The Mysterious Abu Joe 1

The following terribly sad exchange with shadow treasurer Joe Hockey took place on Channel 7's Sunrise program on November 16 last year:

Presenter: OK. Next topic... Israel and Hamas are on the brink of war. Pro-Palestinian activists held a rally and a march in Western Sydney overnight. They are calling for a boycott of the pro-Israeli chocolate cafe chain Max Brenner. Joe, your perspective on this? Your Dad - as we know - came here as a Palestinian refugee. Do you think there is a need to see this here, over what is happening in the Middle East?

Hockey: No. Emphatically not. Leave the politics to the countries that are playing the politics. Don't bring the politics here. That is why people come to Australia - not to revisit all of the woes of another nation.

Presenter: What does your Dad think seeing all of this?

Hockey: Well, Dad's just so unbelievably grateful that in 1947* Australia welcomed him and he sees himself as an Australian. Full stop. He looks at it and he just thinks it will never be resolved over there. When you look at these sorts of events, how does it stop? But Israel does have, entirely, a right to protect its citizens.

Presenter: Oh, not to this extent.

Hockey: But hang on, understand this. There have been random bombings from Hamas. Hamas is a terrorist group. It is not a Government. It has taken over the Gaza Strip from the Palestinian Authority. It has launched terrorist attacks into Israel. Israel has got a right to defend itself. Hamas is part of a wider terrorism network. The people of Gaza are not particularly embracing Hamas, and they are using it as a staging post to attack Israel. (joehockey.com)

The real story here is not the boof-headed son. It's obvious from his answers that he's completely clueless when it comes to the Middle East, and that he'd repeat any fool thing put into his head by the usual suspects, just to blend in.

No, the real story, if our journalists but knew it - but of course they don't - is Hokeidonian the elder, described elsewhere as "dropping the 'donian' part of his name when he migrated to Australia in 1948 to get away from the turmoil of the Middle East." (See my 30/7/13 post Joe Hockey: My Palestinianity is Firmly Under Control.)

[*So which is it? '47 or '48?]