The Australian's Operation Smear & Loathing

Murdoch's Australian is pompously referred to as the 'great' man's 'flagship'.

Warship more like it, armed to the teeth with all the latest Zionist lies, smears, canards, spin and good old-fashioned bullshit direct from Israel's 24/7 hasbara mill.

Think I'm exaggerating? That's only because you don't read it. (Not that I blame you, of course.)

Here's a list of the ordnance (ordure?) lobbed on Palestine's defenders in the land down under (the Zionist thumb) since April 12:

12/4: Students call for Israeli uni boycott, Ean Higgins
16/4: Jewish students slam council over 'pet' BDS, Ean Higgins
16/4: Appalling attempt to boycott Israeli uni, Philip Chester, Zionist Federation of Australia
17/4: Pro-Israel letters from Phil Herd, Kangaloon, NSW & Philip Mendes, Kew, Vic.
18/4: BDS targets uni over campus shop, Christian Kerr
19/4: Students were told about Brenner, Christian Kerr & Mitchell Nadin
29/4: Campus rally to protest Max Brenner opening, Ean Higgins
30/4: PM denounces activists as anti-Israel protest turns anti-Semitic, Christian Kerr
30/4: The ugly face of student activism, Peter Wertheim & Julie Nathan
1/5: Gillard BDS stance slammed as too little, too late, Christian Kerr & Ean Higgins
1/5: Unis tolerating intolerance: Racist anti-Israel protests expose lack of understanding, editorial
2/5: Protests lack link to Israel: BDS fan, Christian Kerr
2/5: Islam becomes the new guilt: We've replaced our contrition over the Holocaust, Clive Kessler
3/5: Jihad Sheila link to anti-Jewish posts, Ean Higgins & Christian Kerr
3/5: Anti-BDS letter from Professor Fred Hilmer, vice-chancellor, UNSW; pro-BDS (but not Max Brenner) letter from Alastair Harris, Braidwood, NSW
4/5: Pro-Israel letter from Daniel Lewis, Rushcutters Bay, NSW
6/5: Student body rethinks anti-Israel boycott, Christian Kerr
7/5: Labor split over Israel boycott, Christian Kerr
7/5: It'd hurt us to boycott Israel: Anti-Semitism aside, Israelis make a vast contribution, Tim Harcourt
8/5: Anti-BDS move at Sydney Uni tipped to fail, Christian Kerr
10/5: University of open minds: Sydney University gives anti-Israeli activists short shrift, editorial
14/5: Anti-BDS stance 'easy, populist', Christian Kerr
14/5: Reality ignored in rush to judgment on 'apartheid' Israel, Bruce Loudon
14/5: Strange way to promote peace: critics of Israel should turn their attention to Iran, editorial
15/5: MPs unite to sign anti-Semitism pact, Christian Kerr
20/5: Labor MPs to back PM on anti-Semitism, Christian Kerr
21/5: Cruel game behind politicians' rush to condemn anti-Semitism, Stuart Rees, chairman of the Sydney Peace Foundation (NB: token response from one under fire)
22/5: BDS to go the doctor at Sydney uni, Christian Kerr
22/5: Bell tolls for anti-Semitism, Howard Jacobson, novelist
22/5: 3 letters contra Rees from Merv Morris, St Kilda, Vic., Michelle Kerr, Asquith, NSW & Stephen Jones, Bonython, ACT
23/5: BDS 'smeared by cynical Israel lobby', Ean Higgins
23/5: Boycott continues centuries-old hatred, Cassandra Wilkinson
23/5: 1 letter contra Rees from Douglas Kirsner, Caulfield North, Vic.; 1 'let there be empathy' letter from Stewart Mills, Balmain, NSW
24/5: Libs back bid to beat anti-Semitism, Christian Kerr
24/5: 3 pro-Israel letters from James McDonald, Annandale, NSW; Robert Friedman, Caulfield, Vic & John Francis, Lauderdale, Tas; 1 pro-Palestine letter from Peter Slezak, Bellevue Hill, NSW; 1 neutral from Paul Norton, Highgate Hill, Qld

And what's all the sound and fury about? There's scant evidence here of reason, rational discourse, research, or honest reflection. Just spin and smear. Just good old Zionist hysterics, all vitriol, hyperbole and talking points. Here's a stream-of-consciousness selection:

"... the insidious BDS... extremist, anti-Israel BDS policy... extremist BDS campaign... boycotts and sometimes sanctions campaigns aren't always anti-Semitic, but when you target individual businesses because they are Jewish, it is clearly anti-Semitic... often anti-Semitic BDS campaign... anti-Semitic activities such as the BDS campaign... misconceived BDS campaign... the BDS campaign has too much of a resemblance to the Nazi boycotts of Jewish businesses... an anti-Semitic campaign... BDS is anti-Semitic in its implications... BDS is the most recent name for a centuries-old hatred... the BDS campaign easily passes Natan Sharansky's 3D test for anti-Semitism - demonstration, double standards and delegitimisation... overwhelmingly BDS reeks of anti-Semitism... the BDS campaign is but a moral millimetre away from Krystallnacht..."

Nasty stuff indeed. But I'll leave you on a positive note. Here's Peter Slezak's near lone voice of reason (probably cut to ribbons by the letters editor):

"Israel defines itself as a Jewish state and then critics such as Stuart Rees are automatically accused of anti-Semitism. One might reasonably wonder then, how to protest against violations of international law and Palestinian human rights without being denounced with this slur. Conflating criticism of Israel with anti-Semitism dishonours the memory of its victims and cheapens the term. Genuine concern about the scourge of anti-Semitism would generalise as a concern with racism, discrimination and oppression in all its forms - against Jews or Palestinians."