From the ABC, 10 Apr 2014:
Former foreign minister Bob [too-short-of-intellect-to-be-taken-seriously] Carr has hit out at what he calls the "pro-Israel lobby in Melbourne"... in his new book, Diary of a Foreign Minister.
"I found it very frustrating that we couldn't issue, for example, a routine expression of concern about ...blocks of housing for Israeli citizens going up on land that everyone regards as part of the future Palestinian state ..." he said.
[How constructive, Bob: take a 100-year-old conflict, and issue "routine" pronouncements pre-judging the resolution. Why is that "routine"? And who is "everyone"? - SL]
...The national chairman of the Australia-Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, Mark Leibler, has rejected Mr Carr's claims as "a figment of his imagination".
"Just unpick for a moment what he's saying. He's talking about the Jewish lobby, he's talking about a difference of opinion between him and the prime minister," Mr Leibler told Lateline.
"Why can't they have a difference of opinion on a matter related to Israeli policy?
"No, if there's a difference of opinion ... the prime minister has to be wrong because she's controlled by the Jewish lobby.
"How does the Jewish lobby control the prime minister? Through donations to the ALP and sending people to Israel. I mean, give me a break. Would anyone seriously accept that?"
Mr Leibler says he was able to raise concerns with Ms Gillard in the same way he raised them with Kevin Rudd, John Howard, Paul Keating, Bob Hawke and Malcolm Fraser.
"Julia Gillard is an independent-thinking woman. She can come to her own conclusions without being influenced by the Jewish lobby," he said.
He says the council's their lobbying of governments is no different to other community organisations.
"When we've got an issue which is a serious one, which needs to be raised, we haven't had problem in getting access to either ALP or Liberal prime ministers or foreign ministers and so it should be," he said.
"You know, any representative of a community organisation, if they've got something serious to say, they'll get the access."...
Other Carr complaints
Mr Carr's diary...includes tips on buying ties, complaints about business class flights which he likens to being locked in a slaving ship, and notes on the perfect breakfast and his obsessive exercise regime.
...Asked if he was being a "prima donna" because he complained about not flying first class...
"I think they [the complaints] add colour and authenticity to the book."
Asked "do you think that Australians will forgive you for presenting yourself as a dandy who thinks a lot about which tie he's going to wear?", Mr Carr replied:
"Yeah. I think self-parody and irony is the stuff of life. And I wanted the book to have that flavour....The flavour is me... Life is too short to be taken seriously...."
[...and also too short to take you seriously, Bob - SL]
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