Cacophonous chorus

The theme songs are similar when emanating from political pontificators, international bodies, media mavens or off-key self-loathers.

No other country and its supporters are subjected to such a constant barrage of bombastic bullying.

No other movement championing sovereignty for a hitherto exiled and ethnically cleansed people is challenged as to its legitimacy.

The chorus of falsehoods, slurs, slanders and revisionist rhapsodies continues unabated. Its inevitable toxic symptoms target Jews on every continent and threaten their safety and welfare.

This is borne out by the reported remarks of Jeremy Liebler, President of the Australian Zionist Federation, to YNet News. He confirmed that “there have never been worse times for Jews in Australia post 7 October which has seen a 700% in hate crimes.”

Political inaction and inertia combined with a continuing chorus of anti-Israel condemnations fuels a growing conflagration that threatens to spread with uncontrolled consequences.

A bipartisan political policy that once characterized Australia’s voting record at the United Nations has been well and truly shattered and abandoned. Adopting the extreme gospel of the left, now so beloved by all those who find Israel’s every action deplorable, Australia finds itself aligned with Israel & Jew-haters and the world’s worst human rights abusers. A predictable increase in domestic hate against Jews and Zionists (Jewish & Christian) is the inevitable corollary of cozying up to these scum bags and joining in the chorus of delegitimization.

Lining up on the Wong side may play well in constituencies where jihadist supporters are in the majority, but in the long run, it is sowing the seeds of a scourge that Jews are all too aware of from previous generations.

The latest manifestation of this blinkered thinking is the announcement that the Australian Government has approved sending an extra eleven million dollars of what it terms “lifesaving humanitarian aid” to Gaza. Since October 2023, Australian taxpayers have already provided 125 million dollars. It is a proven reality that Hamas and its terrorist friends and allies have hijacked most of the international aid sent to Gaza. The general Gaza population is deprived while terror leaders and terrorists and their families are well provided for thanks to the generosity of the Australian taxpayers and other such duped donors. This, of course, is an intentional strategy because what can be better than displaying deprived women and children to the world media?

True to their obsession with Israel blaming and turning a blind eye to terrorists and their enablers, dubious decision-makers in Canberra, Wellington and elsewhere continue to shovel millions of citizens’ money into a bottomless bucket of corruption and deception.

UNRWA schools continue to teach incitement and hate against Israel & Jews. Despite everything, taxpayers’ dollars continue to be sent to fund the indoctrination of the next generation of jihadist warriors.

Is it a weird coincidence or perhaps some sort of divine message that two people with the surname Albanese should be up for re-election or re-appointment at the same time?

Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the “occupied Palestinian territories”, is due to have her appointment renewed. She has a track record of the most vicious and malicious anti-Israel diatribes imaginable. Her term of office has been marked by a continual stream of invective and denunciations, all aimed at sanctioning the Jewish State.

Her performance is to be expected given the fact that she is employed by a corrupt and largely discredited organization which is controlled by a morally deficient majority of nations, In addition, her job title reveals the real objective, which is to denounce and defame Israel. “Palestinian occupied territories” is a purely false piece of fiction, and the fact that the UN feels it is necessary to have someone in charge of such a title exposes their real agenda.

Logic should dictate that Francesca Albanese is sacked and her responsibilities abolished.

What will most likely happen is that she will be re-appointed, accompanied by hymns of praise for her zeal in demonizing a fellow UN member nation. If by some miracle, she throws in the towel, her successor will no doubt be of equal toxicity.

Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, also faces re-appointment or dismissal.

His animosity towards Israel is certainly not as crude as his namesake’s at the UN and is rooted more in the dogma of the hard left which sees the Jewish return of sovereignty as a colonialist enterprise. Needing to placate a growing Islamist electorate and succumbing to a prevalent socialist bias against Jewish nationalism, Albanese is perfectly poised to deliver condemnations against Israel’s war on terror and barbarity.

If one is not prepared to fully confront terrorists and instead prefers high-sounding rhetoric, there is no chance that Israel’s actions will be supported. The end result is a rapid emboldening of hate which has already occurred since 7 October 2023.

SKY News Australia reported that the Prime Minister has failed to commit to a single recommendation from the recent antisemitism summit. This does not bode well for post-election action, especially if the Labor Party is returned to power.

For Australian Jews, the most worrying prospect is a coalition of red and green. The Greens are inherently anti-Israel,  and their manifesto if carried out would put the Government on a par with the Irish haters. A coalition of this type would doom not only Australia – Israel relationships but also spell acute danger for the future of Jews in Australia.

Francesca and Anthony Albanese as well as all who vote at the UN against Israel should take heed of the wise words of the former Paraguay President who this week addressed the antisemitism conference in Israel.

“Silence about antisemitism and anti Israel animus is complicity. The treatment of the Jewish People has led to further evil throughout history. Treatment of the Jews has been a moral thermometer of history. Consequently there were moments in history when silence is not neutrality but complicity. I decry double standards against the State of Israel such as those denying the Jewish State the right to exist or defend itself. Telling the only Jewish State whether or not it could have its government in Jerusalem is not diplomacy, it is antisemitism.”

What a refreshing breath of honesty and truth and a direct contrast to the fetid outpouring of denunciations from all those who condemn Israel at each and every opportunity.

Compare this with the pitiful self-loathing of those who prefer to fraternize with supporters of terror groups. An honourary associate professor of philosophy and the son of Holocaust survivors addressed a pro-Palestinian meeting at the University of Technology in Sydney. His denunciations of Israel solicited enthusiastic applause, especially when he proclaimed, “our duty is to make Jews uncomfortable.”

It is hardly possible to sink lower when such a person professing to be Jewish can proudly parrot such breast-beating blather. Instead of making terror supporters and murderers of babies uncomfortable, this individual prefers to cozy up to the perpetrators’ supporters in order to make the surviving victims uncomfortable.

With amazement and some degree of amusement, I read an op-ed in the Jerusalem Post which asserted that “under Keir Starmer, Britain is a friend of Israel.”  Once I realized that the writer was a UK Member of Parliament and Chairman of the Labour Friends of Israel, all became clearer.

One has to admit that after Jeremy Corbyn, any leader of the party would most probably be an improvement. The UK Prime Minister is undoubtedly more evenly balanced in his attitudes towards Israel, but unfortunately, he still has to contend with an underlying anti-Israel malaise among the substantial left wing of his party. This presents him with a delicate balancing act whereby any positive remark needs to be countered with a contra outburst from one of his ministers or officials.

Thus, it is no surprise that during question time in the Commons this week, Foreign Secretary Lammy bleated again about “illegal settlements.”

Lammy said: “I condemn categorically the development of settlements which are illegal under international law, settlements do not offer security to Israel or to Palestinians, and I also condemn calls to annex the West Bank which would lead only to violence and jeopardise prospects for a Palestinian state.

“I’m clear with Israeli counterparts that settlement expansion must stop.”

The real threat to security is the creation of yet another terror-facilitating state. Those who continue to ignore Israel’s undoubted legal claim to Judea and Samaria need to update their repertoire of discredited lyrics if they want to be hailed as true friends.

Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.