Mary Easson: an ALP voice for Israel

Former MP Mary Easson's affinity for the Jewish community started early.

“My parents lived next door to Holocaust survivors,” she tells The Jewish Independent. “The family members who perished, the tattoos - those are my first recollections. 

“Then, a school friend gave me Leon Uris’ novel Exodus, which had a profound impact on me. And a Year 11 friend wanted a pen-pal in Israel. She wrote to the Jerusalem Post, which sent her half-a-dozen names. She passed one to me, and Shalom Zimmerman and I corresponded for two years, exchanging information about our worlds and aspirations.

“I thought of these things recently while wondering why I feel so strongly about the community and Israel, what it was that led me to the path I’ve taken.

“Another key moment occurred when I was 18 and in a car with friends. One of them made a derogatory remark about Catholics. I had a strong Catholic background and it was the first time I’d come across such innate bigotry. I got out and slammed the door.

“A Jewish barrister also got out. He caught up with me to say we were both minorities and he understood the prejudice I’d just experienced. And we should stick together. I saw a natural alliance there.

“And then a Jewish friend and I made a deal – she would argue for a conscience vote in the Labor Party on abortion and I would argue for Israel. All these factors have come together in terms of the path I’ve taken.”

Easson, who runs the government relations firm Probity International, has been a vocal voice for Israel in the Labor movement since she visited Israel when she was 21.

Attending a Labor conference after her return, she was taken aback when a delegate proposed recognition of a Palestinian state. “Without notice, I stood up and said I’d just got off a flight from Israel and wanted to tell the 80 delegates about the complexities of the conflict. It was the first time I’d been in a situation where you could hear a pin drop. The resolution was quashed.”

Having recently participated in March of The Living, Easson never imagined that “I would see in my lifetime the flood of antisemitism that has arisen in this country. It’s extraordinary. I believe some leaders have wanted to do more, but they’ve been cautious. The recent joint thrashing of the Greens in the parliament was perhaps a first indication that they will take a stand.

“The fact that Jewish people have contributed to Australia as they have, and given back - why of all people would you pick on them? Is it jealousy?  As for saying people here should be morally responsible for what happens in Israel is absurd. As is the mindset that says because you’ve been through the Holocaust, you should be more empathetic.

“As Paul Keating said, the public expects more of Labor on moral issues. They put more lead in our saddlebag. I think that’s what it is with Jews - a higher level of morality is expected because of what you’ve suffered. Which is absurd.

“Would we have given Hitler a ceasefire? In the old days Jewish people had a suitcase; I believe that metaphorically, Israel is that suitcase for Jewish people. But it’s now being threatened. For the first time, some say we might have to find another place to live. That is appalling.”

Political activist Frank Knopfelmacher said after the 1967 Six-Day War that the ideological Left would desert Israel because it had won, recalls Easson. “That was very perceptive. The extreme Left has taken on this cause without knowing the history. They always want to support the underdog. And the Greens use it for political mileage.” 

Labor leaders during Easson’s tenure as the Member for the Federal seat of Lowe (now called Reid) in Sydney’s inner-west from 1993-96 included Prime Minister Bob Hawke, Kim Beazley, Simon Crean and Clyde Holding, “all of them onside for Israel”, she says. “Keating didn’t get involved as he regarded Australia as part of Asia; that was his focus.”

As for Bob Carr’s switch from being a supporter, it occurred after he presented the Sydney Peace Prize to Hanan Ashrawi. “There was a strong negative reaction from the Melbourne community, which angered him, and he argued that it was preferable to do something for the Palestinians before leaders worse and more extreme than Mahmoud Abbas took over.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been “cautious”, Easson says. “He has moderated a lot over the years. Plus he has an electorate which includes Greens, so he’s between a rock and a hard place and he has an election coming up, with the Greens making this the one issue on which to fight Labor. I do know that he is passionately opposed to antisemitism.”

Describing the current street protests as “appalling”, she emphasises that “we’ve always been a multicultural country. We welcome people from other nations - bring your cultures, your customs, your food, but leave your wars and hatreds behind.

“Now people are asking where you stand on this issue. And if you don’t take a stand, they threaten you. It’s a nasty style of campaigning that we haven’t seen before.

“When I joined Labor, we had many Jewish members. That is where the fight is. So Jewish people should join. As Taylor Swift said, the dragon has arisen. That dragon is antisemitism and we have to fight it together. Many good people left Labor because of this. There’s a choice, a dilemma - leave or stay and fight.

“We see bullies. Staffers with blood on their doors. We see appeasement at Sydney University. Since when do illiterate students who know nothing get invited to discuss university policy?”

As for the forthcoming federal election, Easson’s prognosis is that “if redistribution in Melbourne gets up, it will be difficult for Labor to hold Josh Burns’ and Peter Khalil’s seats of Macnamara and Wills. The Greens are trying to make inroads into safe Labor seats. The irony is whether Muslim voters will support the Greens on this as there aren’t any other issues on which they agree.”

There was one other factor which cemented Easson’s view on matters Jewish and Israel. Her husband, Michael Easson, is an elder statesman of the Labor Party. “Israel was pivotal in our relationship,” she says with a grin. “We initially saw each other as votes across the room.”

When Michael heard me being impassioned about Israel, as he was, that was an attraction. I moved from Melbourne to Sydney to marry him. Former MP Jonno Johnson said it was the most brilliant political campaign.” The couple will celebrate their 40^th anniversary in November.