What is Gillard’s Israel visit all about?
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No one should be surprised at the news that the Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard is hot footing it to Israel with some of the local press with a long track record for supporting the Israeli view of the Middle East. Which is basically — to paraphrase the Orwell line — “Israel good, Palestinians bad”. US President Obama’s speech in Egypt and his insistence on some basic compliance by Israel with UN declarations has clearly wrong-footed Australia and angered the strong Israel lobby within the ALP. Members like Michael Danby and others have made it their business to ensure that Australia’s foreign policy mirrored the worst of the shallowness of the Bush era which simply writes off those who believe in meeting Palestinian aspirations to live in some semblance of a homeland with some semblance of dignity, as ranting supporters of terrorism. Of course there is a serious issue of the use of terrorism, but that applies to the terrorism from people with nothing left to lose as well as State terrorism. And for those in the Government who still do not understand the issues, Paul McGeough’s latest book Kill Khalid provides insight into the complete failure of all the major participants to move forward towards creating a just and lasting peace. Our Foreign Policy has been very pro Israel — just look at the appalling silence when Israel, one of the strongest nuclear powers in the world, decimated the civilian population of Gaza where 1.5 million people live in a small area, trapped from any reasonable contact with the outside world. The few ALP Caucus members who dare to hold the view that peace in the Middle East requires reigning in the unlawful Israeli occupations and demands that Palestinians be treated with some dignity have been warned not to go public but to keep any discussions about the policy in-house. In the meantime, our foreign minister must be feeling very uncomfortable with the Obama play — it’s such a pity, as Australia could have used its position as an honest broker. Instead it hung on to the extreme Jewish lobby coattails and the Bush madness for too long. So what’s the journey to Israel about? Assuring Israel that while we love the US we don’t agree with Obama and if we do get a seat on the Security Council we will look after Israeli interests? |
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9 Comments
‘one of the strongest nuclear powers in the world, decimated the civilian population of Gaza” .
And this guy was a State Premier? Does he even understand the use of the English language ‘decimated’?
The same Michael Danby is going to lead a parliamentary delegation to India to visit the Dalai Lama to discuss the plight of Tibetans under occupation by the Chinese. You can criticize the Chinese, but never never Israel.
The slavish support for Israel, regardless of what they do to other human beings is a disgrace. To defend Israel; say it has a right to defend itself against some pretty pathetic rockets, but to say nothing when phosphorus bombs, cluster bombs, tanks and armoured vehicles are used against the poverty stricken people in Gaza begs belief. Apparently, it’s OK to support murder on a grand scale, as long as the US says it’s OK. Any criticism of Israel is taken as being anti-semetic, which is a nonsense. Israel behaves in the same manner towards Palestinians, as Hitler did to them.
The UN has passed over a 100 Resolutions, calling, insisting, ordering Israel to do certain things, such as, removing the illegal wall, not building more settlements etc, but the US and its allies never bring this up. I reject any allegations towards me of being anti-semetic, because I point out the bloody obvious - Israel acts like a dictatorship and has been so since 1948. The once oppressed is now the oppressor. Israel also has hundreds, perhaps a couple of thousand nuclear weapons; is not a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (Iran is), and won’t admit to this let alone let inspections take place. The hypocrisy and double standards is sickening. Even more enlightened and honest journalists in Israel are critical of what their government does, but the media(mostly) in this country cow tows to the worship of Israel, and ignores the horrors of the last 61years. I won’t!
The US gives/sells billions of dollars of weapons each year to Israel. Weapons that are illegal, such as the use of phosphorus bombs in built up areas should be treated as crimes against humanity. The idolitry shown by the Rudd Govt and perpetrated by Julia Gillard’s proposed visit to Israel is a disgrace. They have lost all credibility. The children of Gaza are obviously non people, as the murder of many, the detention and torture metered out to others, misery caused by Israel has virtually been sanctioned by this govt. Shame on them! I’ve lost any sympathy that I used to have for jewish people in Israel, and those outside who insist on having double standards. I believe that many people are in a similar position to me. They don’t even practice democracy in their own country! The Arab community are non-citizens.
Incidently, when will the US allow inspections in to peruse their nuclear, bio-chemical and other weapons facilities? When will countries like Australia, that purports to want a stronger anti-nuclear stance in the world, start exercising a fair dinkum attitude to this vital issue?
after being Premier of Western Australia, Peter Dowding retired to a quiet life and was only occasionally seen in public, generally sitting on a bus, muttering to himself, and telling whomever would listen that he used to be Premier once.
recently, he realised that nobodyon the bus was paying attention, and has sought a bigger audience.
Don’t give him one.
If Crikey keep publishing shallow sweeping hollow rubbish commentary like this I want nothing to do with it. I read Crikey for insight, not for stories that are shallower than a page 3 tabloid. It is the shades of grey that are where the real story is, not the black and white summary presented here with no effort on behalf of the author. Barely grade 8 material. Referencing concepts like ‘extreme jewish lobbies’ is lazy and unhelpful to mutual understanding. Pathetic.
Bravo Peter Dowding for having the courage to raise the question of Israel’s influence on the Australian Government. It does take courage because the pro-Israel lobby in Australia is the most influential and powerful in the nation. Julia Gillard will be guest of the Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce in Sydney on Wednesday. Why? What trade is there between Australia and Israel? Miniscule. Less than with Turkey. But the Chamber is the means by which the pro-Israel lobby exercises influence on Australia’ s political and commercial leaders. Yet try and question that influence in the mainstream media and there is, strangely, total silence. Only on Crikey would you get an article like Peter Dowding’s published. Remember the uproar in the US over an attempt by leading academics to highlight the influence of the pro-Israel lobby there? No US media outlet would publish this analysis by the academics. It was evenaully published in the London Review of Books. What chance would there be of such an analysis on the pro-Israel lobby’s influence inb Australia being published? Look what has happened to Jewish journalist and author Antony Loewenstein. He has been defamed and ostracised by the pro-Israeli people of power in Australia and he now can get his views publicised only on a website. His book My Israel Question is a classic that should be widely read. When will the Australian media have the courage to do an investigate journalism analysis of this insidious pro-Israel lobby influence on the foreign policy of the Asustralian Government and its power in politics and business?
Some weight must be given to Dowding’s proposition re Australia’s want to make it onto the UN Security Council, as the only justification for our supporting a terrorist State such as Israel. Both Australia & Israel are members of the UN’s WEOG grouping i.e. Western European & Others Group. There must be some numbers game in which Israel can deliver for Rudd & co…what a price to pay.
It makes me want to pewk to think of the grovelling to Israel of both Howard & Rudd, where the real politik has swamped our national dignity & integrity.
Also, check out the irrational ad hominen posts by Randy Rose, Skink & Sarash. Sadly, that kind of dross is what passes for comment among Zionist Australian Jewry.
I support the boycott of Israeli goods & services into Australia, as insignificant as they collectively are.
I won’t be voting for Rudd at the next election.
Peter Dowding would do well to take up an invitation to visit Israel should it be offered. No, he should insist. Perhaps he’ll gain an understanding of the situation, complex though it is, and revisit the tired platitudes that he uses to describe life in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. While he’s at it, he might like to meet the media in Israel, representatives of Peace Now, and the host of others who regularly berate the Government (of any persuasion) about the discrimination and lack of opportunity suffered by Palestinians. Yes, they exist in great measure and no, they are not routinely rounded up, imprisoned and tortured. Then he could wander over to Gaza and the West Bank to meet their opposite number. Whoops, they don’t exist. Why? Because they’ve been routinely rounded up, imprisoned and tortured by their own government. He might like to visit Israel’s Supreme Court or at least meet with members of the judiciary. He might find the same mindset among some of them that he found with some of Israel’s media. They enjoy independence from government and they express it. No, Mr Dowding, Israel is not an ideal State and there are occasions when supporters both inside and outside its borders shudder at the actions of its government and the military. How do we know? Because we are told by people who live in an environment that does not exist anywhere else in the Middle East, an environment more akin to our own. One that we cherish, uphold and have died for. That’s right, Mr Dowding. People in Israel are free to express an opinion; they can send letters to the editor, they can blog, they can scream their opposition from the treetops if they so choose. Oh, and when it comes to the war in Gaza, some of the most vociferous opponents of the military action and the government were Jews. Not everyone agrees with what happened, but few dispute that the government of Israel had a mandate and a responsibility to stop the indiscriminate firing of rockets into its territory. The argument has been more about how to respond rather than whether to respond. And you would do well, Mr Dowding, not to use the absurd comparison between the number of Israelis killed and the number of Gazans killed. More Israelis would have been killed had the rockets been more sophisticated, something that the Iranians, the Syrians and Hezbollah are doing their best to address. Oh, and while you’re in Gaza, do us a favour and ask to see some of their school text books. Better still, bring them home for ‘show and tell’. If you want examples of rampant racism, anti-Semitism and murderous intent, you’ll be embarrassed by choice.
Michael Krape: yes, most of the what you say about the freedom of discussion within Israel appears on the surface, to make sense. President Jimmy Carter says he wishes the same kind of discussion was occuring in the
US & the West generally.
However, your rationale falls over completely when you attempt to paper over the complete failure of Israel’s so-called parliamentary ‘democracy’ to effectively deal with Israel’s egregious treatment of the Palestinians, in particular, the continued occupation of the West Bank & Golan Heights after 41 years. The Knesset is held to ransom by right wing religious zealots, who having finally overcome the European Askinaze dominance of Israeli political life, have turned the Knesset into an inneffectual rabble. Against this background, Israeli politics has become intellectually & morally corrupt, as factions vy via political bribery, to overcome each other. Even that rabid right wing Zionist Aussie Isi Liebler, has called for the corruption to end before it destroys Israeli politics.
Let’s not forget that despite the claimed existence of a democratic society in Israel, its current international standing is that of a parish State. Except of course in the eyes of the piss weak Rudd Government, whose political sleaze in offering support to Tel Aviv so that Little Kevi’s dream of leading Australia onto the UN Security Council, is realised. Pewkworthy, gutless & opportunistic..just like Howard. ‘Neocon Kev’ & his dimwit Deputy Gillard, playing the real politik for all its worth.
So much for the democratic, liberating effect of functioning Israeli political institutions. At the end of the day, ALL of the current Israel political establishment are a bunch of intellectually & morally corrupt fools, guilty of war crimes, who are leading the country towards a disaster of their own making.
Finally, let me put to you Hamas’s policy towards the Israeli occupation of their lands, in simple terms. When Israel enters into meaningful negotiations to end the post 1967 occupation of all Palestinian lands, and stops the illegal blockade of Gaza, then Hamas will stop firing rockets against the invader. [edited]