Doing the Donkey* in the NSW Knesset 12

On the speech of of The Hon. Trevor Khan, National Party, in the NSW Legislative Assembly, arising out of the NSW Parliamentary Friends of Israel (PFoI) "study mission" 'debate' of March 14:

Trev's a no-nonsense man, bless him. Back in 2011 when his MLC colleagues were 'debating' BDS in the Upper House, he dismissed BDS protesters as a bunch of ratbags,* and this time around, he's given the whole bloody Parliamentary Friends of Anywhere the big thumbs down:

"I have made a deliberate decision not to be a member of the NSW PFoI, the NSW PFo Lebanon or any group in that regard. In my view, the issues of the Middle East are extraordinarily complex and it is impossible to be a member of one group without offending the other groups. As I have said in other circumstances, my concern is that we live in a liberal democracy and a melting pot of cultures. All cultures must be respected in our country, whether it is in respect of this conflict or the conflict in my grandfather's country, India. If we bring those disputes to Australia we risk bringing upon ourselves a nightmare of ethnic and religious disputes that we will always regret and that has been reflected in part in some of the debate today."

Trev reckons that Max Brenner bloke's got a lot to answer for:

"I remember standing here dealing with the famous issue of Max Brenner and The Greens' passion in that respect. One can only be left appalled with regards to the hysteria that he is capable of bringing to a debate simply because of some bizarre political reason."

But hey, Shaoquett Moselmane's a top bloke:

"The passion The Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane brings to this debate is different. He is to be congratulated on the passion he brings both to the broader ethnic community, and not just the Christians or Muslims."

Alas, despite his down-to-earth, no-nonsense approach, Trev still seems clueless when it comes to the mob who are really stirring the ethnic and religious pot in the NSW Knesset:

"I pay tribute to the NSW Jewish Board of Deputies for encouraging and assisting this tour to go ahead..."

Be that as it may, the absolute final word fell to fellow Nat and mover of the original motion, Rick Colless:

Having taken the plunge and chugalugged the Zionist Kool-Aid like a schoolie on a bender in Bali, Colless' reply lays bare the truly shocking mental price he's paid for such foolishness:

"The Hon. Shaoquett Moselmane said that what was originally Palestine is now Israel. As he would know, originally Palestine includes all of Jordan, so why are the Palestinians not forcing themselves back into Jordan? Most Jordanian people are of Palestinian origin. There is more to the story than simply saying that Israel has taken their land. The honourable member made reference to the Gaza Strip. The 2006 election gave Hamas control of Gaza and the Jews and Christians living there left because they knew what would happen. Some 18 months later, Hamas threw about 600 Fatah people off roofs and killed them. All of these issues must be considered."

Where does one even begin with this guy?

Needless to say, the NSW Knesset being the NSW Knesset, the motion was put and resolved in the affirmative.

To sum up, although the subject of Palestine/Israel has cropped up before in state politics, this time around we seem to be witnessing a concerted move by the Israel lobby to achieve the kind of full spectrum dominance, to borrow the American military term, it already takes for granted in the federal sphere.

I've already marshaled much of the supporting evidence in my 5/8/12 post Israel Now Core NSW Government Business, but here I go again:

Under Baruch O'Farrell's regime we've so far seen:

1) A threat to sack the pro-BDS Marrickville Council in 2011.
2) The inauguration of a Liberal Friends of Israel in August 2012, part of whose activities reportedly involve "intelligence and policy briefings."
3) The further inauguration of a Parliamentary Friends of Israel.
4) The announcement, at a June 2012 Israel Independence Day function, of the formation of a parliamentary committee to revamp NSW's anti-vilification laws. (With a view to criminalising anti-Zionism, BDS?) Note that he also swore, at the same function, to "reaffirm his unwavering commitment to Israel."
5) NSW Police trying (but failing) to prevent a Nakba march taking place in the NSW Supreme Court in May last year (See my 13/5/12 post NSW Police Seek to Can Nakba Commemoration).
6) Jewish Board of Deputies seminars for the NSW Police (See my 28/10/11 post Israel 101 for Cops).
7) The great BDS 'debate' of September 2011, the subject of my Witches Brew series.
8) The January 2013 PFoI 'study tour' to Israel and resulting 'debate', the subject of this Doing the Donkey in the NSW Knesset series.
9) The holding of functions in state parliament occasioned by events in the Jewish religious calendar. (For example, a November 2012 pre-Chanukah function in which the premier revealed that his name was the equivalent of Baruch in Hebrew.)

I rest my case.

[*See my 2/3/13 post Doing the Donkey.]