Survey of Candidates in the Perth By-election

The Jewish Community Council of Western Australia Inc has now completed its survey of the opinions of candidates for the forthcoming by-election for the Perth Electorate, in relation to issues of interest to the community.

The following is a list of the candidates in alphabetical order. Ten of them responded to our questionnaire. Those in italics did not respond.

ARIELLI	Nicole	Animal Justice Party
BRITZA	Ian	Independent
COLLINS	Paul	Independent
DU PREEZ	Wesley	Liberal Democrats
GORMAN	Patrick	Australian Labor Party
GRAYDEN	Jim	Independent
HAMMOND	A	Science Party
HARFOUCHE	Gabriel	Australian People's Party
JOUBERT	Ellen	Australian Christians
MASON	Barry	Citizens Electoral Council*
MATHESON	Julie	Western Australia Party
MULLINGS	Ben	The Australian Mental Health Party
PERKS	Caroline	The Greens (WA)**
ROBINSON	Tony	ALA
SCOTT	Colin	Sustainable Australia

The responses received are available as follows:

• in this DropBox file;  and
• in this GoogleDrive file. 

Further information for voters:

*Citizens Electoral Council

Voters should be aware that the The Citizens Electoral Council of Australia is a minor political party in Australia affiliated with the international LaRouche Movement, led by American political extremist Lyndon LaRouche, who three times ran for President of the USA, and was sentenced in 1989 to 15 years in prison for scheming to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and deliberately defaulting on more than $30 million in loans from his supporters. In 2011, the Party's leader in Australia, Craig Isherwood published an article in its "New Citizen" entitled : “Defeat the British Crown’s Green Fascist Dictatorship” Under that banner headline, the Citizens Electoral Council presented a purported "indictment of the British Royal Family’s half-century long creation and personal direction of the world’s present “green” movement, as their chosen vehicle for global genocide."

**Greens Party

The Greens national policy on “Israel/Palestine” is anchored in a core resolution dated March 2010, which includes 

• their demand for the Australian government “to halt military cooperation and military trade with Israel”
• to “recognise the ongoing injustice that has been done to the Palestinian people and aim to rectify that injustice in a way that will allow both Palestinians and Israelis to live in peace”
• calls for “the establishment of an international commission under the auspices of the UN to effect a settlement of the conflict” and only then “peace negotiations facilitated by the commission leading to a schedule for the implementation of all the goals”
• calls for the deployment of “international” forces to protect Palestinians.

The Greens have never issued a condemnation of an act of Palestinian violence or terrorism but Greens Foreign Policy spokesman Sen. Scott Ludlam has made many statements including condemnations of Israel. Among Ludlam’s statements have been baseless and inflammatory accusations copying Palestinian propaganda, such as his false claim in October 2015 that “Israeli military forces have repeatedly stormed the holy site of the Al-Aqsa mosque.”

All Greens members of parliament also signed the strongly anti-Israel 2014 Canberra Declaration on Gaza.

In July 2014, amidst fighting between Israel and Hamas, the Greens National Council passed a resolution accusing Israel of waging war against civilians by putting “the might of its military force against the Palestinian people… this has not been proportionate to the Hamas rocket attacks.”

At its national conference in November 2015, the Greens passed a resolution formally recognising the State of Palestine “as a contribution to securing a negotiated two-state solution.”

Greens leader, Sen. Richard Di Natale, is on record as opposing Israel’s demand to be recognised as a Jewish state or homeland under the widely used formula “two states for two peoples”. As the left-wing website New Matilda reported: “Di Natale’s office [said that] the Senator supported a peaceful two-state solution. ‘The establishment of a “Jewish state” (as opposed to an “Israeli state”) is not conducive to this outcome, and Senator Di Natale did not intend for his comments to be construed as such, and this is not Australian Greens policy.'” In this, the Greens closely align with the position of the Palestinian Authority, which staunchly rejects recognising Israel as a Jewish homeland in any peace agreement.

In August 2014, during Israel’s Operation Protective Edge against Hamas, Greens Acting Leader Adam Bandt called on Australia to pressure the US to cut off arms supplies to Israel. “Australia cannot stand idly by while its ally arms one side of the conflict in Gaza,” said Mr Bandt in a press release. Bandt suggested Australia should suspend its own military cooperation with the United States as a form of coercion. “Australia could, for example, suspend the basing of US troops in Darwin until the United States pulls back from restocking the Israeli government and taking sides in the conflict,” Bandt said.

In March 2016, Sen. Ludlum attempted to push a motion to halt military cooperation and military trade with Israel, in a vote that coincided with the visit of former Israeli Defence Forces Chief of Staff Benny Gantz to Australia. Referring to Gantz’s role in Gaza conflicts, the news item on the attempted motion posted on the Greens website was titled “Don’t mention the alleged war crimes”.

A further issue in the Greens platform likely to concern many in Australia is its policy of removing clauses granting limited exemptions to religious organisations from anti-discrimination laws. This would likely impact significantly on Jewish schools and other communal institutions and concern has been expressed about this policy by Jewish community leaders.

Di Natale also controversially called for Australia to end its alliance with the US because of “the horrific consequences of US foreign policy.”

Our ABC: Dancing to terror’s tune

From The Spectator, 21 July 2018, by David Adler:


Staff Sergeant Aviv Levi, a platoon sergeant in the Givati Brigade, was shot and killed by a Hamas sniper on 21 July 2018.

If when you woke on the morning of Sunday 15 July, you made the error of watching the ABC television news bulletin, you would have seen that the lead item began: 

‘The Israeli military has launched a wave of airstrikes against dozens of militant targets in the Gaza Strip.’ The bulletin included video clips of bombs exploding buildings, narrated as Israel’s targets in Gaza, and went on to describe ‘the operation is one of Israel’s broadest since the 2014 war.’ 

Anyone not informed about events in the region could be forgiven for concluding Israel had just initiated a war and had done so with no clear provocation.

Omitted completely by the ABC was the critical contextual information that in the previous 24 hours Israeli citizens in the south of the country had been targets of over 170 rockets and mortars which in turn followed weeks of fire bombs delivered by kites, balloons and inflated condoms. These attacks were orchestrated against Israel by the proscribed terrorist organisations Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Hardly a trivial oversight.

The ABC did mention that three Israelis had been injured by a (singular) rocket in Sderot but failed to mention the sequence or anything of the scale and timeframe of the attacks against Israel. Or even who was to blame for their injuries.

Indeed, the ABC reporting was so biased and one-sided it could have been scripted by Hamas. 

Imagine, if you will, a meeting in the Hamas command-and-control centre which is actually located in the basement of Al-Shifa hospital – a gross example of terrorists using human shields. In the room made smoky by nagilas are large signs with slogans ‘Death to America’ and ‘Death to Israel’. The only way to enter the doorway is to walk on flags of the USA and Israel painted on the floor.

The purpose of this fictitious meeting is to draft instructions for the ABC in Australia. The meeting settles on a set of four instructions to guide the ABC for its news bulletins.

Firstly, don’t mention that Hamas and Islamic Jihad fired over 170 rockets and mortars into Israel in the preceding 24 hours during the Jewish Sabbath and don’t mention the hundreds of firebombs sent out of Gaza into Israel in the weeks prior.

Secondly, don’t mention that Hamas rockets deliberately aimed at residential areas hit a home, a children’s playground and a synagogue.

Thirdly, the opening statement of the news bulletin must refer to Israel having launched an attack without any reference to preceding attacks initiated by Hamas.

Fourthly, when video is shown on television for illustration, only show resultant destruction in Gaza and do not show any video evidence of destruction caused in Israel.

The set of instructions concludes by explaining how the right sort of publicity internationally is so important to ensure that foreign aid keeps pouring into Gaza and that the voters in Western countries allow their governments to hand over many millions of dollars of their taxes without too much objection. The ABC is thanked for its unwavering commitment and support and is assured that the billions in personal net wealth of Hamas leaders, such as Khaled Mashaal and Musa Abu Marzook, is not really fleeced from foreign aid.

Let me assure readers that the meeting alluded to above with the production of instructions from Hamas to the ABC did not occur. There was no need.

While the fictitious Hamas instructions to the ABC seem ridiculous, the reality is that the ABC of its own volition willingly fulfilled each and every one of them. To be fair, the ABC was not alone in providing reports which were skewed to distortion. There were some prominent international media outlets which portrayed a similar picture. Simon Plosker of the website Honest Reporting begins his report of 16 July with the words ‘it all began when Israel fired back’. He then goes on to cite examples from the UK, Australia, Ireland, US and Canada. The ABC features as the Australian example.

The ABC does deserve more vigorous scrutiny. In its anti-Israel bias it is a dreadful repeat offender. Former ABC Middle East correspondent Sophie McNeil attracted complaints of bias including selective editing of interviews. Michael Danby MP, perhaps in frustration, paid for advertisements to publicise what he identified as examples of selective reporting and bias by the ABC on issues affecting Israel. After Muslim academic Randa Abdel-Fatah ranted for minutes about the evils of Israel on Q&A, Greg Sheridan was repeatedly cut off when he tried to state an alternate view. Sharri Markson then made her assessment clear on 22 May this year, ‘we cannot pretend for a moment longer that the ABC is in any way impartial when it comes to the Middle East and Israel.’ The ABC has form, shameful form.

By being publicly funded the ABC is supposed to have a higher degree of accountability. Section 8 of the ABC Act requires reporting to be ‘accurate and impartial according to the recognised standards of objective journalism’. On the issue of Israel, the ABC scores F.

One can speculate as to causation. Is this an expression of anti-Semitism embedded in the ABC as Israel and Jewish identity are inseparable? Is this another example of the unholy alliance between the Left and Islam where breaches of normal civilised behaviours, in this case terrorism against Israel, are forgiven by the Left if the motivation is Islamic? Is it a lack of knowledge, understanding or negligence of those writing the copy for the ABC?

Whatever the answer, the effects of reports like that broadcast by the ABC last Sunday are dangerous. We have seen how desperate Hamas is for sympathetic media coverage, even pushing young children, women and disabled people into the front line to exploit any injuries or deaths.

By framing its reporting completely out of context, painting Hamas as a victim of Israeli bombing and omitting the preceding massive quantum of rockets, mortars and firebombs from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the ABC dances to the terrorists’ tune. The ABC and other media outlets which reported in a similar manner deliver exactly the sort of publicity Hamas craves and they therefore become, unintentionally or otherwise, facilitators of terror.

Russia, Israel and the Trump-Putin Summit

From AIJAC, 20 July 2018, by Sharyn Mittelman:

[At the] July 16 meeting in Helsinki between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ..., the two leaders were ...apparently able to discuss ...a common concern for the security of Israel, especially with respect to the current situation in southern Syria.  

At a joint press conference President Putin said in his remarks:

“Also, crushing terrorists in the southwest of Syria – the south of Syria – should be brought to the full compliance with the Treaty of 1974 about the separation of forces – about separation of forces of Israel and Syria.  This will bring peace to Golan Heights and bring a more peaceful relationship between Syria and Israel, and also to provide security of the state of Israel.

Mr. President paid special attention to the issue during today’s negotiations, and I would like to confirm that Russia is interested in this development, and this will act accordingly.  Thus far, we will make a step toward creating a lasting peace in compliance with the respective resolutions of Security Council, for instance, the Resolution 338.”

President Trump also discussed Israeli security in response to a question about Syria:

“We’ve worked with Israel long and hard for many years, many decades.  I think we’ve never — never has anyone, any country been closer than we are.  President Putin also is helping Israel.  And we both spoke with Bibi Netanyahu, and they would like to do certain things with respect to Syria having to do with the safety of Israel.  So in that respect, we absolutely would like to work in order to help Israel, and Israel will be working with us.  So both countries would work jointly....

(You can read the complete transcript here.)

... both the US and Russia are committed to Israel’s security on the Syrian border, including implementation of the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement which established a zone of separation and force limitation between Israel and Syria. 

Following the press conference, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu released a statement thanking both leaders:

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commends the abiding commitment of the US and President Donald Trump to the security of Israel, as expressed at the meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The friendship between Israel and the US has never been stronger.

 Prime Minister Netanyahu also very much appreciates the security coordination between Israel and Russia and the clear position expressed by President Putin regarding the need to uphold the 1974 Separation of Forces Agreement between Israel and Syria.”

While Israel’s close relationship with the US is well established, Israel’s growing diplomatic and military coordination with Russia is less well known.

Netanyahu was recently in Russia for a “private visit” where he watched the World Cup and met with President Putin.  During the meeting, Netanyahu reiterated the Israeli position that Iran must leave Syria and made the following remarks:

“It is clear that our focus is on Syria and Iran. Our view that Iran needs to leave Syria is well-known; it is not new to you.   Several hours ago a Syrian UAV penetrated Israel’s airspace. We shot it down and we will continue to take strong action against any trickle [of fire] and any infiltration into Israel’s airspace or territory. We expect that everyone will respect this sovereignty and that Syria will strictly abide by the [1974] Separation of Forces Agreement.  The cooperation between us is a central component in preventing a conflagration and deterioration of these and other situations; therefore, I would like to thank you for the opportunity to discuss these matters and, of course, all other issues. Truly, thank you.”

While Israel and Russia have had friendly relations since the end of the Cold War, Israeli engagement with Moscow has been taken to a new level since Russia entered the Syrian civil war in 2015 to back its client, the Assad regime.  To add complexity, the Assad regime has also been backed by Iran and its militias, including the Shi’ite Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah.

While Israel has had no desire to enter the Syrian civil war, it has provided humanitarian and medical aid to Syrians, and it remains determined to prevent a permanent Iranian presence in Syria – a red line has led to numerous reported Israeli strikes on Iranian bases and fighters in Syria.  Given that Russia is in a loose alliance with the Assad regime and Iran in Syria, Israeli coordination with Russia is necessary at times to avoid unintended conflict with a superpower.  Now that the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad appears to be cementing its victory in Syria, Israel is seeking to persuade Russia to rid Syria of Iranian influence, especially near its border.

Ultimately Israel understands that it is Russia largely calling the shots in Syria, as former US Ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro wrote in Haaretz:

“Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has to be given considerable credit for his ability to maintain a respectful dialogue with Putin over the past three years, enabling Putin to understand Israel’s security red lines in Syria and its determination to enforce them.

When Russia deployed its military to Syria in 2015, and the Israel-Russia dialogue began in earnest, I was still serving as U.S. Ambassador to Israel. I occasionally received inquiries from colleagues in Washington, some puzzled, others irritated, asking why Netanyahu was ‘cozying up’ to Putin at a time when Russia was killing Syrian civilians and engaging in aggression against Ukraine.

My answer was quite simple: Israel is a small regional power, and all of a sudden, it found that it had a superpower operating in its backyard. Under such circumstances, Israel had no choice but to develop and sustain a productive dialogue with Russia, to ensure that Russia would not do harm to Israel’s security or curtail its freedom of action, as it surely could if it wanted to.

I assured my colleagues that Netanyahu was not the least bit naive about who Putin was, and that the relationship he was building was utilitarian in nature, ensuring Israel would be able to act to defend its security in Syria. No more, no less.  I still believe that today. But the atmosphere in which Israel must navigate its superpower relationships is changing dramatically.”

While Israel’s desire for a good relationship with Russia is understandable, Russia’s interest in Israel’s security appears less clear.  Prof Hillel Frisch has attempted to explain it in an article titled “Why Russia Needs Israel” published by BESA.  He claims that President Putin seeks to create an alliance of minorities against the Sunni majority of the Middle East.  He writes:

“Moscow’s view is clear. The major threat both within and without Russia’s borders is Sunni Islam: within, because the overwhelming majority of Russian Muslims are Sunni; and without, because a Turkey led by a Sunni fundamentalist leader with imperial Ottoman ambitions poses a greater threat than Shiite Iran – especially as most Russian Muslims are not only Sunni but broadly related to Turkic ethnicity. Hence Putin’s determination to preserve the strategic relationship with Iran in Syria and beyond, and hence his perception of Israel’s regional geostrategic importance.  Israel understands the long-term sagacity of the Russian vision, but cannot allow it to be at the expense of its own short-term goals.

For Israel, the Russian vision is plausible only if it works to rid Syria of the Iranian presence, joins forces to topple its Islamist regime, and – until that goal is achieved – helps wean the Alawite regime in Damascus away from Tehran.”

However, Israel has its own interests which appear to differ from Russia in important respects. At the moment they include closer cooperation with its Sunni Arab neighbours who are concerned by Iran’s regional aggression and the prospect of it gaining nuclear weapons – especially Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Israel, to its credit, has so far been able to balance its close alliance with the United States, good relations with Russia and growing ties with the Sunni Arab states.  However, while Russia claims it is acting to distance Iran from the Israeli-Syrian border, Israeli military sources confirmed that arecent Syrian army campaign in the area of Daraa, near the border, saw cooperation between the Russians army, Syrian forces, Hezbollah, and pro-Iranian militias.  According to Syrian opposition sources, the operation included meetings between representatives of the Russian army and commanders of pro-Iranian Shi’ite militias, which were held in areas just 30 kilometres from the Israeli border, according to the Times of Israel.

Perhaps when dealing with Russia it is best to remember President Putin’s own words from his joint press conference with President Trump:

“As to who is to be believed and to who is not to be believed, you can trust no one, if you take this.  Where did you get this idea that President Trump trusts me or I trust him?  He defends the interests of the United States of America, and I do defend the interests of the Russian Federation.”

Perth by-election: responses to the Jewish Community UPDATE

Further to the earlier report on our Questionnaire to candidates in the Perth by-election, we have received an additional response to our questionnaire, from 

• ARIELLI, Nicole (Animal Justice Party)

The response has been added to the others and is available as follows:

• in this DropBox file;  and
• in this GoogleDrive file. 

Perth by-election: responses to the Jewish Community

Further to our Questionnaire to candidates in the Perth by-election, we have 7 replies to our questionnaire, from the following candidates (in alphabetical order):

• BRITZA, Ian (Independent)
• SCOTT, Colin (Sustainable Australia)
• GORMAN, Patrick (Australian Labor Party)
• HARFOUCHE, Gabriel (Australian People's Party)
• MULLINGS, Ben (The Australian Mental Health Party)
• ROBINSON, Tony (Australian Liberty Alliance)
• SCOTT, Colin (Sustainable Australia)

Their responses are available as follows:

• in this DropBox file;  and
• in this GoogleDrive file. 

Union left push for Israel ‘genocide’ motion: ‘They prefer to back a regime of murderous thugs’

From The Daily Telegraph, July 18, 2018, by  Frank Chung:

A SENIOR union official has broken ranks with his colleagues to speak out against an “anti-Semitic” push to condemn Israel for the “genocide” of Palestinians.

The resolution, which called on a Labor government to immediately recognise a Palestinian state, was passed overwhelmingly by the Left Caucus at the Australian Council of Trade Unions Congress in Brisbane on Monday afternoon.

The Left Caucus makes up roughly 400 of the estimated 1000 union delegates attending the three-day union meeting, which will set the scene for Labor’s upcoming National Conference in December.

Australian Services Union official Jeff Lapidos, who broke ranks to speak against the "anti-Israel, anti-Semitic" motion

“The motion itself condemned Israel for the ‘genocide’ of the Palestinian people and called on a Labor government to immediately recognise the Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders,” said Jeff Lapidos, tax branch secretary of the Australian Services Union.

The left and right factions met separately on Monday to put forward motions that would then be debated on the floor of the congress. ACTU members collectively represent an estimated two million Australian workers.

A delegate from the Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union put forward the anti-Israel motion, calling for it to be put direct to the ACTU executive to avoid debate on the floor, where it would be voted down by the right.

“They didn’t want a divisive debate,” Mr Lapidos said.

“He made it clear that the Right Caucus didn’t support the motion but the left had a majority at the ACTU executive, so the plan obviously is to discuss it behind closed doors and ram it through.

“I got up and spoke against it, that it was wrong and shouldn’t be supported. I spoke for a minute or two, someone else spoke in favour for 30 seconds, then it was passed by an overwhelming majority by a vote of the hands.”

Sally McManus, who spoke for the motion and vigorously supports the anti-Israel BDS campaign

In 2011, ACTU secretary Sally McManus said she vigorously supported the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel “to end the violation of human rights and to campaign against ­Israel as a means of peaceful resistance”.

Mr Lapidos stressed he was speaking in his personal capacity and not on behalf of the ASU, which unlike more militant left-wing unions does not take positions on international affairs.

He said the motion was effectively a “vote of no confidence” in the Labor Party’s current policy on Israel “which is to be even-handed”, and was the only motion that had to be “debated behind closed doors”.

“For reasons I don’t fully understand, the left in Australia has developed a very anti-Israel, anti-Semitic passion,” he said. “Instead of backing the only democracy in the Middle East, they prefer to back a regime of murderous thugs. That’s what Hamas is, that’s what the Palestinian Authority is.”

Mr Lapidos said it was a “big distraction for the ACTU”. “Most ordinary working people aren’t interested in the socialist revolution,” he said. “They want a better outcome for them and their families.”

An AMWU spokesman said, “It would be inappropriate for us to distribute any motions before they have been debated and voted on at the ACTU executive or congress. We don’t intend to make any further comments about this matter.”

Peter Wertheim co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said accusing Israel of genocide was an “outrageous lie, in fact an inversion of the truth”.

“It is Palestinian terror groups such as Hamas, which has a charter pledging that it will ‘obliterate’ Israel, who adopt the cowardly practice of hiding behind Palestinian civilians in Gaza while targeting Israeli civilian population centres with thousands of rockets and mortars, and burning hundreds of hectares of crops and nature reserves in Israel with incendiary devices,” he said.

“The Palestinian population in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza has increased fivefold since Israel was established, but if the Palestinian leadership had their way, the Jewish population of the country would be evicted or exterminated.

“This is why Israel defends its people so determinedly. Israel has offered the Palestinians statehood on at least three occasions, but the Palestinian leadership gives far higher priority to destroying the Jewish State than establishing a Palestinian State.

“If the ALP Left really champions human rights, as it claims, it should come to grips with these realities instead of indulging in outdated polemics.”

Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong distanced the party from the motion. “This is a motion before the ACTU Conference — it is a matter for them and has no relationship to the position of the Federal Parliamentary Labor Party,” a spokesman said.

“Labor has long supported, and continues to support, a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We support Israel’s right to exist within secure and recognised boundaries and the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.

“A just two-state resolution will require recognising the right of both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples to live in peace and security.

“Labor, whether in government or opposition, will continue to work with the parties to the conflict, with our allies, and with the wider international community to achieve a peaceful resolution of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.”

The ACTU declined to comment.

Perth by-election: Jewish Community Issues

On behalf of the Jewish Community Council of Western Australia, I've written to the following candidates for the forthcoming by-election for the Federal Electorate of Perth as follows.

I'll shortly publish the responses we receive, so that you can see how your candidates stand on these issues.

Candidates for the Perth by-election

Ballot position	Candidate name	Party ballot name
1	MATHESON, Julie
2	ARIELLI, Nicole	Animal Justice Party
3	GRAYDEN, Jim	Independent
4	DU PREEZ, Wesley	Liberal Democrats
5	SCOTT, Colin	Sustainable Australia
6	MULLINGS, Ben	The Australian Mental Health Party
7	GORMAN, Patrick	Australian Labor Party
8	HARFOUCHE, Gabriel	Australian People's Party
9	COLLINS, Paul	Independent
10	PERKS, Caroline	The Greens (WA)
11	HAMMOND, A	Science Party
12	JOUBERT, Ellen	Australian Christians
13	ROBINSON, Tony	ALA
14	BRITZA, Ian	Independent
15	MASON, Barry	Citizens Electoral Council

LETTER TO CANDIDATES:

Parliamentary Candidate for the Perth Electorate,

Dear (candidate)

Re: 2018 By-election Questionnaire

As the elected representative of the WA Jewish Community, through our 30+ constituent community organisations, we are pleased to provide the questionnaire appended below, addressing some of the issues that are important to us.

As a candidate for the Perth Electorate, which includes very many members of our community, we invite you to respond with your replies or your comments, which we will disseminate to the community for you. We are most interested in your personal views, as an indicator of your prospective stance within your Party, should the Party policies on these issues be subject to debate within the Party.

We also invite you to discuss any of these issues, by phoning me at your convenience. If you prefer, we’ll be pleased to meet with you.

Your faithfully,

Steve Lieblich

Director of Public Affairs, Jewish Community Council of WA

1.  Safety and Security

The Jewish Community is increasingly concerned about the safety and security of community members and assets. (Refer to Appendix 1 – Jewish Community Security.)

Do you envisage any changes to government support and funding of Jewish-community security? If so, what changes?

2.  Private Schools

Do you envisage making changes to government funding of our Private Schools? If so, what changes?

3.  Religious Freedom

Observance of the Jewish religion and customs include the ritual circumcision (“brit milah”) of male children at the age of 8 days and observing Jewish dietary laws (eating food that is rabbinically-certified as kosher). Do you envisage making changes to any of the following? If so, what changes?

·         regulation of brit milah

·         regulation of kosher slaughter (“shechita”)

·         regulation of kosher certification

4.  Israel

Our community overwhelmingly supports Zionism as the modern political movement for the self-determination of the Jewish people; and Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people.

Do you support those notions?

Do you support the strengthening and enhancement of government-to-government and people-to-people ties between Australians and Israelis at all levels, including trade/economic, academic and cultural ties?

Do you consider Australian-media reporting on Israel to be fair and unbiased? If not, would you take any specific action or make any statements to promote fair, unbiased reporting?

Arab leaders have created a culture and a system of payments that incites hatred and motivates terrorism. (Refer to Appendix 2 – Incitement to Terror.) About a third of the Palestinian Authority’s budget is financed by foreign aid. Do you support Australia making its aid to the PA contingent on cessation of such support for terrorism?

There have been calls for unilateral recognition of a “Palestinian” State that does not yet exist. Such moves will prolong the conflict and would be contrary to the interests of all people in the region, above all the Arabs (Refer to Appendix 3 – Unilateral Recognition of a “Palestinian State”.) Will you take any action to oppose Australian recognition of such a unilateral declaration?

5.  Global Antisemitism

There is a global campaign to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist, including a “Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which is aimed at destroying Israel, in the guise of promoting peace between Israel and its neighbours. (Refer to Appendix 4 – The BDS Campaign.)

Will you take any action or make any statements to stop this hateful campaign in Australia and globally?

6.  Antisemitism in Australia

Our community has a high degree of concern about the influence, in Australia, of anti-Israel and anti-Zionist movements such as the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign and other forms of de-legitimisation of Israel and the cover they provide for anti-Semites to express their hatred.

Do you envisage taking any action in relation to any of the following? If so, what action?

·         Legal protections against promotion of racial hatred and of racially-motivated violence.  

·         The activities of radical preachers in schools and religious institutions.

·         Public and school education campaigns against violent and/or extremist ideologies.

7.  Relations with Iran

Iran continues to contravene its international obligations; extend its threatening military posture in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere; and remains the greatest state sponsor of global terrorism. The USA has withdrawn from the JCPOA and is apparently moving to declaring a list of verifiable demands for Iran to demonstrate its good faith in the community of nations. (Refer to Appendix 5 – Iran: a Rogue State.)

Will you support a USA-led diplomatic effort to prevent Iran from ever gaining access to nuclear weapons, to desist from terrorism and cease support for foreign terrorists and militias? 

Appendix 1 – Jewish Community Security

Security costs include one-off capital costs to harden buildings against potential attacks as well as the recurring operations costs of monitoring systems and guards. The latter are a growing concern and drain on our communal resources.

Our communal dollars are needed for a myriad of worthy causes, such as youth programs, education, aged care and welfare, but we are finding it increasingly difficult to give physical security the priority it requires. We currently receive government funding assistance towards the security costs of Jewish day schools.

Appendix 2 – Incitement to Terror

Arab terror attacks in Israel result from explicit calls by the Arab leaders to “spill blood.” Arab children have been taught to idolize the murder of Jews as a sacred value and to regard their own death in this “jihad” as the pinnacle of their aspirations.

The PA incites antisemitism, glorifies martyrdom and encourages terrorism, by awarding generous lifetime pensions to terrorists and their families, on a sliding scale – the more Jews they kill, the higher the pension.

An apprehended terrorist told interrogators in Israel last year: "I've accumulated large debts... I decided to do something serious, such as committing murder... and then my family will get money (i.e., from the PA) and will live comfortably... "

In June 2017, PA District Governor, Laila Ghannam, praised the "Martyrdom " of a 17-year-old terrorist who was shot and killed while throwing Molotov cocktails at Jewish civilians, praising the fact that rather than obtaining matriculation this summer, the terrorist "achieved the highest Martyrdom".

The PA’s incessant incitement perpetuates the conflict and grooms the next generation of terrorists by naming streets, public squares and even children's soccer tournaments after terrorists. In May 2017, the PA inaugurated the Martyr Dalal Mughrabi Center, named after a terrorist leader in the murder of 37 civilians including 12 children, in the Nablus district. In April 2017, Safa, the daughter of Abdallah Barghouti, a terrorist who prepared explosives for attacks in which 67 were murdered, read a letter to her father at her school assembly saying: "Father, I am very proud of you".

The apathy shown by the international community to this death-culture, and the unbalanced manner in which subsequent violence is often treated by the international media is doing long-term, and possibly irrevocable, harm to the Arabs themselves, more than to anyone. Yet there is little international opposition to the exploitation of Arab children.

Appendix 3 – Unilateral Recognition of a “Palestinian State”

Proposals to unilaterally recognise a “Palestinian state” will encourage further Arab terrorism, prolong the conflict, and would be contrary to the interests of all people in the region, above all the Arabs.

Another Arab state formed outside the framework of a peace treaty with Israel will almost certainly be in a de facto state of war with Israel, and a platform for intensified attacks on Israel. Indeed, its legitimacy with the Arabs of the region will be defined by its commitment to the eventual destruction of the Jewish state.

Israel’s Arab neighbours, since the late 1800s, have rejected peaceful coexistence with Jewish immigrants to the region seeking self-determination in the ancient Jewish homeland. The first proposal for a “two-state solution” was the 1935 British Peel Commission Report, in response to Arab pogroms and riots in the 1920s and 1930s. The Arabs refused that proposal to share the land then, and have continually refused to do so since then, through to the most recent generous offers of statehood in 2000, 2001 and 2008.

This century of Arab intransigence is apparently motivated by a persistent rejection of Israel's right to exist, and an incalcitrant attempt to destroy the re-established Jewish state by insisting on a "right of return" to Israel, for the uniquely-defined “Palestinian refugees”, which includes not only those who lost their homes in war, but also their millions of descendants, even though they may have never set foot in Israel and are settled elsewhere. 

The Arabs of the region don’t have the fundamental elements of statehood. Its borders are not defined, and it doesn’t have a central government with a monopoly on military force. The government is split between Hamas and the PA.

In Gaza, Hamas brutally seized power in 2005, and holds it by violent intimidation. It is globally recognized as a terrorist entity with an open objective of genocide. Mahmoud Abbas, the purported President of the proposed “Palestinian State” dare not visit Gaza for fear of his life.

In Judea and Samaria, Abbas who rules the Palestinian Authority, is in the 14th year of his 4-year term. While he feigns statesmanship globally, he leads a regime with the same genocidal objectives as that of Hamas.

Rather than negotiating a peaceful resolution to the conflict with Israel, the PA has focused on promoting recognition of their non-existent “state” from as many governments and international organisations as possible. This avoids having to reconcile themselves to living peacefully with a neighbouring Jewish state and making the compromises necessary for genuine peace. Regretfully, some commentators in Australia have fallen for this ploy.

Supporting unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state rewards and encourages the most destructive Arab tactics, to the detriment of the future of all people in the region. People of good will should be urging the Arabs to negotiate in good faith with Israel, and to genuinely accept Israel's right to exist, which is the only way to achieve peace. Rewarding them for inciting hatred and violence, and for refusing to negotiate, only makes peace more distant.

Appendix 4 – The BDS Campaign

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign is a product of the NGO Forum held in parallel to the 2001 UN World Conference against Racism in Durban, South Africa, which was marked by repeated expressions of naked anti-Semitism and condemned as such. The declaration established the “Durban Strategy”, promoting “a policy of complete and total isolation of Israel, the imposition of comprehensive sanctions and embargoes, [and] the cessation of all links (diplomatic, economic, social, aid, military cooperation and training) between all states and Israel”.

In deliberately drawing a false parallel to South African apartheid and promoting a campaign like that, which eventually led to the downfall of that despicable system, the “Durban Strategy” declared that “Israel should be subject to the same kind of attack, leading to the same kind of result.”

Appendix 5 – Iran: a Rogue State

Civil wars in Iraq and Syria have fundamentally changed the Islamic Republic of Iran. They have become arenas for a new militant Shi’ite solidarity that has crossed the Arab-Persian divide: Iranian-led, non-Iranian militias, thousands strong, now fight in foreign lands from Yemen to Lebanon. The Islamic Republic now resembles the Soviet Union of 1979: a police state, incapable of reforming itself while drowning in corruption, expanding abroad to protect the pseudo-theocratic, tyrannical regime.

A major point of contention between the U.S. which has now withdrawn from the JCPOA, and Europe (and to a lesser extent Australia), is how to remediate the sunset clauses of the JCPOA, by which critical restrictions on the Iranian nuclear program on expire on a preset schedule.

Recent intelligence gained from a secret Iranian warehouse shows that the scope of Iran’s weaponization program was likely far greater than suspected. It indicates that Iran sought to preserve its ability to weaponize for the indefinite future. This has shattered a core assumption that Tehran would have neither the intention nor the capability to build a nuclear explosive device or affix a nuclear warhead to a delivery vehicle.  Given that the JCPOA sunset clauses would allow Iran to build an industrial-size enrichment program and shrink its breakout time from one year to less than a few weeks, it’s now imperative that the JCPOA is replaced.