Di Natale attacks Peres
The leader of the Greens Senator Richard Di Natale has told the Australian senate his views of the political life of Shimon Peres, a former Israeli president who died recently at 93.
Richard di Natale
Di Natale said: “Leaving aside the astonishing hypocrisy of the coalition, who have consistently denied leave on foreign policy motions and yet seek to introduce one today, it is important to put on the record that Shimon Peres has been described as an architect of Israel’s nuclear weapons program, which to this day remains outside the scrutiny of the International Atomic Energy Agency; that he was the father of the settler movement, which involves the confiscation of large swathes of Palestinian land; and that in 1996 he oversaw Operation Grapes of Wrath, which involved the death of 154 civilians in Lebanon and involved the shelling of a United Nations compound, which killed 106 sheltering civilians. While he was awarded a Nobel peace prize in 1994, members of that committee have expressed regret that the prize could not be recalled on the basis of the actions that followed.”
Federal Labor MP Michael Danby has slammed Di Natale’s remarks saying: “Yesterday in the Senate, the leader of the green political party Richard Di Natale, to his shame, denigrated the recently deceased President of Israel, Shimon Peres. Danby said “the Green Party boss again showed his total insensitivity and his hatred of a Jewish State”
Michael Danby
“It was unprecedented for the head of a political party to attack the recently deceased head of state who was known for values of peace and reconciliation with which the fake Green party ostensibly identifies.” Di Natale’s attack on Peres came after a non-partisan resolution in the senate lauding Peres’ lifetime achievements. The Green Party’s hypocrisy in criticizing Shimon Peres shows once again why any Australian Jewish citizen cannot support that extremist political party that singles out Israel for disdain. Not a word about Peres’ moves for reconciliation between Israelis and Palestinian, his support for a two state solution and his futuristic moves to engage Israel with the Arab world through technology and science were even noted by the deeply ignorant leader of the Australian Green Party that has long left environmentalism behind as its main concern and replaced it with extremist attacks on Israel and the West. Danby said “Di Natale attacked Peres’ role 50 years ago in Israel acquiring nuclear technology – a failsafe for the Jewish State given the near extermination of the Jewish people during the Shoah which was understood by most reasonable people.” In his Senate attack Di Natalie cited other partisans who said Peres’ noble peace prize should have been cancelled because of a military operation in Lebanon when he was leader just after Rabin’s murder.
Danby said, “None of the green party had made such violent denunciations over the hundreds of thousands of civilians murdered in Syria, again emphasising their blinded hypocrisy.” He continued, “This small rotten speech is an insight into the mentality of this group and shows yet again why it was so important to defeat them in Melbourne Ports and elsewhere at the recent election
Danby concluded: “Young people who have been attracted to the Green party’s faux environmentalism should see their environmental policies as merely a cover for a hateful attack on Israel’s widely mourned President. Although the Greens party may have begun with a strong environmental idealistic focus, this shameful speech shows once again that the Green party has today morphed into a party of far left extremists who are unfit for the support of those with any idealism.”
The Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council executive director Dr Colin Rubenstein commented: “With his interjection during the condolence motion for Shimon Peres, Richard Di Natale has put his pathetic misunderstanding of world affairs on show and disgraced his office as leader of an Australian political party.
Di Natale showed his utter disregard for Israel’s need for security in a fraught environment and chose to completely ignore Shimon Peres’ many celebrated achievements as a peacemaker.
It says volumes about the schism between The Greens and decency that representatives of 70 nations attended Shimon Peres’ funeral and genuine political leaders lined up to praise him.”
The Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Robert Goot and executive director Peter Wertheim issued a joint statement saying: “The late Shimon Peres was a world-renowned statesman, as was attested to by the eloquent eulogies at his funeral by most of the world’s leading political figures, including Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
Shimon Peres’s passing also created a rare moment of warmth and civility between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders, which is further testament to the greatness of Peres and his ability to unify, both in life and in death.
Unlike Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas, who said Peres’s death is ‘a heavy loss for all humanity and for peace in the region’, Senator di Natale could find not a single positive thing to say on Peres’s passing. The Senator’s graceless criticisms of Shimon Peres shortly after his passing reflect poorly on himself and the Australian Greens, and suggest that their leader is a political captive of the extremists in his party.”
What a pathetic and hypocritical statement by the Green’s leader. He continues to label all who disagree with him as bigots and racists yet his bigotry and racism towards the Jews seems to go unchallenged by the mainstream media. One should ask Di Natale where would he encourage gays and lesbians in the middle east to live, I’m sure, if he knew anything, he would suggest Israel, the very nation he hates so much — HYPOCRASY.
Well Samuel at least the Jewish victimhood is real and unlike Palestinian victimhood not totally self inflicted!
Facts are facts, and history is history, Samuel Terry. So, don’t really understand your comment to Elon Issac (sic), although got the nasty bit.
What a pathetic party the Greens are degenerating into since Bob Brown’s departure. Di Natale as leader cements publicly their anti-Israel/anti-Jewish bias with his interjection and speech on Peres. It was disgusting. How light-weight and lacking in real historical perspective he is, as are so many of his cohorts. They should stick to saving trees, a worthwhile affair in all seriousness, and one that doesn’t require too much brain effort as far as human events are concerned. They are wasting seats in our parliament.
What would you expect from the Watermelon Party who are the embodiment of regressive left hatred of the west.
Nothing to expect from this bunch of loonie lefties and their leader. I always put them last in any electoral ballot, including local elections.
Jews who support them are just like the stupid Western intellectuals, who supported the USSR during the second half of the 20th century, while it was persecuting Russian Jewry, sponsoring terror and arming Israel’s enemies.
Israel and the Jewish people have passed caring what the Socialist Left have to say about Israel. Di Natali and his kind can wallow in their ignorance and their hate. We the Jewish people have the capabapility and intelligence to grow, prosper and lead the world in science, electronics, medicine, renewable energy and so much more. If Israel indeed has Nuclear weapons its because we have learned at great cost over 2000 years that Never again means exactly that! We had to rely on the mercy of others to survive and history has taught us to rise above those who hate us. Di Natali and the Greens will be nothing but a brown stain of crap on the pages of Australian History. Am Yisrael Chai!
No single Jewish human being who identifies as Jewish can now see the Greens as anything else but our enemy.
The time for equivocation if ever existed, is now well and truly over.
All Jewish people active in politics should do whatever it takes to directly oppose The Greens wherever and whenever they seek election.
Di Natale knows nothing about a fight for survival. He’s made repeated statements on foreign policy that again and again demonstrate a lack of contextual understanding. A radical suggestion, if I may? Should 100 jews join the Green Party and get involved that will be enough to help the party better understand the wider world. To discount his entire party would be short-sighted. All advanced democracies need politicians who put the environment, global warming, food safety, air pollution, marine life and animal rights higher op the agenda. We need a “green party” to work, so join or let your kids join and let them help build policies that make contextual sense. We need real answers and Di Natale is not the man.
I can see the next Key Note speaker for Hadassah Australia already being lined up >
Well said Michael Danby once again showing you are a lone wolf amongst Jewish politicians here in Australia with the moral courage to speak up !
The Greens leader therefore denounces the Australian -USA alliance which is based on unfortunately a Nuclear Deterrant aspect as China India Pakistan and North Korea are Nuclear Powers .
How will Australia be protected in the Reality of this world .
Dinatale ignores therefore the horrific historical truth that the Jews were Genocided in Europe because they were without defence as were Slavic people Russian Prisoners of War Jehovahs Witnesses Gay People Gypsies .The numbers are Six million Jews Tens of millions of Slavs and millions of other innocents .
They had no Defense and Nazi Germany was seeking and had Wonder Weapons including a Heavy Water Plant in Norway that the Nazi Scientists wanted to transport to Berlin .
Fortunately it was blown up by Norwegian Partisans with heavy loss of civilians on a ferry .
Di Natale is dangerously naive and reveals an immense anti-Jewish bias and factual ignorance as the Jews were threatened y Azzam Pasha head of the Arab Leaguewith a war of extermination and a momentous massacre like the Mongolian Massacres .
Dinatale ought resign immediately for bias to a extreme degree against the Jewish people and ignorance endangering Australia’s Sovereignty .
@Elon Issac: Now, in the 21st Century, your victimhood is wearing a little thin..
Regards