December 5, 2015
Media Coverage:
The B’nai B’rith Anti-Defamation Commission and B’nai B’rith Australia New-Zealand have denounced Bob Carr’s recent polemics against Israel at an International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People function. Carr accused Israel of fabricating and “judaising” the country’s history, and said: “The people of Palestine are seeing street by street the character, the nomenclature, of Jerusalem being changed.” He continued his speech by declaring that “eliminating the Arab character of this great Arab city is a shocking thing to take place.”
Dr Dvir Abramovich, Chairman of the ADC, and Morris Tobias, President of BBANZ issued the following statement:
“Carr’s false claim ignores the more than 3,000-year Jewish history in Jerusalem. His incendiary rhetoric feeds the prevailing anti-Israel narrative, which holds that Israel is a colonial intruder upon land to which the Palestinians supposedly are legally and historically entitled. Only under Israeli sovereignty have freedom of religion and access to holy sites for Jews, Muslims and Christians been guaranteed. In his speech, Carr also alleges that Australia’s lawmakers are being bribed when they take educational trips to Israel. Such informational trips, to Israel and to many other countries, are commonplace among public officials who seek to further their understanding of international affairs. Carr’s offensive comments slander the Jewish state and harm the peace process. His outlandish and inflammatory pronouncements only fuel anti-Israel hatred and thus intensify Israel’s isolation in the international community. This sinister broadside against the Jewish state is destructive and deeply lamentable.”
For more information, please contact Dr Dvir Abramovich on, 03 9272-5677