ALP leader Albanese rejects BDS and use of ‘apartheid’ to describe Israel

In Zoom meting with Australian Jewish community leaders, the federal opposition leader also said a future Labor government would endorse the IHRA definition of antisemitism

OPPOSITION LEADER Anthony Albanese has rejected the BDS campaign and the use of the term “apartheid” in relation to Israeli society, in a meeting with Jewish community leaders.

In a Zoom event on Tuesday night hosted by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) with 70 community leaders, Albanese said he regarded the BDS campaign “as one that is based upon a racial targeting of a group, in this case Israel.

“I pledge to you our ongoing opposition to the BDS, and as well, to recognise that with the rise of antisemitism and racism, be it the rise on the extreme right but also on the extreme left, that there is a need to provide increased support for the community, including schools and places of worship.”

As for moves by former Labor Foreign Minister Bob Carr to put forward a BDS resolution at the upcoming ALP NSW conference, Albanese said: “I assure you that there is no prospect of the NSW conference carrying any resolution like that and there’s no support for it from any significant figures who hold current positions in the Labor Party.

“There isn’t a single member of my caucus that supports that position, not one,” he said in response to a question by ECAJ co-CEO Peter Wertheim, who moderated the event.

With regard to the use of “apartheid” in relation to Israel, Albanese said “the use of terms like apartheid is not only inappropriate for describing the Israeli political system and structure, it also cheapens the struggle against apartheid that occurred in South Africa.

“It’s a dangerous thing when people look for simplistic terms that are ahistorical because they are not only offensive to the people and structures to which they’re directed, they’re offensive to where the terms originated.”