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In a rare outbreak of collective decency, six of Australia’s former prime ministers have issued an unprecedented letter of support for Israel, and condemnation of Hamas and anti-Semitism.
Tellingly, one conspicuously declined.
Also tellingly, “pro-Palestine” advocates “condemned” the letter.
But first, the good stuff.
Six former prime ministers have made an unprecedented intervention in the Israel-Hamas conflict, issuing a joint letter declaring “there is no more tenaciously evil race hatred than antisemitism” and warning that terrorist organisation Hamas wants to fuel ancient hatreds throughout the world.
In a public letter drafted by John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison, all six said that “no complaint or concern about international affairs justifies hate speech against any Australian, or any Australian community.
“We believe we speak for the vast majority of Australians, of all faiths and of none, when we say we stand in solidarity with Jewish Australians at this time.”
The Age
Although the letter is co-signed by all six former PMs, it’s conceded that it’s mostly the work of Malcolm Turnbull. Approached by former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Turnbull wrote the first draft, and co-ordinated contributions from the other ex-PMs. Turnbull’s arch-political rival, Tony Abbott was full of rare praise for his one-time nemesis.
Tony Abbott has praised Malcolm Turnbull over a joint statement signed by six former PMs condemning the “cruel and murderous” Hamas and standing in solidarity with Israel. “You don’t often find Tony Abbott singing Malcolm Turnbull’s praises. But this was really Malcolm’s great work here,” Mr Abbott told 2GB’s Chris O’Keefe on Monday. He said his understanding of the genesis of the statement was that former Treasurer Josh Frydenberg approached the former Prime Ministers’ to ask if they would make a joint statement and then drafted a letter.
“Malcolm said quite suitably, look if it’s going to come from all of the former Prime Minister’s it should be drafted by one of us. And Malcolm then drafted the words. We all had our say, there were one of two minor amendments made. And I think Malcolm’s done a wonderful job and I think it’s a beautiful, beautiful statement that I’m certainly proud to be part of,” he said.
The Australian
So, who was the sole refusee? Three guesses as to who’s Australia’s nastiest, bitterest, ex-prime ministerial piece of work.
The only living former prime minister not to sign the letter was Paul Keating.
The Age
Because of course he was.
Mr Keating, the only living ex-prime minister to not sign the letter, published a statement on Sunday that said he would not put his name to a letter “drafted by the Zionist Federation of Australia.”
The Australian
While Tony Abbott was too polite to directly call out Keating for what he is, he left no doubt what he thought of Keating’s motives.
I’m just very, very pleased the rest of us stood for human decency and in solidarity with Israel and the Jewish people […]
Anti-Zionism is to all practical effects, it’s anti-Semitism, it’s Jewish race hate. There should be no place for that in any civilised society, and there should be no place for that in any decent human heart.”
Well, I don’t think anyone ever accused Keating of having a decent human heart.
As for the evil of anti-Semitism, despite the letter also stating that, We stand too with the Australian Palestinian community whose families are dying and suffering in this terrible conflict, it was not enough to mollify the Jew-haters.
Victorian Labor MP Maria Vamvakinou, a long-time supporter of Palestine, said Australia’s political leaders needed to show greater understanding of Palestinians’ plight and the fact that “Gaza is suffering from cruel collective punishment”.
Which is an anti-Semitic lie, of course. But, hey, that’s the “pro-Palestine” left for you.
As for our local branch office of Pallywood:
The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network released a statement that said the former prime ministers “have allowed themselves to be used as tool in a campaign by the pro-Israel lobby”.
“I’m most disturbed by the fact that six of our former prime ministers signed this statement knowing that it ignores Israel’s current and historical violations of international law,” the network’s president Nasser Mashni said.
The Age
Another lie — and a particularly odious one, coming on the very day that it was confirmed that Shani Louk — whose near-naked corpse was raped and paraded as a trophy through the streets of Gaza — was later beheaded.
The “representatives” of these bestial savages have no right to lie to our faces about “international law”.
