The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission (ADC), Australia’s leading organisation fighting hatred in all its forms, has condemned a Sydney rally to oppose PM Netanyahu’s visit in which signs portraying the Israeli PM as Hitler were held and in which protesters waved flags of Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, issued the following statement:
“I am deeply troubled and shocked by the display and employment of Nazi imagery to demonise and defame the Israeli Prime Minister. While we champion freedom of expression, such hateful and anti-Semitic incitement not only cheapens and denigrates the memory of the Holocaust, its victims and survivors, but crosses the boundaries of what is legitimate debate. It was also troubling to see the waving of the flags of Hezbollah and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine— two terrorist organisation committed to the destruction of Israel— in the rally. I am disappointed that there were members of parliament present who witnessed the open expression of anti-Semitism and whose presence carries the risk of normalising such conduct. Those responsible for this demonstration owe those who died and those who suffered at the hands of Hitler and the Nazis an apology, and a promise to refrain from such sinister tactics in the future.”
The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission, founded in 1979, is Australia’s leading organization fighting racism through educational programs that combat bigotry, prejudice and all forms of hatred.
For further information please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on 9272 5677.