Labor MP Gets Nazi

Have a look at the following article from Monday's edition of The Australian.

Apparrently Australia's "influential Jewish community" is upset because Labor MP Julia Irwin has (yet again) demonized the Jewish State in a way calculated to hurt and offend Jews (and indeed, all people of genuine goodwill towards the Jewish people). She said:

"Gaza is now a Palestinian ghetto; a prison for its one million people. All flows of people and goods must pass through Israeli border controls, which has resulted in the World Bank's reporting that unemployment and poverty will rise in Gaza. Now Israel will rule Gaza like a walled ghetto, a giant penal colony, a concentration camp.

"We are witnessing the ethnic cleansing of East Jerusalem, the heart and soul of the Palestinian nation. The world must not allow this to happen."

The Australian's op-ed columnist describes this as "deliberately insidious stuff", and an "unconscionable speech". I suppose that is an obscure and somewhat innacurate way of saying "ranting, foaming at the mouth judenhass". Glenn Milne says "An understandably furious Australian Jewish community believes Irwin is engaged in dangerous moral relativism, putting forward the phony proposition that Israel is acting in the same way as Hitler. ", and he is partly right; that said, it's not only the Jews who are outraged. Why is it that when ethnic slurs are directed towards any other group, the newspapers report "community outrage" in generalized terms, but it's only Jews who ever get offended by so-called "anti-Zionist" Judenhass? Someone tell me, please.

Oh and as for East Jerusalem being the "heart and soul of the 'Palestinian Nation'" - oh puh-lease! If you believe that, I have a bridge and opera house to sell you...

Irwin has justly been forced to apologize to the Parliament for what she said.

The problem is that this hoary old hatred, in its re-vamped Islamist form, has become almost endemic within the left wing of the Australian Labor Party:

"This cowardly Government wants to hide behind another lie, the lie that Islamic fundamentalism is the root of terrorism."

That's Ms Irwin MP again.

Moreover:

Irwin is not alone. Inner Sydney city left-wing MP Tanya Plibersek has previously condemned Ariel Sharon as a "war criminal". Fellow left winger Anthony Albanese admits he cannot talk to Jewish ALP backbencher Michael Danby except through intermediaries. A happy bunch when it comes to the politics of Israel.

I'm sure that Mr Danby's Jewishness has absolutely nothing to do with Mr Albanese's attitude towards him.

As Milne says rhetorically to Opposition Leader Kim Beazley: "Over to you, Kim".

I provide the following links for the benefit of anyone who might like to exercise his or her democratic right to express an opinion (you can follow the links on these pages to the other MPs referred to in Milne's article):

• Julia Irwin MP
• The Hon Mr Kim Beazley MP.