The Book Salesman
The president of The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has said that former Foreign Minister Bob Carr’s comments on a Jewish lobby “help to sell books but bear no relationship to reality”.
Robert Goot
Responding to former foreign Minister Carr’s claims that “the Israel lobby in Melbourne” exercised “extraordinary influence at an unhealthy level”, the President of the ECAJ, Robert Goot, said: “These claims border on conspiracy theories which make for salacious gossip and help to sell books but bear no relationship to reality.”
“Bob Carr’s suggestion that there has been anything untoward in the way Jewish community organisations have conducted their advocacy, as we do openly in a democracy like many other organisations including Palestinian advocacy groups, is as bizarre as it is misconceived. On the two occasions
Former Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr
when the ECAJ met with Bob Carr while he was Foreign Minister, he expressed no such concerns.
Julia Gillard and other political leaders are well informed and have strong personal views about what is in Australia’s best interests, which explain their passionate support for Israel. It is ludicrous and insulting to them to suggest that they can be manipulated or bought.
Further his statement that recent settlement construction was “on land that everyone regards as part of a future Palestinian State” is simply wrong. On the contrary it is overwhelmingly accepted that the recent construction has been within existing settlement blocks that will form part of Israel and be subject to land swaps in any final resolution of the conflict.”
I wholeheartedly agree with all of the comments above. Carr the Hasbeen’s views need to be countered vigorously, to minimise the traction they might otherwise achieve – not that Israel is lacking in truth-twisting detractors. As a recent (failed, do-nothing) foreign minister and a past (failed) NSW Premier, Carr has name recognition and so his public brayings may bring others with his spurious, unbalanced opinions out of the woodwork. No doubt Julia Gillard and other Labor politicos will be mighty unhappy that his comments might be mistaken for general Labor Party opinion. However, that will not deter Carr. All the more reason to publicly shoot down his comments with well-argued facts.
David S., The likes of Bob Carr need to be given the time of day because they need to be rebutted in no uncertain terms. If not, the poison they peddle lingers with nothing to dilute it.
Bob Carr is suffering from relevance deprivation. He was rescued by Julia Gillard from the obscurity of retirement, but in return set out to undermine her position and eventual removal. So much for loyalty! And to top it all off, quit the Senate as soon he was no longer Foreign Minister swanning around the world. If is other accounts are as accurate as his demonisation of the Melbourne Jewish leadership it says more for his self-opinionated vanity than for his contribution to Australia’s standingng. With friends like him you don’t need any enemas.
Kol Hakavod to Andrew Bolt who provides a comprehensive screed on Carr the arrogant egotist – read
http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/bob_carr_and_the_diary_of_a_tourist/
Bob Carr is a fraud. Who can forget his awarding of the “Sydney Peace Prize” to Hanan Ashrawi, that implacable enemy of Israel and her efforts in destroying it.
Nothing ever seems to change.
The one thing the Carrs and Frasers of the world can rely on when they come out with their wealthy Jewish lobby theories and stereotype vilification/ innuendo about those pesky powerful influential Jews.
There won’t be any burning down of buildings, riots mass marches in the city or intimidation and threats of violence , maybe a few letters to the Editor , op- eds and a bit more noisy conversation in Shules .
You can also bet there wont be any defense in the media by those high profile Jewish so called Human Rights barristers / Qc’s that we would expect if the Muslim community was singled out and vilified by Carr.
A failed state politician, a failed federal politician, an unjustified critic of Israel and Judaism whilst a promoter of arab causes, why is J-Wire even giving this has-been the time of day ?
Good on you Liat Naga.
The more forceful an attack by talented speakers on the self-opinionated , vain and misinformed ex labor foreign secretary on various media, the better.
Considering that Bob Carr is an accomplished Redundancy, it is, indeed, as Liat said, totally “safe” to get stuck into him and state our clear feelings.
Carr has burnt all the bridges he would have had within the respectable political estate in Australia. I would venture that the ONLY people he would find sentimental refuge with would be the pro-palestinian and general radical islamic fold in Australia and maybe overseas. It is not at all impossible to imagine that what is in the offing would some plump job somewhere cozy at an Islamic type think tank.
We have so many colorful words to describe him in Yidish, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Hebrew….. I am sure you people know what I am (not ) saying…..
Bob Carr has never been sympathetic to Israel. I watched gob-smacked, as he arrogantly and egotistically vented his opinions aggressively on 7.30 Report last night. We all know by now his Palestinian stance, however to hear him refer to the right wing Jewish lobby in Melbourne and the unhealthy influence it has on government, was tantamount to witnessing the reinvention of the Jewish conspiracy theory that Jews seek to take over the world. Extraordinary in the extreme. If he’s not using ignorance for an excuse, then he must simply be anti-Semitic.
Carr’s views need to be attacked aggressively,and he needs to be put in his place. Unfortunately, although Mark Leibler did his best later in the night when interviewed by Tony Jones on Lateline in regard to all of this, the response was too polite, too general and too accommodating, completely lacking in sharpness and acuity. We really have to stop this kind of response and prime talented Jewish speakers to tell it how it is in no uncertain terms. Israel and supporters of Israel have nothing to apologise for and every reason for deep concern at the stand so many in the world are taking. The Palestinians and other Arabs say it how they see it – seems to get them a long way.