Jewish organisations ask majors to dump Greens

Published: 9 October 2024

Last updated: 10 October 2024

On the anniversary of the October 7 massacre, Greens leader Adam Bandt accused Israel of genocide and war crimes. The statement was made in the context of “full condemnation” of the Hamas massacre.

But its release as a day of profound mourning when political leaders across the world were expressing their solidarity with Israel was the last straw for many Australian Jews, incensed by the Greens' refusal to condemn terrorism and recognise Israel's right to defend itself.

The Zionist Federation of Australia (ZFA) and the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) have now written to the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition requesting that both major parties preference each other above the Greens at the next Federal election and rule out negotiating, or forming a minority government, with the Greens. They have also sought similar pledges from Teal independents.

The majors themselves were at odds over how to mark October 7. The Australian parliament failed to pass a motion marking the day after the Opposition rejected a motion put forward by the government condemning the Hamas attacks, expressed solidarity with Jewish Australian,s and condemning antisemitism.

The Liberals refused to pass the motion unless clauses calling for a de-escalation, a ceasefire and a two-state solution were removed. they also wanted stronger wording condemning repudiations of Australians who support “barbarous” terror organisations such as Hezbollah, and affirming that Israel shares the “same liberal democratic values as Australia … and affirm that Israel’s battle is a battle fought against the enemies of civilised people everywhere”.

The sins of the Greens

Greens Senator, Mehreen Faruqi, poses with an antisemitic poster.

The ZFA and ECAJ also released a “non-exhaustive” list of offensive statements by the Greens. They include:

NSW Greens MP, Jenny Leong, described Jewish groups as having “tentacles” which they use to “influence power”. Leong also described as “disgraceful,” a statement by Deputy Prime Minister, Richard Marles, in which he condemned the “unprovoked attacks from militant Hamas,” implying support for Hamas atrocities.
Greens Senator, Mehreen Faruqi, posed smiling in a photo next to a sign which called to ‘keep the world clean” of Jews and/or Israelis by symbolically putting an image of the Star of David in a rubbish bin. She also refused to say whether the proscribed terror organisation, Hamas, should be dismantled.
Greens leader, Adam Bandt, refused to say whether in his opinion, Hamas is a terrorist organisation, and opposed a resolution of the Parliament in the days after the October 7 terrorist attack that condemned Hamas.
Greens MP, Gabrielle De Vietri, refused to answer whether the State of Israel has a right to exist, despite being asked ten times by 3AW broadcaster Neil Mitchell.
NSW Greens endorsed Bashir Sawalha, president of United Australian Palestinian Workers (UAPW), as a candidate. The UAPW has posted statements online in support of terrorists Leila Khaled and Ismail Haniyeh.
The Greens endorsed a rally where the flags of listed terrorist organisation, Hezbollah, were displayed. Elected Greens MPs and senators attended and spoke at these rallies in Sydney and Melbourne.

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