Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Jews blamed for Greens election drubbing

New Matilda investigates the impact on the New South Wales election of Greens support for the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. The investigative report totally ignores the single most critical aspect of the controversy: it is appropriate for neither the Marrickville council nor aspiring state politicians to become involved in international issues.

The New Matilda investigation nonetheless specifically targets Jews as contributing to the Greens' election failure:
Jamie Parker revealed to New Matilda the extent of the hatred directed at him during the campaign due to the Greens BDS policy. He had countless letters sent to him calling him a Nazi and Jew hater. His car was vandalised and campaign signs spray-painted with swastikas. He received death threats and some abusers said they knew where he lived. "One letter said I wanted to turn Balmain power station into a gas chamber and the light rail would take people there", Parker tells me. "Lefty Jews told me that you can’t be surprised if extreme people do extreme things but they wouldn’t come out in public and condemn it." He was appalled.

When the Murdoch press editor David Penberthy wrote that, "[Fiona] Byrne’s been busy advocating a polite modern rendering of Kristallnacht in the Inner West", Parker hoped progressive Jews he knew would condemn the offensive comparison. They did not. "These Jews provide cover for extreme actions if they occur. If there’s a sniff of you being critical of Israel, such Jews will attack you and cut you loose." BDS simply made many Jewish people unreasonable and extremely upset, Jews told Parker.

Parker says that the reaction of the Zionist lobby and local Jewish community during the election has revealed that they are willing to allow smears and violent actions against the Greens. Parker, who has spent years working on collaborative projects between local Jews and Palestinians, is now fed up with what he sees as Jewish silence. Local Jewish leaders have contacted him since Saturday to try and repair the damage but they still refuse to apologise for aggressive Jewish behaviour.
How about Greens apologising for abject stupidity in attempting to make BDS an issue?

5 Comments:

Anonymous Dan Lewis said...

This is exactly the sort of unsourced, biased and shameful tripe we've come to expect from Antony Loewenstein and clearly New Matilda had hit the bottom of the barrel and are now looking under the barrel for their material.

From the article: "Local Jewish leaders have contacted him since Saturday to try and repair the damage but they still refuse to apologise for aggressive Jewish behaviour. "

What exactly are they supposed to apologise for, Antony?

Is there any actual evidence (as opposed to Loewenstein's fantasy) that any of these events - if they actually happened - were perpetrated by Jews?

Were the "Countless letters" (which I am sure could have been counted, denying Loewenstein the opportunity for hyperbole) signed by Jewish people? Or were they merely pissed off Marrickville ratepayers? Who cares. Let's blame the Jews. All of them.

Apparently signs were covered in swastikas. I can't think of many Jewish people who would do that. Is Antony sure it wasn't in fact a sign of support for these policies, by local Nazi sympathizers? There aren't even that many Jewish people living in the area. Again, let's not let facts or evidence get in the way of a bit of Jew-bashing, eh? Clearly it was the local Jewish Spraypaint Gang.

I wonder if readers are aware that Fiona Byrne was caught vandalising political posters. Hypocrite much?

As for these "Death threats", give me a break.

Antony himself has been whinging for years about all the "Death threats" he claims to receive. Yet has he ever required police protection? Of course not. I doubt he's even mentioned it to them.

It's a publicity/sympathy stunt only. Jews don't issue Fatwas and nobody could possibly be in any danger for picking on the Jews. Antony of all people would know that.

So was the fact the Greens got canned in every other electorate also part of the Jewish conspiracy? Or is it just possible, that people can see how worthless and destructive the Greens are? Oh no. Antony will have us convinced it was all a scary Zionist plot of doom....

Bottom line: New Matilda is happy to publish completely unsubstantiated rumours by a writer well known for writing dishonest and error-filled pieces vilifying Israel and the Jewish community.

5:12 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why are Jewish leaders supposed to apologise for the actions of some other people who may or may not be Jewish?

Isn't this collective punishment?

Fiona Byrne chose to vilify one and only one country. The one and only country in the world that happens to have a Jewish majority. She chose to advocate the exact same measure, boycotts, that has been used to attack Jews throughout history.

Now anti-semites are using Fiona Byrne's actions as an excuse to attack the entire Jewish community.

Why am I not surprised?

The fact that the Greens didn't disendorse her is a disgrace. It would be as bad as if the Liberals hadn't disendorsed Hanson.

6:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

New Matilda. The poor man's Crikey.

7:38 PM  
Anonymous Dan Lewis said...

Vexnews has more about this filth.

12:37 PM  
Anonymous Gerry Gee said...

New Matilda wants to emasculate Jews in the same way as the Nazis.

They are a disgrace.

7:05 PM  

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