Danby to Dowding: Gillard has never been duped into anything
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You’d think a politician with Peter Dowding’s record of failure would have the good sense to take his super payout and go fishing. But no, Mr Dowding — forced out in 1990 after only two years as Premier of WA and found by the WA Inc Royal Commission to have “presided over a disastrous series of decisions” and to have placed electoral advantage before the public interest — has decided to re-invent himself as a foreign affairs commentator. Mr Dowding’s return to the public arena has been provoked by the forthcoming visit of the Deputy Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, to Israel. He sees this as part of a dastardly Zionist plot engineered by me and others to dupe the Deputy PM into compliance with Israeli policies. I can only assume Mr Dowding doesn’t know Julia Gillard very well, if at all. I doubt anyone has ever duped her into anything and I would certainly not try to do so. She visits Israel, as she visits other parts of the world, to see for herself and make up her own mind. When in Israel she sees who she wants and talks to whoever she likes. There are plenty of critics in Israel of the current Israeli government’s policies including the labor members of the Israel Cabinet (ever heard of Ehud Barak, Mr Dowding?) and no doubt she will talk to them. Mr Dowding says that I “write 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.” This is quite untrue. I have always been a supporter of a two-state solution, with a viable Palestinian state alongside Israel. I have never accused critics of Israel of being supporters of terrorism — unless they have actually supported terrorism. So does Mr Dowding support or oppose terrorism? It’s hard to tell. He says it’s “a serious issue.” Then he says “but that applies to the terrorism from people with nothing left to lose as well as State terrorism.” What does this mean? That Yassir Arafat, who stole four million euros of EU aid money, had “nothing left to lose”? He had plenty to lose, which was why he rejected President Clinton and Prime Minister Barak’s offer of a Palestinian state in 2004. Or perhaps that the Saudi multi-millionnaire Osama bin Laden is one of the wretched of the earth? In fact terrorists are nearly always well-educated people from affluent backgrounds. They act not out of desperation but out of religious or political ideology. Next Mr Dowding suggests that Julia Gillard, Stephen Smith and I are unhappy about President Obama’s Cairo speech and that the Deputy PM is rushing off to assure Israel that we don’t agree with President Obama. In fact, I thought the Cairo speech was positive and although I can’t speak for Julia Gillard or Stephen Smith I’ve no doubt they thought so too. There was nothing in it which contradicts Australian policy. President Obama supported a Palestinian state, supporting: “the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for dignity, opportunity, and a state of their own.” That is also the policy of the Labor Party and the Rudd Government, which I support. It’s also a policy which I happen to know that most Israelis would support, if such an outcome could be achieved without putting their own safety at risk. They don’t believe that to be the case at the moment, and I don’t blame them. Perhaps when Hamas and Hizbollah stop firing missiles at Israel towns, that view will change. Coming back to President Obama’s speech — perhaps Mr Dowding missed the part where the President condemned terrorism, saying: “We will relentlessly confront violent extremists who pose a grave threat to our security because we reject the same thing that people of all faiths reject, the killing of innocent men, women, and children.” Perhaps he wasn’t listening when President Obama quoted the Quran, saying: “whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind.” Perhaps he chose not to hear President Obama say: “Threatening Israel with destruction is deeply wrong.” The President also condemned anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Recently in parliament I identified this criticism (restated explicitly during Obama’s visit to Buchenwald), as a pre-election challenge to the current president of Iran. It is to early to tell whether this subtle American challenge will be as successful as the new US policy in Lebanon with the recent defeat of Hezbollah and particularly its Christian satellite. Anyone who follows Persian politics knows Holocaust denial has been “front and centre” in the crucial Iranian TV debates. My comments have focused on Obama’s challenge to Persian leaders to repudiate denial’s of the Nazi genocide. This together with the internal economic disaster wrought by Ahmadinejad will hopefully lead to his democratic demise. The way is then open for the US to diplomatically engage and demilitarize Ahmadinejad’s missile and nuclear build up. I suggest that Mr Dowding actually read President Obama’s speech and I also suggest that he do what Julia Gillard has done — go to Israel and find out for himself what is going on there. Then he might not waste his time and Crikey readers’ time with absurd conspiracy theories. |
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7 Comments
So, is Israel or the Israel supporting Jewish community paying for the trip or not? I don’t think this could be classified as an unbiased trip if they are.
Yes,I have heard of Ehud Barak - he was the defence minister that oversaw the attack on Gaza earlier this year that resulted in the deaths of hundreds of women and children. His labour party is part of the government, so I don’t think he is going to criticize himself when he talks with Julia Gillard.
Does Mr Danby support or oppose terrorism? Mr Danby never opposes the types of state terrorism practised by Israel, such as assassinations, bombing of civilian targets, collective punishments, apartheid, and illegal occupation, he must be a supporter.
Adam I didn’t see you being critical of that right wing nutter Bolt when he announced he would be taking a trip to Israel, or demand to know who was paying? Good enough for the pied piper of fantasy land, but Ms Gillard must open her soul to you. I suspect you will not be asking her, so like most who actualy give a damn, you will have to wait for the revealation of her expenses when she declares them on her return. Then your troubled mind will be at peace, knowing if she was on official Ministerial Business, or a private fact finder. Just what evil do you think she has in mind?
WHy is it that Danby must, as per usual, start with the slur that criticism of Israel is anti-Jewis ( intersting that he doesn’t go old-school and say ‘anti Semetic’). Israel was never intended to be a Jeweish state which is now the default postion, it was intended to be a place where Jews could live without fear of European anti-Semetism. Jews (always a minority even after Joshua’s attepted but demonstrably unsuccessful genocide of ‘the people of the land” of miulk & honey) & Arabs co-existed relatively (compared to the last 50 yrs) amicably in Palestine under the Ottomans and the increasingly weak willed British Mandate.
There are few basic questions about the current impasse in Isreal/Palestine. always studiously ignored, to wit
(1) deservedly guilt ridden European & American politicians tried to assuage there pusillanitmity in the 1930/40s by given what was not theirs to Jews who were unwillingly to trust fair weather, post Holocaust equivocation
(2) continuing amerikan support (financially greater all its other foreign aid combined without even going into Lend-Lease on the most advanced weaponry, some of which is not yet in service with US forces) is the only thing holding Israel together.
(3) Israel’s blockade, by sea & air (!?! International implication here surely) and land obviate any evolution of statehood by Gaza or the imprisoned West Bank.
Resolve these points before vapouring on about tuther crapoulous stuff
Note to George Brandis:
You say above ” They (Israelis) don’t believe that to be the case at the moment, and I don’t blame them. Perhaps when Hamas and Hizbollah stop firing missiles at Israel towns, that view will change.
Hamas has been very clear on the justification of its continued firing of rockets into Southern Israel i.e. When the Israeli Government begins meaningful negotiations with all Palestinian political organisations, on the timing of the withdrawal of the IDF from the West Bank & East Jerusalem, and stops its illegal blockade of the democratically elected government of Gaza (ie: Hamas), then it will stop firing the rockets.
Which part don’t you understand George?
Or have you swallowed successive Israeli (& US until Obama) Governments’ facile attempts to disconnect the illegal invasion of Palestinian lands in 1967 & the continued terrorism & apartheid against those who’ve been displaced ?
C’mon George..you’ve convinced yourself of your righteousness in the set piece above & in your lame sophistry in the Parliament? How about some real world interchange with one of your rapidly growing number of Aussie critics (which include those in the Aussie Jewish community & more importantly in your electorate
Final note to George Brandis:
You also claim that:
1. “Anyone who follows Persian politics knows Holocaust denial has been “front and centre” in the crucial Iranian TV debates. My comments have focused on Obama’s challenge to Persian leaders to repudiate denial’s of the Nazi genocide. This together with the internal economic disaster wrought by Ahmadinejad will hopefully lead to his democratic demise”
and
2. “The way is then open for the US to diplomatically engage and demilitarize Ahmadinejad’s missile and nuclear build up.
Please supply the actual references for your above claim 1, which in my research, is a gross distortion of the Iranian position.
Ahmadinejad has certainly goaded Israel & its supporters on the incontravertible fact that the Palestinians were unjustly disenfranchised in 1948, on the wave of post Holocaust revulsion which saw Israel established. His clearly stated position is that why should the Palestinians’ freedom be sacrificed on the altar of European post Holocaust guilt? He says why didn’t the Europeans establish a Jewish state in Europe? It’s also worth noting that Iran’s position on Israel’s legitimacy is supported by a group of esteemed Jewish rabbis, who attended the last Holocaust conference in Iran. Your comment on that fact is also sought. However, I must say that the Iranians got it completely wrong by allowing Frederick Toben into the conference.
As for your claim 2, how on earth do you expect, in 2009, to continue to fly that old Israeli domestic politics chestnut of the imminent threat of Iran nuclear attack (ie: we’ve got to scare the shit out of the Israeli electorate somehow, just to maintain the power sharing with right wing fruitcakes in the Knesset). However, I note that you’ve joined Australian Jewry which has stopped repeating that other comprehensively discredited claim against Ahmadinejad that he wanted to ‘blow Israel off the map’ (Even the New York Times has discredited the claim)
Finally, your suggestion that Ahmadinejad will be removed because of his Holocaust denial & the failing economy is, as usual, a simplistic distortion of Iranian politics. Ahmadinejad has never been a popular politician, particularly among moderates, at home. Moderates see his goading of the US & Israel as unnecessarily kicking the all-powerful giant & its faithful servant, with only limited success. However, he is likely to be returned due to his support from the keyAyatollahs Khamenei & Jannati, who believe that his handling of the nuclear issue has been first class, which it clearly has to date. Sure, the man & the society, have their egregious faults e.g homophobia, ruthless religious policies, archaic legal values etc etc. But no more than other Western countries, who, for example, illegally invade other peoples homelands, murder women & children in the name of ‘peace’, practice apartheid etc etc.
Sorry Crikey readers.
And on this occasion yy apologies to George Brandis, whose latest Spectator offering I was reading immediately before making my final 2 posts above, all while slaving over a hot keyboard since 5 am today.
It’s you Danby…how about it old son..what about an answer to the points I make above?