A recently upgraded politician, who is now the leader of the party (and of the nation) is being attacked by a former diplomat for being too pro-Israel. The charges:
- The politician’s partner was hired by a pro-Israel Jew (reprsented in the letter as “an Israel lobbyist”)
- The politician did not criticize Israel during Operation Cast Lead, but called on Hamas to stop firing rockets into Israel.
- The politician is happy to be described as a Zionist.
- The parliament, led by the politician’s party, is too pro-Israel
So, which country are we talking about? Malaysia? Indonesia? Kuwait? Jordan?
The former ambassador to Israel from 2001 to 2003, which was the height of the latest Palestinian terror war against Israel, wrote a letter to the Sydney Morning Herald complaining that Australia is too close to Israel. He also named the past and current prime ministers, the Australian parliament, and a lack of adhering to what is apparently his line on Israel:
But it is remarkable in that the present government, led by a prime minister happy to be described as a “Zionist”, has held back from the slightest criticism of Israel, in spite of the many excesses of its response to the rocketing from Gaza in early 2009 and in the face of the obvious disinterest in the Netanyahu government in ending settlement activity on occupied lands to advance a “two-state solution”.
And he is not alone. Yet another former ambassador is quoted in the Herald decried Australia’s “tilt” towards Israel. He served from 1993 to 1997, back when Yasser Arafat was lying to the world about wanting peace while sending his suicide bombers and murderers to kill Israelis. I’m sure if someone wanted to delve back into the Australian press of the time, they’d find him urging Israel to “show restraint” in the face of such attacks.
The result of all this? The Prime Minister of Australia is now defending the right of her partner to work for whomever he wants.
Mr Mathieson is employed as a real estate salesman at a company owned by Melbourne developer Albert Dadon, a prominent pro-Israel lobbyist.
Ms Gillard said her public condemnation of Hamas rocket attacks on Israeli territory during the Gaza intervention occurred well before there had been any suggestion of Mr Mathieson working for Mr Dadon.
Blaming the Israel Lobby worked for Walt and Mearsheimer. Looks like it’s working in Australia as well.
But this is not the sort of thing I expect to hear outside of an Arab or Muslim nation. The prime minister of Australia is being attacked for not criticizing Israel enough. Astonishing.
I’m not sure why this story is surprising. If one were looking among former U.S. diplomats for people who thought the U.S. government was too sympathetic to Israel, it wouldn’t be that hard to find such people. Chas Freeman, the former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia who was nominated for chair of the National Intelligence Council last year, would be an example. Edward Peck, the former U.S. ambassador to Mauritania, was a participant in the flotilla to Gaza last month.
I’m not sure why this story is surprising. If one were looking among former U.S. diplomats for people who thought the U.S. government was too sympathetic to Israel, it wouldn’t be that hard to find such people. Chas Freeman, the former U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia who was nominated for chair of the National Intelligence Council last year, would be an example. Another would be Edward Peck, the former U.S. ambassador to Mauritania, was a participant in the flotilla to Gaza last month. Freeman and Peck might not use this particular kind of language, but they certainly are not friends of Israel.
While the United States government does tend to support Israel, the State Department is not considered one of the more pro-Israel parts of the U.S. government. So I’m not surprised to find an anti-Israel ex-diplomat from any country’s foreign service, even a country like Australia which is friendlier to Israel than 90% of the countries in the world.
They were both former ambassadors to Israel, that’s why.