Lesh Unleashed

Matthew Lesh strikes again! Recall that Lesh, now ensconced at John Roskam's neoliberal think tank, the Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), during his university years was the political director of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS).

But first let one of The Australian's most rabid attack dogs, Chris Kenny, set the scene for you:

"[I]n a lengthy online report complementing her television and radio reporting for the ABC from Venezuela this month, Zoe Daniel failed to mention socialism... In fact, she referred to Chavez not as a socialist leader but as a 'charismatic, populist President'. Daniel's powerful piece, focusing mainly on the trauma and starvation faced by the populace was picked up by War News Updates, a news aggregator covering conflict zones. But it felt obliged to note the ABC's oversight.

"'WNU Editor: The authors of the above report do not mention the word 'socialism' in their report, nor how the policies of nationalisation and government confiscation completely destroyed what was once (one of) Latin America's top economies. Instead the focus on why people are starving in Venezuala is on sanctions, corruption, etc... in short, the usual excuses while ignoring the real reason why everything has collapsed'." (Socialists overlooked in ABC's Venezuela, 24/6/19)

Enter Lesh, in Kenny's words:

"Elsewhere, the Institute of Public Affairs' self-styled 'free market jihadi', Matthew Lesh, jumped on Twitter pointing out the missing factor and decrying the piece as 'disgraceful' and 'biased' misreporting. Daniel snapped back that she had referenced Chavez as socialist in other pieces filed that week and suggested Lesh was overcome by his own bias. Interestingly, the ABC seems to have reacted to the criticism. Among almost 2500 words, it altered one sentence with the addition of a solitary but important word. The original article posted on June 12 said: 'Charismatic, populist President Hugo Chavez was adored by the poor for his community support programs, free health care and education and generally subsidised living.' It was 'updated' early the next morning (the day after Lesh's tweet) to the following:

'Charismatic, populist President Hugo Chavez was adored by the poor for his socialist policies: community support programs, free health care and education and generally subsidised living'. This fiddle served more as an admission of error than a worthwhile correction of the analysis. It was just the inclusion of the trigger word, socialist, to square off against criticism and insulate from more." (ibid)

Two observations on Kenny's piece are in order here.

While Kenny invokes the Matthew Lesh of the Institute of Public Affairs, he studiously omits Lesh's AUJS/ Zionist background, surely a "fiddle" of equal proportions.

Second, sadly, how typical of the ABC to allow themselves to be spooked by the The Australian, as though its Zionist crusading really mattered.

Update 25/6/19: It should be pointed out that Kenny is indulging in a half-truth when he asserts that Hugo Chavez was a socialist. In fact, Chavez did not declare for socialism until 2006. IOW, from the April 2002 coup against him, which soon collapsed, and led to his speedy return to power in Venezuela, he could not be called a socialist. (See Comandante: The Life & Legacy of Hugo Chavez, Rory Carroll, 2013, p 143.  Carroll was the Guardian's chief correspondent in Latin America.

The French Report

We've been hearing oodles in Murdoch's Australian, about the Report of the Independent Review of Freedom of Speech in Australian Higher Education Providers, March 2019, drawn up by former Chief Justice of the High Court Robert French, all of it designed to detract from French's key finding here:

"Repeated incidents in Australia in recent times do not establish a systemic pattern of action by higher education providers or student representative bodies, adverse to freedom of speech or intellectual inquiry in the higher education sector."

Instead, The Australian has ignored this key finding and homed in exclusively on French's reference to the adoption of a voluntary free speech code.

According to Sydney University's student paper, honisoit.com:

"Freedom of speech incidents at USyd represent the overwhelming majority of incidents amongst Australian universities if a 2018 audit by the conservative think tank Institute of Public Affairs (IPA), cited in the review, is to be believed."

(Note that the IPA audit was conducted by Matthew Lesh, formerly political affairs director of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS)).

And why has Sydney University, in particular, come under such scrutiny? Sydney University English department academic Nick Riemer here hits the nail squarely on the head with his quoted (in bold) comment in the following Sydney Morning Herald report:

"The John Howard-helmed Ramsey Centre's struggles to find a home for its degree in Western civilisation has prompted many to accuse the campuses of left-wing bias, but one of the most outspoken critics disagrees. Nick Riemer says universities are not full of lefties. 'The faculty that's in focus is the arts faculty,' he says. Claims it is dominated by cultural Marxists are 'nonsense. Most academics there are centrists'. In fact, he argues, his more left-wing colleagues are the ones under most pressure. 'The biggest irony about all of this is the freedom of speech code will I bet not be applied to the group that is most in need of it in my view, which is Palestine advocates,' he says." (Embracing comfortable ideas, Jordan Baker, 22/6/19)

So, absent Sydney University's arts faculty's courageously standing up for Palestinian rights, there would be no particular focus on Sydney University at all, no audit by the IPA's Matthew Lesh, and ultimately no French Report.

As Riemer points out, advocating for Palestine simply cannot be tolerated by the enemies of the Palestinians in this country. It is they, not the campus Zionists, who are in need of the protection of any campus free speech code which may be adopted.

(See, in particular, my 16/9/14 post Behind AUJS's Campus Offensive and remember that 2014 was the year of Israel's most brutal ever onslaught against the Gaza Strip, Operation Protective Edge, which necessitated an unprecedented PR blitz from Israel's propaganda outlets in the West, including Australia. Context is all.)

Meanwhile, back in the real world:

"At least 81 Palestinians were injured on Friday afternoon in clashes [sic] between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli soldiers in the eastern Gaza Strip, close to the border with Israel, medics said. Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, told reporters that 79 people as well as two paramedics had various injuries in clashes [sic] with the Israeli soldiers... " (81 Palestinians injured in clashes with Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza Strip, xinhuanet.com, 22/6/19)

AUJS is Joking, Right?

Hm....

"A female suicide bomber who killed dozens of Israeli soldiers has graced the front cover of a University of Sydney student newspaper, and Jewish students who complained about the cover have been 'condemned' for censorship. Hamida al-Taher killed more than 50 people, mainly Israeli military personnel, when she blew herself up in Southern Lebanon in 1985. The special edition of the University of Sydney's student newspaper Honi Soit, produced by the student women's collective a fortnight ago, put her on the cover and called her a 'martyr' in an issue dedicated to the struggle against 'Israeli colonisation'. The student queer collective's edition of Honi Soit on April 16 was criticised for having a picture of a petrol bomb on the cover and supporting a boycott of Israel. The Australasian Union of Students has called for an apology over the covers. 'They are particularly disturbing to Jewish students as they display a blatant disdain for Israeli victims of violence,' AUJS national political director Noa Bloch said." (Jewish students take aim at 'distressing' paper, Richard Ferguson, The Australian, 8/6/18)

WTF?

What is it that the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) just doesn't get here?

Maybe some capital letters will help:

A LEBANESE freedom fighter dies in an operation which kills ISRAELI troops occupying LEBANON, and is therefore hailed a martyr. But, for some strange reason, the AUSTRALASIAN Union of Jewish Students that's a no-no.

Now AUSTRALIAN troops have killed God knows how many TURKS, VIETNAMESE, AFGHANS and IRAQIS in TURKEY, VIETNAM, AFGHANISTAN and IRAQ respectively, and are honoured for their 'sacrifice' with an annual commemoration known as Anzac Day. But, presumably, the AUSTRALASIAN Union of Jewish Students has no problem with that.

Hope that helps.

Hypocrisy Overload

There is something really quite nauseating about a wet-behind-the-ears supporter of the failed fascist/apartheid state of Israel, which has been ethnically cleansing, occupying and colonising Arab Palestine since 1948, and subsists on US aid and weapons, lashing Venezuela as "a failing socialist state"; complaining that "the Australian government is rejecting temporary visa applications from [Venezuelan] students, and parents coming to visit their children who live here - because of the volatile situation"; and bemoaning Australia's failure to stand up for "freedom, democracy and the rule of law... abroad as well as at home." (Punching below our weight, we've not even stood up for our values, Matthew Lesh, The Australian, 29/8/17)

Lesh is a former official of the pro-Israel Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) and currently, according to his appended bio, "a research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs."

'Deeply Concerned'

I wonder if Sydney University vice-chancellor Michael Spence realises just how energising and entertaining his song and dance routine must be to the usual suspects. I suspect not:

"Like Peter Baldwin, Sydney University is deeply concerned about events that occurred during Richard Kemp's lecture on March 11 (Where the right to speak is howled down, 2/4). We are in the process of finalising an investigation into the incident, having interviewed more than 20 people and reviewed extensive material.

"I'd like to reassure Mr. Baldwin, and all those concerned by the events, that we are committed to defending free speech and the right of all staff, students and invited guests to express their views without fear of bullying, harassment or discrimination.

"Following thorough processes in such cases is vital. It is imperative that we complete these processes before appropriate actions can be taken. We are committed to ensuring this investigation is concluded as quickly as is possible, and will not hesitate to take appropriate action." (Letter to The Australian, 4/4/15)

One likely lad with more than a keen interest in the matter is Dean Sherr of the Australian Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS). Sherr has reportedly "helped start an online petition calling for Professor Lynch to be sacked." (Pro-Palestinian protest investigated by Sydney University, PM, abc.net.au, 2/4/15)

He may or may not read The Australasian Australian Jewish News, but I wonder what he'd make of their 27/3 online poll Should the University of Sydney fire Jake Lynch? and its 58% No vote.

As for the vc's vaunted investigation, Professor Jake Lynch has his doubts: "I've been interviewed by a lawyer whom the university informed me was a neutral person working for an outside law firm. It turned out she was actually moonlighting from her job with the university's own legal department. So my union has written a letter to the vice-chancellor calling that a duplicitous attempt to entrap members. And I fully endorse that view." (ibid)

For the context, see my posts Anatomy of a Beat-Up (18/3/15) and Baldwin's Balderdash (3/4/15).

Anatomy of a Beat-Up...

... or how the Murdoch press transforms a pro-Palestine protest into a veritable anti-Semitic pogrom.

Last year, Associate Professor Jake Lynch, of Sydney University's Centre for Peace & Conflict Studies (CPACS), was embroiled in a Federal Court action brought by Israeli lawfare outfit Shurat Ha Din for the 'offence' of declining (Lynch is a supporter of the pro-Palestinian BDS movement) to sponsor an Israel academic. Lynch won the case with costs. Now he's just been accused, by the chairman of the Australian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS), Dean Sherr, of ANTI-SEMITISM for allegedly waving a $5 note at a woman who had, in his words, "kicked him 'in the meat and two veg" for the 'offence' of filming a student protest (or 'fracas' in Murdochspeak) against a lecture by visiting British clanking Colonel - and United Israel Appeal star attraction* - Richard Kemp.

Hissed Sherr: "Waving money in the face of Jewish people screams of the classical anti-Semitic falsehood that Jews are obsessed with money."

Hinted Kemp: "I observed [Lynch] waving the money in the face of a Jewish student, a clearly aggressive and insulting act that seemed to invoke the stereotype of the 'greedy Jew'."

The incident has been the occasion for the Murdoch press to once again hound Lynch in a series of articles by the usual suspects, beginning with a piece in The Daily Telegraph of 14/3/15, Professor waved $5 at Jewish woman, by Taylor Auerbach.

This was followed by Sack call over BDS protest (16/3/15) by Ean Higgins in The Australian, in which Sherr was quoted.

In it, we learn that the university's vice-chancellor has launched "an investigation into [the] fracas," during which Lynch "criticised security guards [who] tried to remove the protesters," and that Kemp has written to the university's vice-chancellor claiming that "Professor Lynch and another pro-BDS academic 'were both apparently leading and encouraging the protesters'." It concludes with Lynch reportedly saying that "he held up the bank notes to warn a woman who he said kicked him in the groin that he would sue her if she didn't desist," denying "the action was anti-Semitic," and claiming that "the security guards had shown no interest in curbing her actions."

Uni faces calls for action on protest (17/3/15) by Christian Kerr in The Australian followed. In this a former Labor education minister (190-93) Peter Baldwin is quoted as saying "I visited a great many campuses and was more than once the target of student protest demonstrations. But I never experienced anything quite as repulsive as what I witnessed last Wednesday." Baldwin "warned of 'deeply sinister developments' that had created an 'increasingly poisonous' atmosphere for Jewish students" and "called on [the vice-chancellor] to 'commit to restoring a genuine climate of free debate at Sydney University in which all can participate without fear of intimidation." He concluded as follows: "You have a group who think they have a right of veto on what viewpoints are sayable. Who do these people think that they are, that they can adjudicate what points of view are allowed to be heard?... It warrants the university administration taking serious disciplinary action against those responsible."

On the opinion pages of the same issue, came Protesters disown their university values, by none other than clanking Colonel Kemp himself, in which he alleged that "a group of about a dozen people... stormed into the lecture and started yelling at me and the audience through a megaphone, accusing me of 'supporting genocide', and trying to shut down the lecture. The protesters occupied the lecture theatre, intimidated members of the audience and were intent on preventing the exchange of views my lecture was intending to facilitate. Two of the academics then joined them, one of whom I saw badgering an elderly woman who objected to him photographing her on his iPhone. When she tried to push the iPhone out of her face he grabbed her arm forcibly, and appeared to hurt her. When she retaliated physically, the academic - an associate professor - waved a $5 note in her face and the face of a Jewish student.... This protest had clear anti-Semitic undertones."

The above was apparently sufficient to set off an entire pack (10) of Zionist correspondents who barked and bayed on the letters page of today's Australian.

They were "appalled" at the "shocking spectacle."

They called on the university to show "leadership" and take "appropriate disciplinary action."

They invoked "1930s Nazi Germany" and "the events in Germany culminating in World War II."

They alleged that "demonstrators were hell-bent on being anti-Semitic" and were "rabid anti-Semites."

They accused Lynch of being "a lifelong Marxist" and the protesters of being "his university stormtroopers."

In short, just the usual for the letters pages of The Australian.

What will tomorrow's edition bring?

But why wait?

If you want the real story, rather than the Murdoch beat-up, head across to the New Matilda website and read Michael Brull's painstaking analysis (complete with videos) of the protest: Blaming the victims: what really happened at the Colonel Kemp Usyd Protest (18/3/15).

[*See my 23/2/15 post Menage A Trois.]

A Guide for the Perplexed Jewish Uni Student

During Orientation Week at Australian universities, newly arrived Jewish students are likely to encounter and be encouraged to join the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS).

So what's on offer?

An editorial in The Australian Jewish News explains:

"Fortunately, the benefits of belonging to AUJS don't only amount to defending Israel. What you get out of the organisation can be as simple as a bagel with a few Jewish mates between classes." (Applause for AUJS, 27/2/15)

Israel & bagels?!

Buyer beware!

If you're ever tempted to go to an AUJS outlet for your bagel and camaraderie, and the AUJS guy/gal asks, 'Do you want Israel with that?' you can always say, 'Thanks, but no thanks'.

Don't Mention Palestine at LaTrobe University

The 'Vision' statement of Victoria's La Trobe University reads in part: "La Trobe will be a University known for its excellence and innovation in relation to the big issues of our time..."

And yet, when one of its student politicians, Ryan Higginson, set out to draw the attention of the student body to what certain other student politicians had said on the subject of one of the big issues of our time, namely Israeli genocide and apartheid, he got suspended for his pains:

"In a win for the political right, student activist Ryan Higginson has been suspended from La Trobe University. For 8 months, the 19-year-old will be unable to attend classes or set foot on any La Trobe campus.

"According to its own regulations, the Misconduct Office that investigated Higginson is bound by the rules of 'natural justice'. But in La Trobe's kangaroo court, he was denied legal representation at the hearing. He was prohibited even to be accompanied by someone with legal training. And the full evidence against him was not available to Higginson or his lawyers.

"Higginson was accused of putting up posters that name and quote elected La Trobe Student Union office bearers. The quotes were taken from a student union council meeting that debated Israel's most recent assault on Gaza. The posters are alleged to have created an intimidatory atmosphere on the campus.* The charge is obviously ludicrous. Does the Labor Party create an intimidatory atmosphere when it puts up posters that quote Tony Abbott? What about a newspaper that publishes a politician's comments? Students have a right to know what happens in the student council and the arguments that their representatives make there.

"Another deeply concerning aspect of this case relates to the influence of federal politicians. Education minister Christopher Pyne published an op-ed in The Australian just days before Higginson received notice of his misconduct charges.** The minister had demanded that university administrations crack down on left wing activists and put aside concerns about 'free speech'.

"The day after Higginson received his notice, Labor MP Michael Danby announced that he had written an appeal to the university and had received a prompt phone call from the vice-chancellor in return. He declared that the disciplinary hearings would be held as a result of his representations to the university.

"There is no doubt that there is a campaign of intimidation occurring on university campuses. It is being waged against left wing activists."*** (La Trobe suspends left wing activist, Jessica Lenehan, Red Flag, 20/10/14)

In the spirit of truth in advertising, La Trobe University's 'Vision' statement should perhaps be amended to: La Trobe will be a University known for its excellence and innovation in relation to the big issues of our time, with the sole exception of Israeli genocide and apartheid... 

[* "The student making the complaints at La Trobe, Jessica Cornish, 25, is now represented by Arnold Bloch Leibler in her complaints of harassment and intimidation against the Socialist Alternative and Students for Palestine. She said she had voted down a motion condemning Israel's 'ethnic cleansing' in Gaza, posters were pasted on campus walls accusing her of supporting genocide in Gaza. She also faced taunts from the students." (Left-wing student club banned, Timna Jacks, The Age, 6/9/14);**See my 6/9/14 post Pyne Whine Deconstructed;*** See my 10/9/14 post AUJS Plays the Anti-Semitism Card.]

Israel's Victorian Campuses

Are Victoria's universities about to become Israeli-occupied territory?

Deconstructing Talks to halt uni anti-Semitism (18/9/14) by The Australian's Christian Kerr:

"University chiefs and Jewish community leaders have vowed to work together to tackle campus racism..."

Shouldn't that be alleged campus racism?

"... after talks organised by the Victorian government. The meetings follow a surge in anti-Semitism incidents at universities..."

Shouldn't that be an alleged surge in anti-Semitism?

"... since the recent round of strife in Gaza erupted in July."

Strife, FFS!  Only in The Australian.

"Liberal MP David Southwick..."

And co-convener of Victoria's Parliamentary Friends of Israel...

"... who convened the meeting with state Higher Education Minister Nick Wakeling, said the meeting had created a positive dialogue between university administrators and Jewish students."

Zionist students.

"'No student should feel like their university, a place of learning and development, is a hostile environment where they are targeted because of their race, religion or sexuality,' he said."

Of course not... but what about contesting their politics?

"The meeting discussed the formulation of a of a similar statement to the London Declaration on Anti-Semitism that has been signed by parliamentarians globally for universities."

I see, the Israeli government-generated document that incorporates "rhetoric and political action against the state of Israel" in its definition of anti-Semitism.* Right...

"Matthew Lesh, of the Australian Union of Jewish Students, praised the meeting."

 Matthew Lesh? Never far from the scene of...

[* See my 17/5/13 post The Tel Aviv Declaration on Combating Criticism of Israel.]

Behind AUJS's Campus Offensive

In my 10/9/14 post AUJS Plays the Anti-Semitism Card, I reproduced a report from the Socialist Alternative paper Red Flag on the current campaign by the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) to sabotage Palestine solidarity activism on our campuses by making "unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism and 'targeting Jewish students'."

One of AUJS's ideological 'pillars' is Zionism: "AUJS subscribes to the Zionist ideals espoused in the World Zionist Organisation's Jerusalem Program. We seek to promote a positive image of Israel on campus... and to educate the wider student population about Judaism and Israel." (Our pillars, aujs.com)

Just so we're in no doubt what AUJS is all about here, here's the preamble to the WZO's Jerusalem Program: "Zionism, the national liberation movement of the Jewish people, brought about the establishment of the State of Israel, and views a Jewish, Zionist, democratic and secure State of Israel to be the expression of the common responsibility of the Jewish people..."

It goes without saying that, as a Zionist organisation, AUJS conflates Judaism and Zionism, a practice which allows it to play the anti-Semitism card whenever Israel or its behaviour is called into question.

AUJS also has friends in high places.

You'll remember Education Minister Christopher Pyne's tender concern for its operatives in Murdoch's Australian on August 29. (See my 6/9/14 post Pyne Whine Deconstructed.)

Then there's AUJS's recent (31/8-2/9) "political training seminar" at Parliament House in Canberra:

"The delegation of 40 students was addressed by some of the biggest names in Australian politics and beyond. The participating students are pictured with Josh Frydenberg [Liberal] MP." (The moment, The Australian Jewish News, 12/9/14)

And what a lovely pic it is too. Why, there's the beaming young Matthew Lesh, AUJS's political affairs director, seated right in front of Frydenberg, wanting only the great man's guiding hand on his shoulder.

According to one of Matthew's AUJS retweets (1/9), Frydenberg told the delegation: "You're at the front line, and what you do matters."  

The front line? An interesting choice of words, to say the least. Right after Operation Protective Edge (8/7-26/8) too. 

The front line of what exactly? Presumably, AUJS's campaign to divert attention from Israel's genocide in Gaza by attacking activists who dare to raise the issue on campus.

It's not only Lib who's stiffening the spines of AUJS's shock troops. It's also Lab. Just listen to Opposition leader, Bill Shorten, in another Lesh retweet:

"I would encourage Labor clubs to work closely with AUJS." (2/9)

Incredibly, even The Greens are in on the act, as yet another Lesh retweet indicates:

"Hearing from political staffers across Liberal, Labor and Greens." (1/9)

And we're expected to believe that AUJS are merely reacting to an upsurge of anti-Semitism on campus.

AUJS Plays the Anti-Semitism Card

An important essay on the latest Zionist campaign to silence pro-Palestine activism on Australian university campuses from the Socialist Alternative paper Red Flag (26/8/14):

"Australian supporters of Israel have reacted to the growing hostility to the Gaza war with a hysterical campaign of slander and suppression against anyone who dares to criticise Israel.

"On 26 July the Sydney Morning Herald published a courageous opinion piece by Mike Carlton in which he wrote: 'The onslaught is indiscriminate and unrelenting, with but one possible conclusion: Israel is not fighting the terrorists of Hamas. In defiance of the laws of war and the norms of civilised behaviour, it is waging its own war of terror on the entire Gaza population of about 1.7m people. Call it genocide, call it ethnic cleansing: the aim is to kill Arabs.'

"Carlton predicted a 'customary torrent of abusive emails calling me a Nazi, an anti-Semite, a Holocaust denier, an ignoramus' for uttering such self-evident truths. They arrived on cue. The Australian Jewish News ran an editorial calling for a boycott of Fairfax papers. Intense pressure was placed on Sydney Morning Herald management. And within a week, Carlton was suspended, after which he responded in the only honourable way and resigned.

"While SMH management tried to claim Carlton was sacked because he responded with choice words to a few of the hundreds of emails defaming him as a Nazi, there is little doubt that if this were about any other issue, he would still have his job.

"Two weeks later, a billboard in Melbourne that read 'Apartheid: wrong in South Africa, wrong in Palestine' was pulled by publicity company Oohmedia! following a flood of criticism. Oohmedia! declined to reveal to Red Flag who the 'interested third parties' were that forced its change of heart, but the Zionist Federation of Australia, on its Facebook page, was open in claiming that its campaign made the difference.

"On the same day, the NSW Supreme Court banned Palestine Solidarity Activists from protesting outside the Israeli Film Festival in Sydney.

"This followed on from a campaign by Zionist hackers to shut down pro-Palestinian websites in Australia, including the Red Flag website, which was the victim of a DDoS attack that put it offline for several days.

"But the most extensive aspect of the campaign to suppress pro-Palestinian voices has been that waged on university campuses by the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS), in some cases in alliance with university administrations and right wing student union officials.

"AUJS describes itself as the peak body representing Jewish youth. Its spokespeople are frequently quoted in the press as authorities on anti-Semitism. But AUJS is not an apolitical organisation. Its website proudly proclaims that it exists to 'promote a positive image of Israel on campus.'

"AUJS accuses its enemies on campus of conflating Zionism with Jewishness, and with turning criticism of Israel into hostility to Jews. In fact, conflating Judaism and Zionism is precisely the political goal of AUJS. Slandering supporters of Palestine as anti-Semitic is its primary method for 'combating anti-Zionism' and fulfilling the project, outlined in the AUJS constitution, of 'actively advancing the interests of Israel.'

"The Australian Jewish News is an unabashed mouthpiece of AUJS propaganda. On 15 August it published a highly defamatory article repeating AUJS accusations against Socialist Alternative, without even bothering to get a response to the entirely unsubstantiated claims. Even Murdoch's mouthpiece, The Australian, usually goes through the form of journalistic norms before printing its hatchet jobs.

"AJN's article claimed: 'There are fears for the safety of Jewish students at universities across Australia, following a spate of verbal attacks and harassment, which resulted in at least one student being too scared to go to classes and AUJS suspending activities at one institution. Members of the Socialist Alternative are believed to be behind much of the anti-Israel and anti-Semitic vitriol aimed at Jewish students, who have been accused of supporting 'genocide' and 'ethnic cleansing' in Israel.'

"Socialist Alternative unequivocally rejects the accusations of anti-Semitism and that our student activists have targeted Jewish students. It is a vile slander based on bare-faced lies. It has become clear to us that AUJS has adopted a conscious strategy of encouraging its members on campuses across the country to make unfounded accusations of anti-Semitism and 'targeting Jewish students' as a means to sabotage Palestine solidarity activism.

"AUJS members have filed a flood of complaints describing pro-Palestine events as 'anti-Semitic', while lobbying university vice-chancellors to ban pro-Palestine activism on campus.

"They have managed to get the vice-chancellors of Monash and La Trobe universities to send emails to all students that implicitly attacked pro-Palestine activists. At Monash, individual Palestinian solidarity activists are facing 'misconduct hearings' that threaten their right to study at the university. At the University of Western Australia, the Socialist Alternative club is fighting deregistration following false claims orchestrated by student Zionists.

"These latest attacks follow a string of other incidents. AUJS spokesperson Matthew Lesh claimed on 3AW Radio in Melbourne that Jewish students were physically ejected from a Socialist Alternative meeting at Monash University because they were Jewish. This is completely false. Not only were Jews welcome and encouraged to attend, but the talk itself was given by a Jewish member of Socialist Alternative.

"A small group of organised Zionists attempted to disrupt the meeting. They gave up after being told the meeting was for supporters of Palestine and they were not welcome. There is nothing unusual in this. Socialist Alternative has in many previous instances barred right-wingers who have attempted to disrupt our meetings. Even if you don't agree with this policy, it has nothing whatsoever to do with anti-Semitism.

"If AUJS were honest, it would admit that its campaign is not driven by concerns about anti-Semitic attacks on Jewish students, but concern that the tide of opinion is turning against Israel's war on Palestinians.

"Socialist students have played an important part in this process. At Monash University, Socialist Alternative moved a motion in the student council condemning Israeli war crimes and occupation. Similar motions, including endorsements of the BDS campaign, were taken up and adopted at the Victorian College of the Arts, University of Sydney, Flinders University and Curtin University. A similar motion moved at La Trobe University was voted down in a heated council meeting.

"As Israel's crimes against humanity in Palestine are exposed to the world, support for the Palestinian cause will continue to grow. But if the last month is any indicator, this will also lead to ever more fanatical and dishonest campaigns by pro-Israel groups as they try desperately to defend the indefensible. It is crucial that these campaigns are resisted."

For a snapshot of the situation on US campuses, see 'Civility' is the Israel lobby's new weapon against free speech on US campuses, Ali Abunimah, electronicintifada.net, 7/9/14.

Pyne Whine Deconstructed

UNIS HIT BY ANTI-SEMITISM

Christopher Pyne, The Australian, 29/8/14

"The growth of anti-Semitism in our universities is deeply worrying."

Pyne means that the growth in opposition to Israeli apartheid and genocide in our universities worries the Zionist movement and its parliamentary dupes no end.

"In the past months students at at least 6 universities have reported anti-Semitic bullying."

Meaning: Zionist students have misconstrued anti-Israel activism as anti-Semitism, either as a deliberate strategy to stifle opposition to Israeli apartheid and genocide in our universities, or because they've been hopelessly indoctrinated into believing that criticism of Israel is anti-Semitism, or both.

"While the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians..."

This is how Pyne frames the slaughter of Palestinians by Israel's military machine.

"... may invoke emotive responses..."

But certainly not in Christopher Pyne.

"... there is no place for anti-Semitism."

He means there is no place for criticism of Israel.

"Students have been targeted physically and verbally just because they are Jewish."

Meaning?

"Recently five Jewish students were refused entry to a Socialist Alternative discussion on Israel because they were Jewish and were told 'only progressive-thinking people are allowed'."

OMG, practically a pogrom!

What I imagine happened - to the extent that anything happened at all - is that certain Zionist hooligans and provocateurs on a mission to disrupt turned up at a meeting on Israel's crimes in Gaza, were denied entry as known troublemakers, and so registered a complaint with the university authorities claiming they'd been excluded because they were Jews. Neat trick, eh?  (Actually, Abbott and Sheridan used to behave in similar fashion back in the 70s, although without, of course, playing the anti-Semitism card. See my 13/9/12 post Tony & Greg Do Monash 1.)

"In our universities, free speech is to be encouraged, but it does not extend to threats and physical harassment."

So being told that a meeting is for those with open, as opposed to closed minds, constitutes "threats and physical harassment"?

What?!!!

"I am not surprised that the number of anti-Semitic incidents reported in Australia last year was the second highest on record."

Reported by whom? After all, you know how it goes: one Zionist's anti-Semite is another man's anti-apartheid activist.

"The boycott, divestment and sanctions movement has made anti-Semitism fashionable again."

Oh... I see... BDS!

So that's what all this nonsense about anti-Semitism is about!

There's more Pyne whine, of course, but I think you've got the picture.

Anyway, the next time you hear about an 'anti-Semitic pogrom' at some Australian uni or other, keep in mind it's probably just a bunch of spotty Zionists doing their bit to distract other students from the appalling reality of Israeli apartheid and genocide. 

Bring Back the Biff!

Blimey, this bloke just keeps popping up - a bit like... a bit like... oh, herpes will do:

"Australasian Union of Jewish Students political director Matthew Lesh said campus extremists were targeting individuals rather than engaging in debate... Mr Lesh said he had been 'aggressively' criticised for visiting Israel in a University of Melbourne student forum last year." (Pyne warns universities to act on campus racism, Christian Kerr, The Australian, 4/3/14)

"Matthew Lesh, the political affairs director of the Australasian Union of Jewish Students, described the alleged [anti-Semitic] incidents as 'vicious and worrying'." (Racism at unis not on, says Pyne, Christian Kerr, The Australian, 19/5/14)

"Matthew Lesh, Megan Saker and Nicki Jarrel... are something of a rarity within [Melbourne University's] walls - staunch defenders of Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey's first budget... All three are Liberal Party members and signed up for the Australian Liberal Students Federation on their first day of university... Mr Lesh said the student Liberals were not planning a loud come-back to their counterparts' [Socialist Alternative Club] attack. He picked up his phone instead. 'I'm going to try and get on 3AW,' he said." (Three of a kind with a Liberal attitude towards a 'fair' budget, Tammy Mills, The Age, 20/5/14)

Uh Oh, I feel another Liberal MP coming on...

So just who is Matthew Lesh?

From the above, you will have deduced that he's:

a) a highly sensitive guy who deplores aggression
b) one with an inordinate fondness for the media limelight

Little surprise then when he popped up on ABC News 24, debating Deanna Taylor, President of the National Union of Students (NUS) on the subject of the government's decision to deregulate university fees and yesterday's resultant National Day of Action.

Lesh, of course, defended the former and lashed (leshed?) the latter as "extreme left" student protesters "violently confronting the police."

Intrigued by all this evidence of Lesh's aggro-phobia, but puzzled nonetheless by his devotion to the cause of Australia's most pugilistic PM, I thought I'd take a look at his twitter page, where he describes himself as a "commentator," an "opinionated classic liberal," and a "developer." Not, you'll notice, "Zionist." Interesting, these days, how those you'd expect to revel in the label are backing away from it. But I digress. Lesh's tweets.

Oh, how I wish I hadn't gone there. Just when I was beginning to think that maybe Australia had a budding Ghandi on its hands, my fond fantasy was banished in an instant by the following two tweets, from late November last year:

I seconded the Vic Young Libs motion at Liberal Victoria State Council to support jobs by bring UFC Australia to Vic!

UFC? Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Retweeted by Matthew Lesh: Young Libs@VicYoungLibs We just moved a successful motion at Liberal Victoria State Council to bring UFC Australia to Vic!

The retweet was accompanied by a photograph of the successful Motion 23, which read:

"That this State Council calls on the Victorian Coalition Government to legalise Mixed Martial Arts competition in a cage."

I'm shattered. Shattered.

PS (23/5/14): Kids cage-fighting on the rise in the US (Philippa Lees, au.news.yahoo.com, 23/5/14):

"It is banned in most US states but parents are finding a way to enter their kids, as young as 6, into junior cage-fighting tournaments. A story on Seven's Sunday Night, to air May 25, goes inside Harrah's Casino which can hold these junior mixed martial arts (MMA) events because it is situated on an Indian reservation and not subject to Californian law. David Bramlette, whose son Mason 'The Beast' has been fighting since he was diagnosed with ADHD, says he believes it is safer than most other sports... Contests are sanctioned and officiated by the US Fight League and follow the limited contact rules which prohibit kicking and punching above the collarbone. Strangling is allowed. Opponents are not determined by gender but weight range, which means boys can fight girls. Kids MMA has thrived off the Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) craze which has become a $3 billion dollar business."

Viva Australian Student Activism 3

Continued from my previous post:

"THE DEBATE AGAIN

"Although the criticism of AUS increased in the 1975 debate, the arguments changed on the substance of the questions. Most of the debate rested on whether or not a democratic secular state was viable and whether or not the PLO was sincere in calling for one.

"The outcry over AUS involvement in this issue a second time was best expressed by the extraordinary Mungo MacCallum in Nation Review, in a virtual reprint of his 1974 article. The article was reprinted in an AUJS leaflet...: 'Last year the AUS Council sought ratification of motions designed to align Australia with the PLO and against Israel. In spite of the scandalous abuse of AUS resources in almost exclusively promoting the 'yes' case, student meetings around the country overwhelmingly rejected the council position... But... the AUS heavies have refused to accept the democratic verdict of the people they claim to represent and it's all on again.' (AUS's unofficial anti-Israel line, Nation Review, April 4-10, 1975) MacCallum went on to make startling allegations about the appointment of [Victorian left ALP activist] Bill Hartley as Education Research Officer on 'an unprecedented salary', and questioned whether AUS ought to meddle in affairs in which it has no influence. MacCallum was enthusiastically quoted and embroidered upon in a number of places. In every new leaflet and article, Bill Hartley's salary and conditions improved. By the time he reached the pages of Arena in May 1975, Hartley's salary had jumped $2,000 and he had a car and expenses as well.

"Two unauthorised leaflets distributed on Melbourne campuses attempted to win support by characterising the 1975 motions as a deliberate affront to the 'stupid' AUS membership. The leaflets posed the threat that support for the PLO '... means the Executive of AUS would have the right to give part of your membership money to the PLO to finance such activities as the murder of civilians...' Graffiti at [Sydney's] Macquarie [University] put it more simply: 'YOU WASTE HALF A MILLION STUDENT DOLLARS ON YOUR FILTH AND LIES.' (The leaflets were titled: 'At it Again!' and 'You Are Stupid (Says AUS)'. [A photograph of] the graffiti [can be seen] in Arena 23/4/75.)

"The crux of the debate, however, lay in the issue of the democratic secular state [of Palestine] raised in the first motion. As Simon Marginson points out, it was difficult for AUJS to oppose the concept of a democratic secular state or support for the UN resolution since they had used the UN to legitimise their own claims to occupied Palestine the year before. The main aim of their opposition was to discredit the notion of the democratic secular state by pointing to the Arab regimes and places such as Cyprus and Northern Ireland. Attempts were also made to discredit the UN itself, a move which placed AUJS members on the same par with the establishment which claims the UN has never really been useful since it became dominated by third world countries.

"The motions were defeated again but by a greatly decreased majority. Motion 1 [the democratic secular state of Palestine] was supported by 19% of campuses and by 25% of students voting. [Motion 2, AUS recognition of PLO] was supported by 16% of campuses and 20% of students. (Alternate News Service No 43 August 4, 1975) The fourfold increase in student support was due to several factors.

"AUS BASH CONTINUES UNABATED

"1976 was a good year for Zionist students and their allies, the Liberals and the Murdoch press. It was just like having the Middle East debate in 1974 and 1975 without the hoary questions of Israel and the Palestinians intruding. Most delegates will be aware of the scope of the attacks specifically from Zionist quarters in 1976 and we may be sure they will come up again during Council. They included:

1. The hounding of employees, former officers and... employees of AUS and its subsidiary service companies.
2. Ludicrous attacks on any officer if any bias was shown towards the Palestinian people. Of course, since most of the incoming officers had supported the gag motion it might be argued they could not have their cake and eat it too. However, AUS's only policy on the Middle East supported the right of the Palestinians to be heard in Australia so it could also be argued that as officers and individuals they had the right to attend demonstrations against Moshe Dayan and to generally be critical of Israel. However, at the anti-Dayan demonstration in Sydney, an Arab woman, unknown to any of the students present, was carrying a sign reading 'AUS for Palestine'. Outraged Zionists demanded that Macquarie [University's] AUS secretary or the NSW RO Sarah Sheehan remove the sign from the woman. Anonymous letters were printed in student papers accusing Sheehan of standing near the sign. One such letter, in Cautisone, even criticised Rodd Webb, former FCC and no longer even a member of the Union, for standing near the sign.
3. An unauthorised leaflet alleging close contacts between present AUS officers and Henri Fischer.
4. Continual attacks in the daily press from such people as [Frank] Knopfelmacher alleging AUS supports terrorism.
5. Most important [were Michael] Danby's proposals for wiping out left-wing influence in AUS.

"Ironically, 1976, of all years, was the year during which Israel's international image was severely tarnished. The West Bank riots and their brutal suppression; the closer connections with South Africa; the growing right-wing within Israel; the public service report attempting to further disadvantage Arabs in Israeli society; and the plight of the Palestinian refugees in Lebanon expressed in the massacre of Tel-az-Zaatar are just a few of the ways in which Israel and the Palestinians were talking points. The only high point for the West in this dismal year for Israel was the raid at Entebbe, complete in paperback and 70mm. It says something about the nature of a country that it regards as its public relations high point the invasion of another country.

"The reaction of the Zionists and the repercussions for AUS made the Middle East debate one with wider implications. Obviously, as a students' union, AUS must involve itself in concerns related to education and students, but even policies in those areas may be compromised by the refusal of AUS leaders to debate Palestine in 1976. What use is our policy on Southern Africa; our policy against Fraser and cuts in spending; our policy for the repeal of all abortion laws if, as soon as a well-organised, noisy and unprincipled opposition emerges, we immediately back down? The policy AUS passed relating to the rights of the Palestinian people to put their case to the Australian people is just so much humbug when we consider that the leaders of AUS would not even allow their own membership to debate the question of Israel. To claim, as right-wingers and Zionists do, that the vote in both [1974 and 1975] just showed how unrepresentative the leadership of AUS misses the point. As Rodd Webb put it in an analysis of the 1974 debate in Arena: 'None of their sponsors really expected [the 1974 motions] to receive majority support [but]... it was a heartening demonstration of the operation of a wider democracy (in AUS) than had been practised before'."

Points of interest arising:

1) Journalist David Marr's observation on Julia Gillard as a student politician: "She wanted to take Palestine out of the AUS." (See my 14/8/10 post The Real Julia Gillard.)

2) For Tony Abbott, the AUS, and Palestine, I refer you to my 13/9/12 post Greg & Tony Do Monash.

3) Someone really ought to research the AUS's 1970s Palestine campaign thoroughly and examine its impact on our current crop of political suckholes for USrael.

4) And also for what light it sheds on the evolution of Zionist propaganda. You'll notice, for example, that one of the most common of contemporary Zionist talking points, the deflective, 'Why single out Israel? What about X, Y, and Z? ', had yet to be spun in the 70s.

Maybe I'll return to the subject of this campaign later on.

Viva Australian Student Activism 2

Continued from my previous post:

"1975

"The 1975 resolutions [passed at AUS's January 1975 Council] were far clearer in their formulation [than the 1974 resolutions]...

[MERC: These were 1) AUS supports the establishment of a democratic secular State of Palestine (encompassing the area of mandate territory) wherein all people presently residing in Israel and all Palestinian Arabs forcibly exiled from their homeland will have the right to Palestinian citizenship. This motion embodies the right of Palestinian citizens of all religions, race, colour, creed and sex to the protection of the new State and rejects racist legislation, such as the present Zionist 'Law of Return'. 2) AUS concurs with UN Resolution 3236 (XXIX) and the decision of the UN to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organisation as the legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. 3) To counter the present media bias, AUS should continue to use its resources to publicise to both students and the general community the plight and continuing oppression of the Palestinian people by both Israeli and Arab nations.]

"As Simon Marginson has pointed out in his paper on the subject in Alternate News Service (No 43, August 4, 1975) the debate in 1975 showed a marked unity and turn to the right in Zionist arguments.

"THE GUPS TOUR

"Nowhere was this turn more evident than in response to the tour by a delegation of two members of the General Union of Palestinian Students in May 1975. At [AUS's] August 1974 Council there was an unanimous vote in favour of the motion: 'That AUS invite a representative of GUPS to do a speaking tour of campuses early in 1975 in order that membership can directly seek clarification of various aspects the Palestinian question.' Shortly afterwards, the then President [of AUS] Neil McLean wrote to GUPS in Cairo issuing an invitation. No reply had been received by Annual Council 1975, and in February Ian McDonald, the new president, issued another invitation. The invitation was delivered verbally by FCC Rodd Webb during a visit to Damascus that month and was accepted and publicised with little reaction.

"Meanwhile the question of allowing a PLO delegation into Australia had become a matter of public controversy. In January 1975, the Prime Minister [Gough Whitlam] had decided not to issue visas to a group of PLO members. This controversy, and the ALP's vacillation over the question, must be dealt with in another place. It is only relevant [in so far as it relates to] the question of the GUPS delegation and the public reaction of AUJS to its visit. The Labor Government, having satisfied itself that the GUPS delegation would not be representing the PLO, issued visas to Eddie Zananiri and Samir Cheikh who duly arrived in Melbourne on May 4, 1975.

"The public controversy in 1974 to the AUS stance paled in comparison to the storm which greeted the arrival of the GUPS delegation. A demonstration by right-wing Zionists outside AUS [headquarters] degenerated into a brawl when some Arab and Australian supporters of the tour diverted a small section of a May Day march to AUS under the impression that the GUPS delegation was under siege. The next day [Opposition Leader Malcolm] Fraser launched an attack against the tour in parliament while daily newspapers and television reported, editorialised [on], and once again scrutinised AUS' activity.

"The tour was eventful and well attended and received by the majority of students. Hundreds, and in some cases, thousands of students turned up to hear Zananiri and Cheikh. However, the speakers were frequently heckled and drowned out by Zionist demonstrators. At the first public campus meeting at Melbourne University, AUJS president Joe Gersh had to appeal to his supporters not to incite violence and held an alternate demonstration in front of the [AUS] building [in Carlton] as the Palestinian speakers were on the other side. Marshals at the Jewish demonstration were extremely anxious that some of their more extreme elements (there were reportedly several ex-Israeli soldiers in the crowd) would become violent. Unfortunately, very little of Zananiri's or Cheikh's speeches was actually heard. Both were drowned out completely, despite an effective PA system, by the constant rival chants of the Zionists and pro-Palestinians. (Imre Salusinszky, Nation Review, May 9-15, 1975)

"On May 7, The Australian reported that one of the leading Zionists at Melbourne University, Michael Danby, had resigned his position as AUS secretary on that campus in protest over the visit. A few days later Danby's resignation was reported in The Australian Jewish News because of: '... the fascist, racist actions and attitudes taken by AUS towards Jews and the scandalous abuse of AUS resources.'

"AUJS opposition to the GUPS tour was confused and contradictory. There had been no opposition at all at August 1974 Council; indeed, prominent members of AUJS had supported the tour (Arena, 21/5/75). At January Council [1975], AUJS members had also voted for a resolution condemning the Australian government's decision to ban the PLO tour. Days before the [GUPS] delegation arrived, AUJS condemned the tour and Joe Gersh declined an offer to debate the Palestinians when they arrived. Yet, within two days, Gersh demanded equal time on the platform with the delegation, a theme which repeated itself throughout the interruptions at public meetings. (There was eventually a debate on Monday Conference between Zananiri and Peter Wise).

"In [a] telegram to various ministers in the government, AUJS demanded the immediate deportation of the delegation, pointing out that under the Commonwealth Crimes Act anyone dedicated to the overthrow of an established government could immediately be deported (Australian Jewish Times, 8/5/75). To substantiate this demand AUJS attempted to draw links between GUPS and the PLO."

To be concluded next post...

Viva Australian Student Activism 1

To the student activists who ruffled Tony Jones' feathers on Q&A on Monday night, I dedicate this little walk down memory lane.

All but forgotten now, but well worth recalling as a bold example of 1970s grassroots politics, was the brave attempt by progressive Australian Union of Students (AUS) activists to make Palestine core university business.

Interestingly, I could find only one reference to the AUS campaign on the net - of the kind, as you'll see, that screams out for a corrective. It's by - groan - Zionist academics, Philip Mendes and Nick Dyrenfurth of Monash University:

"These anti-Zionist fundamentalists loved the gun not the olive branch, and they quickly captured the pro-Palestinian agenda. In 1974 and again in 1975, the extremist-influenced Australian Union of Students (AUS), passed motions calling for the elimination of the State of Israel, and its replacement by a democratic secular state of Palestine. The latter was a disingenuous euphemism for an ethno-religious Islamic Arab state given that most Palestinian Muslims are highly religious and overwhelmingly reject secular and democratic ideas." (How the Far Left hijacked the Palestinian cause, Philip Mendes & Nick Dyrenfurth, onlineopinion.com.au, 18/11/09)

Stuff and nonsense, of course, proving that Zionism and scholarship don't mix.

The following unattributed account of the AUS Palestine campaign, The Palestine debate in AUS, was written for the Macquarie University student newspaper, Arena (27/4/77). I'll be posting it here in three parts (with typo corrections and additional material where necessary. :

"THE MIDDLE EAST DEBATE 1974-1976 AUS DROPS THE BANNER

"In 1974 and 1975 the Australian Union of Students took a series of motions and foreshadowed motions to its membership for debate and resolution. The motions were related to the state of Israel, the nature of Zionism and the plight of the Palestinian people. The ensuing controversy shook AUS to its foundations. The debate took the issue of Israel into the wider Australian community and for the first time students and others were able to hear the Palestinian point of view from both its Australian champions and two Palestinian students* who visited Australia in 1975 under the auspices of AUS. [*Eddie Zananari and Samir Cheikh of the General Union of Palestinian Students (GUPS)]

"This paper deals briefly with the background and history of the debate and the wide-ranging consequences it has had on the Union's ability to debate controversial policy or hold a controversial position. While this paper may not be the last word on the matter, it attempts to cover at least some of the material and activity of the past 3 years for the information of delegates to Council.

[MERC: The 1974 motions read: 1) That AUS informs the National Union of Israeli Students (NUIS) that AUS does not recognise the existence of the State of Israel or of the NUIS as the official student in that region. 2) That AUS recognise the GUPS as a legal student union in that area of the Middle East known as Israel (in reality occupied Palestine). 3) That AUS having met in full Council, no longer believes that NUIS should be recognised as a member of ASA, and rather, believes that the GUPS and Arab Student Unions or any non-Zionist student organisation should be recognised in their place. 4) That AUS condemn the exploitation and degradation of the Palestinian people as carried out by the Arab nations and by Israel. 5) That AUS open a dialogue with the PLO in Beirut with a view to disseminating literature on the resistance through the organs open to AUS. 6) That AUS examine the student unions of the Arab regimes, to ascertain whether they are progressive organisations or simply apologists for their various reactionary regimes. 7) That AUS calls for the release of all members of the Palestinian resistance held in jails in occupied Palestine (Israel), the Arab countries and Greece. This includes all Jewish political prisoners not officially members of the PLO held in occupied Palestine. 8) That AUS support the liberation forces of Palestine. 9) That the Palestinian people have the historical, cultural, and moral right to the land of Palestine, presently embraced by Israel. 10) That any realistic settlement of the 'Middle East Problem' must accommodate the rights of the Palestinians in order to have any chance of resulting in permanent peace.]

"1974 - AN OVERWHELMING RESULT IN FAVOUR OF ISRAEL

"The public reaction to AUS January Council policy on Israel in 1974 was immediate. On January 20, the Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) issued a press release signed by its president, Arnold Roth. In the press release, Roth threatened that Jewish students would withdraw their membership en masse and give $1.00 per head to the cause of fighting the AUS motions: 'AUS has decided to wish Israel out of existence. It chooses to take an absurdly unrealistic view of the Middle East to reject the only democratically elected and representative student body in the Middle East, namely the National Union of Israeli Students, and in its place recognise the General Union of Palestinian Students, an Egyptian 'front' organisation...' (AUJS Press Release, 20/1/74) Further on the press release stated that, having accepted the aims and activities of the PLO, including terrorism, AUS had 'placed itself beyond any reasonable resemblance to representing the views of the mass of Australian students.' (ibid) Roth had acted hastily and without the assent of his executive. Later he modified AUJS' position and announced it would attempt to debate and defeat the resolutions rather than withdraw from AUS.

"The pro-Palestine motions asserted the justice of the Palestinian claims to Israel; recognised the GUPS as the representative body of the area of Israel instead of NUIS; proposed AUS establish dialogue with the PLO; gave support to the liberation forces of Palestine and called for the release of members of the Palestinian resistance imprisoned in Israel for their activities. The foreshadowed motions recognised the rights of Palestinians and Israelis, calling for the rights of national liberation for both Jews and Arabs, proposing a separate mini-state.

"While the arguments for the pro-Palestine motions were fairly consistent, the opposition was split. Arguing for the motions, activists debated the issues of Zionism, its philosophy and practice. They called attention to the plight of the Palestinian people and formulated the democratic secular state in which Jews and Arabs could live equally as the ideal solution to the problems of the Palestinian refugees and persecuted Jews. The opposition split its attack. Much of it centred on the right of AUS to take the controversial position it had. It accused AUS leaders of anti-semitism while a third argument (the most used) justified Zionism as a national liberation movement for the Jewish people. That argument agreed that everything in Israel was not perfect and that the Palestinians had a grievance. However, it disagreed with AUS' 'extreme' line, posing the solution of a mini-state for the Palestinian people.

"THE PAPER WAR

"The debate, conducted through National U [the AUS paper], campus papers and leaflets, raged in the weeks before the vote was taken [March 1974?] and afterwards. The national press joined in, sometimes reporting, sometimes castigating AUS for daring to question the status quo in Israel. Left Zionists made flattering comparisons between Israeli parliamentary democracy and life and the reactionary Arab regimes surrounding Israel. They admitted Israel had made mistakes but that given time it would rectify them without any help from AUS: 'The Jewish leadership failed to recognise the emergence of Arab nationalism until after the event and this created a vacuum in the official Israeli policy which Israel is still trying to rectify today.' (AUS Position Paper 1974: The Middle East: An Alternative View, prepared by Peta Jones of UNSW Delegation)

"Right Zionists were less subtle. In a supplement to the Australian Jewish Times dated February 21, 1974 a few lines represented AUS policy as supporting terrorism perpetrated by Palestinian guerilla forces; pledging to disseminate propaganda supplied from Beirut; and claiming AUS was therefore unrepresentative of students. It announced that a demonstration was to be held at UNSW. As reported in National U, the Palestinian refugee problem was dismissed by one of the speakers as of little consequence. In a piece of street theatre, the AUS leadership was portrayed as a group of bloodthirsty dilettantes looking for a 'cause'. The 'cause' was represented by an actor dressed as a Palestinian complete with headdress, dark glasses and gun. (Torch Rally at UNSW, Geoff Tanks, NU, 11/3/74)

"One of the major emphases given by both 'left' and 'right' was to the question of anti-semitism. Since it was difficult, if not impossible to detect anti-semitism in any of the arguments presented verbally or on paper by the pro-Palestinian faction, a new definition was applied. Zionists claimed the interests of all Jewish people were inextricably bound up in Zionism, which had its roots in the Jewish religion and culture. Hence any criticism of the Zionist political movement was per se anti-semitic: 'I find the very idea of 'anti-Zionism' just incredible. Why aren't there any 'anti-Vietnamese national liberationist' groups around the world. Of course not! How can you legitimately oppose the self-emancipation of a people? Obviously you can't... except when it comes to the Jewish people.' (Anti-Zionism is anti-semitism, Augustine Zycher, Arena, 13/3/74)

"A reply to this argument in the same publication pointed out: 'It has often been claimed... it is inconsistent... (to support)... Arab nationalism and not... Israeli nationalism... Any socialist worth his (sic) salt must distinguish between two types of nationalism. There is what can be called oppressive nationalism and... on the other hand oppressed nationalism... It cannot be expected, as the Zionists would like to claim, that the new Left would adopt a consistent view towards all nationalism because... (they)... do not wish the new Left to support Nazi nationalism.' (Why AUS is right on the Middle East, John Bechara)."

NB: The 1974 motions did not win majority support among students. That campaign, however, was but a prelude to the more substantial and eventful campaign of 1975. My next post will continue with the account of that campaign.

Anatomy of a Beat-Up

*Sigh* - yet another Christian Kerr EXCLUSIVE in the Australian:

The headline: ANU faces rage over conference

Really? It must be a pretty outrageous conference then:

"Australian National University officials have gone to ground in the face of Jewish community outrage for hosting Middle East hardliners at a Human Rights in Palestine conference this week."

Right.

So a conference on Palestinian rights is ipso facto "outrageous," and anyone speaking at it is ipso facto a "hardliner." (Definitions courtesy of the "Jewish community," aka the Executive Council of Australian Jewry's Peter Wertheim, and the Australian Union of Jewish Students' Dean Sherr.)

Now if the conference were about human rights in Burma or Tibet, say, it would no doubt be seen as being to the university's credit, but the very fact that the ANU is hosting a conference on Palestinian human rights apparently constitutes a damning indictment of the institution:

"The ANU was included in the international top 30 institutions in the QS World University Rankings released yesterday, but the conference has led to questions being asked about the university's credibility."

And who is asking the questions?

Now for those "hardliners" and their 'crimes'. (Beware, you are about to enter a Zionist twilight zone of false allegations, smear tactics and innuendo.):

There's Richard Falk, professor of international law at Princeton University and the UN's special rapporteur for human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories, "who was publicly rebuked by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon in 2011 for 'preposterous' remarks questioning whether the September 11 terror attacks were orchestrated by the US government."

Falk, of course, has made no such claim. His crime  - apart from standing up for Palestinian rights - seems to consist of being sufficiently open-minded to have once raised the idea of an independent investigation into the 9/11 attacks.

(Incidentally, if it's "preposterous" you want, look no further than Ban - Is anyone home? - Ki-moon: "United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon met with students at the UN headquarters in Jerusalem on Friday afternoon, and admitted that his organisation was biased against Israel. Responding to a student who said Israelis felt their country was discriminated against in the international organisation, Ban confirmed that there was a biased attitude towards the Israeli people and Israeli government, stressing that it was 'an unfortunate situation'." (UN chief admits bias against Israel, Omri Efraim, ynetnews.com, 16/8/13))

There's Palestinian activist Hanan Ashrawi of Sydney Peace Prize (2003) fame, "who was among a few PLO members who in 1996 voted not to remove clauses in the PLO charter calling for Israel's destruction." (That, BTW, is a Zionist distortion of the reference, in Article 15 of the now defunct 1968 Palestinian National Charter, to the need to "eliminate Zionism in Palestine." Eliminating Zionism means no more and no less than dismantling Israel's system of apartheid legislation, which condemns Israeli Palestinians to second class citizenship and Palestinian refugees to eternal exile.)

The simple fact of the matter here is that not one Israeli government has ever lifted a finger to amend any of Israel's discriminatory and exclusionary (that is, anti-Palestinian) laws and practices.

Finally, there's Israeli activist Jeff Halper, who allegedly "claimed in 2011 that Israel has developed 'spectral dust' it could spray over wide areas of land, every grain of which was a sensor programmed with a person's DNA to track, locate and kill that individual."

I'm sorry, I've given up on this one. Trying to track it down to any credible source is about as fruitful as the search for Saddam Hussein's mythical people-shredder.

Having marshaled the suspects and their alleged crimes, judge and jury in the form of Zionist apologist Wertheim and footie fanatic* Sherr (aka 'the Jewish community') are duly wheeled in to deliver the guilty verdict:

Wertheim: "A conference that features fringe conspiracy theorists and ideologues and omits recognised scholars in the field has no academic credibility. It is appalling that one of our top universities, the ANU, seems no longer to understand the difference between genuine scholarship and political advocacy."

Sherr: "It is highly concerning to see someone with such a history of anti-Semitic slurs invited on to [sic] Australian university campuses. We repeatedly come up against extreme anti-Israel groups on campus that blur the line between attacking Israel and attacking Jews. Our fear is Falk will only inflame this."

"Sigh" - only in Murdoch's Australian...

[*Check out his tweets.]

A Conga Line of BDS Bashers

Whenever Murdoch's Australian takes its hatchet to one or other manifestation of Australia's pro-Palestinian BDS campaign, a virtual conga line of Israel lobbyists and Zionist dupes is invariably trotted out to condemn it.

Christian Kerr's BDS targets uni over campus shop in yesterday's paper is a case in point.

But first the scene-setting:

"The University of NSW has been targeted by the anti-Israeli BDS movement over plans to open a Max Brenner chocolate shop on its main Sydney campus. Students for Justice in Palestine has launched a campaign against the campus outlet, expected to open in June, calling on the university to cancel the contract. Spokesman Damian Ridgewell warned of protests. 'There will be an active campaign on campus to encourage students and staff to boycott the shop', he told The Australian. BDS activists claim the Max Brenner chain is owned by the Strauss Group of food and confectionary manufacturers, which produces some rations for the Israeli Defence Forces, and accuses it of complicity in 'war crimes'. The company insists that it is wholly Australian owned and operated."

Then, one by one, the BDS bashers take the floor. There's the clueless spokesperson from admin:

"A UNSW spokeswoman said the university 'deplores any form of racism and discrimination' but added: 'Free expression of views and open debate are central to the life of a university'. The spokeswoman said staff and students had been surveyed over new stores on campus. 'Max Brenner was the equal second most popular choice'."

Oh, so that's an informed endorsement, is it? According to a 2012 Lowy Institute poll, only 39% of the 18 to 29 year olds surveyed expressed support for Australian democracy, while 23% didn't really care what kind of political system we had. All I can say is thank God we've got groups like Students for Justice in Palestine to promote a concern for the content of the student mind, as opposed to what goes into the student belly and the corporate coffers.

There's the rambammed politician 1:

"Tertiary Education Minister Craig Emerson slammed the boycott. 'The Australian government has always been firm and clear in its opposition to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign', he said. 'Such boycotts against Israel in addition to harming Palestinian people economically, are unhelpful to the Middle East peace process'."

But seriously, what else is he going to say? After all:

"Emerson is an alumni of AIJAC's Rambam program, which sends politicians to Israel to learn the facts on the ground. As acting foreign minister he has condemned terrorist activities against Israel, and as trade minister condemned the NSW Greens' BDS policy, labeling it 'reprehensible'. 'Craig Emerson is somebody we've got to know well', [AIJAC director Colin] Rubenstein said. 'He's also a very quick learner and I think very positive and quite knowledgeable about the world and certainly about the Middle East'." (Australia-Israel relations after the fall of Rudd, The Australian Jewish News, 1/3/12)

There's the lobbyist:

"Executive Council of Australian Jewry head Peter Wertheim said action against Max Brenner had failed. 'Since the boycott campaign against Max Brenner Australia began in 2011, their business has really boomed', he said. 'Their shops are crowded with Australians of all backgrounds, including families with women wearing hijabs."

But he would say that, wouldn't he? In fact, he may have said too much! I mean, is Wertheim not perhaps concerned that the mere mention of hijabs patronising a Max Brenner outlet will scare away the hijab-hating shock troops of the Australian Protectionist Party who love Max so much that, whenever a BDS protest heaves into view, they're there with bells and whistles to protect him?

There's the rambammed politician 2:

"NSW opposition frontbencher Walt Secord urged 'a reverse boycott' of the shop."

LOL! If only you'd seen the memorable photograph of Walt at Jerusalem's 'Wailing Wall' on the front page of the March 22 edition of The Australian Jewish News, you'd swear the guy's been reverse-boycotting chocolate ever since he was knee high to the proverbial grasshopper.

And finally, there's the trainee lobbyist:

"Australian Union of Jewish Students political affairs director Dean Sherr... called BDS 'an ugly attempt to delegitimise an entire nation. The problem with BDS is that it does nothing to offer solutions or initiatives for peace', he said. 'It's about attributing all the blame to Israel and punishing it, and calling into question the Jewish state's very right to exist'."

Political affairs director, eh? How grand! A trawl through Dean's tweets suggest a guy who's more into footie than politics. This, I'm afraid, is about as good as it gets with Dean: "We should let them [asylum seekers] in as long as they promise to buy a Dogs, Roos or Port membership." (22/10/12)

What can I say? Herzl would be turning in his grave.

Best show in town, folks!

PS (19/4/13):  The Conga Line of BDS Bashers grows even longer in today's Australian with yet another rambammed politician, Liberal Senator Brett Mason, "accus[ing] the BDS movement of promoting an anti-Israel agenda rather than supporting the Middle East peace process." (Students were told about Brenner, Christian Kerr) Which sounds a bit like a corporate heavy accusing environmentalists of promoting an anti-development agenda rather than supporting the cloning of extinct species, no? Then we have a medicine man with a UNSW connection, Dr David Adler,  who says, "Boycotting a party is contrary to the mission of the university and in this particular case will not advance the cause of peace one inch." Is this the same David Adler, I wonder, who "recently visited Israel and was deeply inspired by his personal journey of discovery there," so much so, in fact, that he'll be lecturing to guests at a Young Adult Chabad function in May on "How many Miracles can you fit on the head of a Pin?"? (youngadult chabad.org) All about advancing the cause of peace by miles, of course.

Some Questions for Adam Bandt

Has yet another Australian Greens politician been picked off by the Israel lobby?

"The Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) Political Training Seminar (PTS) also provided food for thought when 24 Australian federal parliamentarians and Jewish communal leaders addressed 45 Jewish students. The annual PTS at Parliament House in Canberra earlier this month saw the students discussing a range of topical issues. In an AUJS PTS first, Opposition Leader Tony Abbott joined the seminar, along with a variety of other central figures, including Nationals leader Warren Truss and Australian Greens deputy leader Adam Bandt, who all contributed to the seminar's multidimensional approach. AUJS national chairperson Daniel Nash said that the 15th annual PTS was by far the best. 'In terms of Jewish youth engagement with politics and Israel advocacy, I think the PTS continues to be one of the Jewish community's most stellar programs for fostering interest in those matters, and in terms of access to contrasting views and collecting brilliant minds from our own community." (Top-level training for tomorrow's leaders, The Australian Jewish News, 31/8/12)

1) Why did you agree to appear at a clearly Zionist function such as this in full knowledge of a) Zionism's ongoing record of dispossession and colonization in Palestine, and b) the Israel lobby's involvement in attacking your own party over the NSW Greens' principled support of BDS?

2) What did you say to these students who are being groomed as Zionists and future Israel lobbyists/pro-Israel politicians?

3) Did you field questions on BDS and Lee Rhiannon? If so, what were your answers?

See my 21/4/12 post Some Questions for Christine Milne.

Israeli Propaganda Week

"To save man from the morass of propaganda, in my opinion, is one of the chief aims of education. Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction." (The Purpose of Education, Martin Luther King, Morehouse College Student Paper, The Maroon Tiger, 1947)

Zionist propagandists will grasp at any straw to bolster their faltering case. The most recent example here has been an Australasian Union of Jewish Students (AUJS) poster barrage targeting the 8th Annual Israeli Apartheid Week on campuses across the nation.

One such poster features a photograph of Black-American civil rights campaigner Martin Luther King with an accompanying, unsourced, though presumably genuine, quote. Google the quote and one of the first entries to emerge is the following from jewishvirtuallibrary.org:

"10 days before his assassination, at the annual convention on [sic] the Rabbinical assembly, Dr King said: 'The response of some of the so-called young militants does not represent the position of the vast majority of Negroes. There are some who are color-consumed and they see a kind of mystique in blackness or in being colored, and anything non-colored is condemned. We do not follow that course... Peace for Israel means security, and we must stand with all our might to protect her right to exist, its territorial integrity and the right to use whatever sea lanes it needs. Israel is one of the great outposts of democracy in the world, and a marvelous example of what can be done, how desert land can be transformed into an oasis of brotherhood and democracy. Peace for Israel means security, and that security must be a reality'. Source: I.L. Kenen, Israel's Defense Line, Prometheus Books, Buffalo, NY: 1981, 266"

[NB: I have highlighted in the above quotation the part which accompanies the photograph of King.]

What, I wonder, would the average Australian university student make of King's alleged words?

Putting to one side any analysis of the quote's content, one would hope that any students reading it would have the critical wherewithal to ask themselves (or AUJS) the following obvious questions:

1) Why is the quote not sourced as are those on AUJS's other 2 posters?
2) What is the source of the quote?

Assuming that any students were sufficiently interested as to google it and so access the above extract, one would hope that they would then have the nouse to ask two further questions:

1) Who is I.L. Kenen?
2) Is there any other source for the quote?

In answer to question 1) Isaiah Leo 'Si' Kenen (1905-1988) was the founder of the American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs (AZCPA), the forerunner of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the most powerful component of the US Israel lobby, whose conferences provide the (candle-lit?) backdrop for American presidents' de rigueur declarations of undying love for the state of Israel. The full title of Kenen's book is Israel's Defense Line: Her Friends & Foes in Washington.

In answer to question 2) I can't find any other source on the net. (If anyone can find it in some volume containing say King's complete speeches, I'd be more than interested to hear from them.)

With these 2 answers in mind, I would therefore hope that such students would take the quote with the proverbial grain of salt.

Now assuming that King did say what has been attributed to him by Kenen, I would hope that students would then ask such questions as:

1) Is King, like the Pope, infallible?
2) Just how much did he know about the issue at the time?

To which, I think the following answers would have to be: 'no' and 'probably not much'.

I would hope as well that they would take into consideration the context in which it was said, that is, in the wake of the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, which the Zionist propaganda mill conned Americans into believing was a war for Israel's very survival, with President Nasser of Egypt cast in the role of the new Hitler gearing up to drive Israeli Jews into the sea. With so many Americans sucked in by the myth of an Israeli David overcoming an Arab Goliath, why not King?

Finally (and again I hasten to add if these are indeed King's words), I would hope that students would marvel at the grotesque spectacle of a renowned campaigner for the rights of his own oppressed people so blind to the colonial dynamic at play in Palestine as to prattle on about the security of the coloniser and his supposed transformation of a "desert land" into an "oasis of brotherhood and democracy." The cliched, propagandist desert/oasis metaphor suggests that King (?) hadn't the foggiest idea about the geography of Palestine, let alone what had really been going on there since 1917.

Certainly, the PR people behind the MLK poster, would naturally be banking on our students simply suspending their critical faculties and taking the quote at face value. In which case, their propaganda campaign will have been successful. Let us hope that our students are up to the challenge. And as for MLK, I think he'd be turning in his grave.