PM - Govt MPs snub parliamentary
Israel gesture

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ABC radio

12 March 2008

MARK COLVIN: When the Parliament discussed Israel today, the Prime Minister found that the Opposition was coming from his own side.

When Kevin Rudd moved a motion to mark the 60th anniversary of Israel's foundation as a state, many of his MPs appear to have absented themselves.

And one said outright that she had boycotted the event.

Julia Irwin has told PM that she stayed out of the chamber because - as she put it - she could not congratulate a country which carries out human rights abuses.

From Canberra, Hayden Cooper reports.

HAYDEN COOPER: It took barely 15 minutes of the sitting day, but for those watching from the public gallery, the motion marking six decades of the state of Israel was significant.

(sound of applause)

HAYDEN COOPER: Kevin Rudd and Brendan Nelson reflected on the shock of the Holocaust, and praised Australia's role in the subsequent UN resolution leading to the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

KEVIN RUDD: Australia was the first state in the historic vote of the international community on that resolution to cast its vote in support of the modern state of Israel.


HAYDEN COOPER: And repeating the words of the former Israeli leader, Menachem Begin in 1979, the Prime Minister spoke of his hope for peace between the Palestinians and the Israelis.

KEVIN RUDD: "No more war, no more bloodshed, no more bereavement, peace unto you, shalom, salaam, forever."

We can think too of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin shaking hands with his lifelong enemy, Yasser Arafat, on the lawns of the White House on September 13, 1993, and saying, "We, the soldiers who have returned from battle stained with blood, we who have seen our relatives and friends killed before our eyes, we who have attended their funerals and cannot look in the eyes of their parents, we who have come from a land where parents bury their children, we who have fought against you, the Palestinians, we say to you in a loud and clear voice, enough of blood and tears, enough."

HAYDEN COOPER: The Opposition leader offered his support.

BRENDAN NELSON: For any Australian who has not done so, who has the privilege and the opportunity to visit Washington, I urge them to visit the Holocaust Museum, and there is a very large sign out the front of the museum that says, "Never forget what you have seen here".

The piles of shoes that were worn by Jews exterminated, photographs of men and women and children looking out into lives that were never lived, and many other things to remind us of why our relationship with Israel and our respect for the Israeli cause and the two-state solution, is so important to our own beliefs, our own values, and ultimately, our own freedoms and security.

Shadak (phonetic) shalom, forever.

HAYDEN COOPER: But not everyone shares the sentiment.

JULIA IRWIN: I cannot, I cannot congratulate a country which carries our human rights abuses each day.

HAYDEN COOPER: Many MPs from both sides missed the motion.

Julia Irwin is a Labor backbencher whose Sydney seat includes the diverse areas of Liverpool and Cabramatta.

She spoke out in yesterday's Labour caucus meeting, and refused to attend today's occasion.

JULIA IRWIN: Look, I find it hard to congratulate a country which carries out human rights abuses each day, and shows blatant disregard for the United Nations.

HAYDEN COOPER: So are you disappointed that Kevin Rudd made this move?

JULIA IRWIN: Well, I'm disappointed that there was no mention of the human rights abuses that Israel do against the Palestinians on a daily basis.

HAYDEN COOPER: Do you feel that the Palestinian cause is being ignored?

JULIA IRWIN: I most definitely, I felt that the Palestinian cause is being ignored.

HAYDEN COOPER: And the division extends to the union movement, too.

A large advertisement accusing Israel of ethnic cleansing appeared in this morning's national press, and among the signatories were the CFMEU and the Maritime Union.

That sparked an angry response from the Secretary of the Australian Worker's Union, Paul Howes.

Paul Howes said:  “In a de facto manner, Julie Irwin and some trade union people can be perceived to be supporting the lot of Islamic Jihad and Hamas through the action they have taken here.”

JULIA IRWIN: Look, my number one concern, my number one concern is, how can we congratulate a country which carries out human rights abuses?

I have walked through refugee camps in Palestine, I have cried with those people, I have seen the children, the men, the women, the elderly. I have been to the Holocaust Museum in Israel, and I cried. I did cry. But that is in the past, we have got to look at the future, we have got to look at the future of Israel and the Palestinians.

MARK COLVIN: Julia Irwin ending that report from Hayden Cooper.

 

 

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