Viewpoints
Anthony Albanese MP
On Tuesday 13 July last, Mr. Albanese, the then Federal Leader of the Opposition and Australian Labor Leader, now Prime Minister of Australia, publicly spoke via Zoom to an Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) sponsored event with around 70 attendees, mainly leaders representing the Jewish communal roof bodies, related organizations, and friends. The full video is here:
An interesting commentary is by Anthony Galloway, By Calling out Anti-Semitism on the Left, Albanese has Created Room for Himself, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 July 2021
Chris Minns MP
NSW Opposition Leader and NSW Labor Leader, expressing opposition to the Boycotts Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) anti-Israel campaign, in a statement to the NSW parliament on 11 May 2021:
Senator Penny Wong
Foreign Minister of Australia
Hon. Tanya Plibersek MP
Labor Shadow Minister, former Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and Former Shadow Foreign Minister. Plibersek Reflects on Israel Trip, Australian Jewish News, 24 February 2014
Walt Secord
NSW Labor MLC, Shadow Minister for Police and Shadow Minister for the Arts
“No matter how many times one has visited the Middle East, as I have, each visit is like a refresher course. Each visit is an update on the daily security and terror threats that Israel faces and the realities of a very unfriendly neighbourhood. Each visit also reminds us that the Palestinians have a human right to self-determination. As naive as it feels, I still pray for a two-state solution.”
Josh Burns
Federal Labor MP for Macnamara
“There is no justification for the actions of Hamas, recognised by Australia as a terrorist organisation, firing a barrage of rockets and missiles at Israel, at civilian populations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, at schools, hospitals and homes…. The violence needs to end; the rockets need to stop; the cycle of violence will never be solved by more violence. I continue to hold hope that one day we will see a true, lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.”
Mike Freelander
Federal Labor MP for Macarthur
“The geopolitical climate in the Middle East is a difficult one, and division and war still continue to plague the region. However, a democratic society such as Israel should serve as a beacon of hope in this difficult climate…. it offers hope to the people of other nations who still fight a constant battle for freedom from oppression and tyranny…. I’ve said that the people of Israel should be able to live safely and securely within their nation, and I’ll say the same thing for the Palestinian people.”
Kimberley Kitching (1970-2022)
Former Labor Senator for Victoria (2016-22)
“Israel is the only country in the Middle East with free elections, free media, free trade unions, free civil society, freedom for all religions and freedom for women and for LGBTI people. Yet it is regularly condemned by a [UNHRC] council dominated by countries which have none of these things and which demand a far higher moral standard by other states than they do of themselves.”
Tribute to Kimberly
Dr Marjorie O’Neill MP
On antisemitism
Mike Kelly
Dr Mike Kelly, former Labor MP for Eden-Monaro, 2007 to 2013 and again from 2016 to 2020, talks to the Australia Israel Jewish Action Committee:
Peter Baldwin
The Hon. Peter Baldwin former Labor NSW Upper House MP, 1975 to 1982, and NSW Federal MP from 1983 to 1998, and former Minister for Higher Education and Employment Services, and former Minister for Social Security, etc. on Richo Sky News 10/2/16
Bob Hawke
Profile of former Labor Prime Minister Bob Hawke, after he died, 16 May 2019:
Julia Gillard
Former Labor Prime Minister (2010-2013), a strong supporter of a two-state solution, winner of the Jerusalem Prize, 12 October 2014
Michael Easson
Michael Easson is the former Secretary of Unions NSW (when it was called the Labor Council of NSW) and Senior Vice President of the ALP, NSW Branch, 1993-95.
The “Jewish Vote” and the 2022 Federal Election, June 2022,
From Bear Pit to Smear Pit, June 2022,
The “Israeli Lobby” Mischaracterises the Diverse, Australian Jewish Community, Pearls & Irritations, June 2022,
Israel and Apartheid: Language Matters, posted 23 July 2021,
Australian Labor and Palestine in 2021, posted 14 April 2021 on the Federal ALP Conference
Cardinal Edward Cassidy AC (1924-2021), Australia’s Nuncio to the World, posted 13 May 2021
Israel, Gaza and Australia, posted 30 May 2018
The Time Isn’t Right for Labor to Recognise Palestine. This Preoccupation is Miscued, The Guardian Australia newspaper, 24 July 2015,
The Middle East Book Every Leftie Should Read, J-Wire, 20 May 2015,
Labor Must Not Turn Its Back on Israel, The Spectator Australia, 15 August 2014,
Why I Could Not Support Bob Carr’s Middle East Resolution, The Southern Highlands Newsletter (ALP newsletter), August 2014,
Thomas Friedman
Thomas L. Friedman is a columnist for The New York Times, former Beirut bureau chief in 1982, Jerusalem bureau chief in 1984, and then in Washington as the diplomatic correspondent in 1989, and later the White House correspondent and economic correspondent. Won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting (from Lebanon) and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting (from Israel). He also won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for commentary. Author of From Beirut to Jerusalem (1989), Hot, Flat and Crowded (2008), and many other publications. His website is: www.thomaslfriedman.com
On the Environment, 8 December 2022, Climate Change Will Destroy Arabs and Israelis Before They Destroy Each Other
On Iran, 15 June 2021, The Best Anyone Can Hope For With Iran Is Pretty Bad
On Political Change in Israel, 3 June 2021, Bibi Is Trump and the Israeli Change Coalition Is Biden
On Israel Palestine and the two-state solution, 25 May 2021, How the Mideast Conflict is Blowing Up the Region, the Democratic Party and Every Synagogue in America
On the Clash in Gaza, 11 May 2021, Israelis, Palestinians and Their Neighbors Worry: Is this the Big One?
Muslim and Arab Voices Against Bigotry
Since October 7, many Jews have felt isolated and have reported feeling as if they have no allies in the Muslim and Arab worlds. This is understandable. As Jews we are haunted by traumas of the past, but it’s important to remember that today there is no such thing as a monolithic Muslim or Arab world, any more than there is a monolithic Jewish one. Here are the thoughts of a few of the Muslims and Arabs who have been courageously speaking out against antisemitism and the October Hamas attack on Israel. These Moment interviews and excerpts from other media have been edited for length.
Accusing Israel of genocide is a perverse moral inversion
Of all the deplorable crimes ever conceived by the human mind, one stands alone in its utter depravity, as the very epitome of evil.