Spot the Hypocrite

"The next time any Western intellectual calls upon the rest of the world to show courage by speaking 'truth to power' he or she should lead the charge by speaking 'truth to power' on the Israel-Palestine dispute." Kishore Mahbubani

"I've only been in this job for a few years but I'm staggered at how powerful some of these lobby groups are and I'm astounded by the lack of courage shown by politicians on all sides when it comes to standing up to them." (Greens Senator Richard Di Natale, speaking to Fran Kelly on Radio National's Breakfast program this morning)

Right, Richard, I'm staggered too. It's great to see you standing up against the poker machine lobby. Well done!

However, if there's one thing Palestine teaches we who stand up for her, it's how to recognise a hypocrite when we hear one:

"Support for the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement by the NSW Greens was a huge mistake, admitted Senator Richard Di Natale at the Limmud Oz conference last weekend. He said the position, adopted last year by NSW Senator Lee Rhiannonn never was or would be Greens federal policy. 'It was hugely damaging and it was the wrong thing to do. We are a democratic party, it was a state branch that passed it because people didn't understand what it meant, ' said Di Natale, who appeared on a panel... who probed The Greens on their policy affecting Israel and Australian Jews." (BDS was a huge mistake, admit Greens, The Australian Jewish News, 15/6/12) (See my 16/6/12 post Picking Off The Greens.)