Australian politician, see here.

Palestine / Israel Links

OCHA Report on Key Humanitarian Concerns in East Jerusalem [.pdf]
Palestinian unity is not for sale- You keep our tax..we keep our struggle”
Enrique Iglesias, don’t sing for the Israeli apartheid!
Deep Purple: Only ‘wimps’ cancel concerts in Israel
Great Songs of Indifference?: Bob Geldof, do not Ignore the Call
Lupe Fiasco raps about Gaza, discusses Obama and the War on Terror on the Colbert Report
Activists preparing for “third intifada”
For 40 years Israel practiced deceit in its purported plans for Palestinian autonomy (and that deceit required a partner)
AHAVA promotional campaign on Twitter jammed with BDS messaging
An Essay I wrote for English: Palestine remembered
This Is Why The Israeli Occupation of Palestine Must END! (Part 1: Mothers of Palestine)
This Is Why The Israeli Occupation of Palestine Must END! (Part 2: Children of Palestine)
How the ‘temporary weave’ of Zionism is starting to fray at the edges

Other Links

Poll-driven middle-class welfare for families earning over $150 000 a year is a bad thing, says The Australian—until Tony Abbott’s talking points decide otherwise.
Electronic Surveillance: America’s Secret Domestic Spying Apparatus
Senators Introduce Bill to Make Guantánamo Permanent Prison for Terror Suspects