Labor-ing under an illusion
IF you were wondering what had become of all those world globes that Typo was forced to pull from its shelves after the outcry over the name “Palestine” being printed over the location of the State of Israel, we think we may have an answer.
Given the subject matter of the majority of foreign policy agenda items put forward for discussion at this weekend’s NSW Labor conference, it seems the controversial maps may have been purchased in bulk by the NSW Labor Party to give members a bogus geography lesson.
How else can one explain the plethora of proposals that demand immediate recognition of Palestine if Labor is elected and bans on trips to Israel sponsored by Jewish organisations, and that not only blame the Jewish State for sabotaging peace talks, but also claim the Jewish State doesn’t even want a two-state solution?
Taking the globe as gospel, balance is in short supply. Indeed, in not one of the 28 agenda items – out of 45 dealing with foreign policy – that address the Israel/Palestine issue, is there any mention of the recent spate of terror attacks that have claimed the lives of 30 innocent Israelis and left hundreds more injured.
Nor is there any mention of the incitement from Palestinian politicians, imams or media encouraging the deadly stabbings and rammings. Conversely, violence directed by Israeli settlers at Palestinians is highlighted, as is the oppression of Palestinians and the alleged brutal mistreatment of Arab residents of the West Bank.
Also alarmingly, these motions don’t just originate from Western Sydney branches where Labor politicians are falling over each other for votes; they come from all over the state.
Indeed, perhaps Typo’s globes are not of our earth but a parallel planet known as “NSW Labor Earth”.
On this planet, Mahmoud Abbas is not a Holocaust-denying, terror-inciting leader who is 11 years into a four-year term, but a peace-loving saint who is ready and willing to negotiate a final-status agreement at the drop of a hat. Bibi Netanyahu, however, is an evil tyrant hell-bent on denying the Palestinians statehood.
On this planet, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are completely blameless for the conditions under which Palestinians live, while innocent Israelis seemingly stab themselves to death.
On this planet colonialist Israel never offered the Palestinians a state comprising most of the West Bank, land swaps and compensation for refugees in 2000, 2001 and 2008.
In short, if everything that is called for in the 28 motions came to pass, as with Typo’s globe, we’d be left wondering what had become of the Jewish State as we know it.
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