Greens leader distances the party from Julian Burnside’s Nazi tweet

Adam Bandt responded to a comment by the former high-profile candidate comparing Israel with Nazi Germany; Burnside’s partner apologises for attack on Frydenberg

Greens leader Adam Bandt distances party from Burnside tweet (SMH)
Greens leader Adam Bandt has moved to distance his party from a comment by former high-profile candidate Julian Burnside likening Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians to Nazi Germany, which drew a fierce backlash from the Jewish community.

Several leading Jewish figures accused the prominent Melbourne barrister of anti-Semitism and breaking his promise to Holocaust survivors after he tweeted on Wednesday night that Israel’s “treatment of the Palestinians looks horribly like the German treatment of the Jews” during World War II.

Responding to calls from Jewish leaders to condemn Mr Burnside’s comment, Mr Bandt said the Holocaust was “one of the darkest moments in human history” and was “without modern comparison”.

“It has left an enduring and painful scar on the Jewish people, the impacts of which are still being felt today. The Australian Greens abhor racism in all its forms and are particularly concerned by the resurgence of anti-Semitism seen across the world,” Mr Bandt said.

He said the treatment of the Palestinian people could be condemned on its own facts.
Burnside said a “friend at the bar” who had lost family during the Holocaust had contacted him and explained why his comparison was offensive, which he said he accepted and then chose to remove the post.

Burnside partner apologises for attack on Frydenberg (Australian)
The partner of Julian Burnside has deleted and apologised for a tweet that was interpreted as being antisemitic and an attack on Josh Frydenberg’s ancestry, days after the Melbourne barrister issued an apology for his tweet comparing Israel with Nazi Germany.