Rudd Gives Palestine the Brush-Off

The Sydney Morning Herald's Alan Ramsey was alone among our mainstream journalists (so far as I am aware) in reporting on a letter sent by Melbourne's Women for Palestine organization to the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, Brendan Nelson, asking them to give favourable consideration to moving "a parliamentary motion recognising May 15, the actual date of the 60th anniversary of Israel's creation, as a day of 'catastrophe, dispossession, displacement, exile and occupation' for the 700,000 Palestinians who'd lost their homes, their land and, in many cases, their lives in May* 1948." (Little or no time for Palestinians in Parliament, 17/5/08) Neither responded. This request, of course, was an attempt to balance the motion, "celebrating... the achievements of the State of Israel in the 60 years since its inception," moved by the Prime Minister (and seconded by the Opposition Leader) in the House of Representatives on March 12 this year.

[*Actually, from December, 1947 to the ceasefires of January-March, 1949.]

Ramsey also reported that, although each of the Parliament's 226 politicians were emailed on the matter, only one acknowledgement (from Kate Ellis, Rudd's junior minister for Youth and Sport) was received. He concluded his opinion piece with an account of two ill-fated attempts to raise the issue of the Palestinian Nakba in Federal Parliament:

"In the Parliament this week [12/5-16/5], two women MPs tried to prick their colleagues' consciences. The Greens senator Kerry Nettle and Labor's Julia Irwin, both from Sydney, tabled motions in the Senate and the House of Representatives on Wednesday. Irwin was allowed three minutes to speak on Wednesday, not in the house chamber itself but in the auxiliary main committee room. She said, in part: 'Eight years ago, I visited Israel and the occupied territories. The experience changed my views. Today we remember what Palestinians call al-Nakba, the catastrophe. Sixty years ago, Palestinians fled their homes to escape the massacres. Can those of us in Western nations, who have expressed congratulations to Israel on its 60th birthday, not spare a moment to remember the suffering of the Palestinian people 60 years ago, and the daily consequences of their dispossesion, displacement, exile and occupation? Today those 700,000 Palestinian refugees have grown into 7 million. Four million live under illegal occupation. Three million live as non-citizens in Lebanon, Egypt, Jordan and other countries. Palestine was never a land without people. Today it is a people without a land'.

"Kerry Nettle's motion on Thursday urged, in part: 'That the senate (a) acknowledges and sympathises with the Palestinians whose homes were destroyed or seized and family members killed 60 years ago at the inception of the state of Israel, which the Palestinians call al-Nakba, the catastrophe; (2) remembers with shame the failure of the international community to prevent the bloody events that followed the unilateral declaration of independent statehood by the Israeli leaders; (3) acknowledges the unique relationship between Australia and Palestine, commends the Palestinian Authority's commitment to democracy, reiterates Australia's commitment to Palestine's right to exist and our ongoing support to the peaceful establishment of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and and on this, the 60th anniversary, pledges frendship and enduring support to the people of Palestine'.

"There was no debate. Nettle did not get to speak in support of what she wanted her collegues to do. What the Senate then did was throw out Nettle's motion by 48 votes to five, with 23 senators declining to vote. The entire exercise - the reading of the motion and the subsequent vote - took nine minutes. Julia Irwin got three minutes.

"Our even-handed Middle East policy."

Almost two weeks after May 15 had come and gone, those who proposed the Nakba motion finally received a response to their letter - not from the Prime Minister, but from Garry Quinlan, Senior Adviser (Foreign Affairs, National Security, Defence & Trade).

It was the quintessential, platitudinous, bureaucratic brush-off. To add insult to injury it hadn't even been vetted for typos.*

Here's the gist: "... Australia has long supported efforts to reach a lasting and comprehensive settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The Australian Government greatly values its strong friendship with the Palestinian people and the contributions made by Australia's Palestinian community to our society. In the Parliamentary motion moved by the Prime Minister *to publicly reiterated the Australian Government's commitment to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - a solution based on the recognition of the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for their own state and Israel's right to live in peace within secure borders. The Prime Minister also took the opportunity to re-state Australia's firm belief that the establishment of an independent and economically viable Palestinian state must remain a key objective of the Middle East peace process. The violence and loss of life that have marked the many years of the conflict are tragic and a matter of deep sadness to the Government. The Australian Government does not, however, consider that the Parliamentary motion you propose would contribute to the peace process currently underway between Israel and the Palestinian Authority."

Just what you'd expect from a prime minister who has declared that support for Israel is "in my DNA."

Rambammed

Rambam (v): To be sponsored by smooth-talking Israel lobbyists in Australia on a grooming session conducted by tough-talking PR people in Israel with a view to the sponsored adopting the missionary position for Israel when required in Australia. Usually said of Australian politicians, media hacks and other serviceable community misleaders.
Rambam Fellowship, Journalists Mission etc: Formal designations given to the process of rambamming.
(From The Dictionary of Zionist Discourse)

To be read in conjunction with my earlier post, Ram Bam Thankyou Ma'am:-

A perfect illustration of an Australian politician adopting the missionary position for Israel after having been successfully rambammed has just cropped up in The Australian Jewish News: "NSW Greens Senator Kerry Nettle moved that the Senate 'calls on the Australian Government to make representations to the Israeli Government to immediately lift the blockade of Gaza'. But Queensland Labor Senator Joe Ludwig strongly opposed Nettle's motion. He accused the motion of being 'one-sided', and said it 'does not recognise the complexities of the situation'. When the motion was put to a Senate vote, it was defeated, 54-8. Only Greens and Democrats senators voted in favour, with Liberal and Labor senators uniting to bring the motion down...Ludwig, the minister for home services...visited Israel in 2007 on a trip organised by the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council." (Greens' Gaza motion scuttled, 22/2/08)

Yep, the rambamming of the Liberal and Labor parties is definitely paying dividends.

And remember our Sydney-based journalists, recently returned from their NSW Jewish Board of Deputies' Journalists Mission, who were due to report to "the plenum?" Well, according the same issue of the AJN, they have. And guess what? Their rambamming "had changed their perception of [the Holy Land]."

Tell me more: "Jewish radio announcer [2GB] Joel Labi...said seeing the security fence up close 'hit home that Israel's enemies are a lot closer than people make it out to be'." Don't ask me what that means. The SMH's deputy foreign editor, Kirsty Needham, said that "her visit to the Lebanese border and the town of Sderot had allowed her to witness the fear Israelis are forced to live with daily." And Lebanese and Palestinian fear, Kirsty? 2UE's Glenn Wheeler "was stuck by the close proximity in which Jews, Muslims and Christians live, particularly in Jerusalem." Is he unaware that his ersatz "Muslims and Christians" are really all just Palestinians? And what happened to the Daily Telegraph's Tim Blair? How'd he wriggle out of this? (All quotes from Journalists reassess Israel)

Meaningless platitudes perhaps? Just going through the motions? Guess we'll just have to wait and see whether their rambamming is only skin deep.

But there's more from the AJN: "Last week 5 Australian water experts returned from a Jewish National Fund (JNF) mission to Israel, where they explored water-restoration projects throughout Israel. Dr Paul Sinclair of Environment Victoria, Raymond Ison from the University of Melbourne, Tony McLeod from the Federal Environment Ministry, the National Farmers Federation's Ben Fargher and Fairfax journalist Jewel Topsfield spent 10 days in Israel..." (Australian water experts visit Israel)

Blimey, all these rambam shuttles are making me dizzy.