Media Release from the Zionist Federation of Australia on the NSW Resolution on Israel and Palestine:
The NSW Labor Party held its State Conference yesterday, and our local news has been dominated by stories of the resolution concerning Israel and the recognition of a Palestinian State.
The resolution urged the next Labor government to recognise Palestine, which the President of the Zionist Federation of Australia, Dr. Lamm said was a move “that is as confusing as it is disappointing because it seeks an outcome which the parties themselves need to be dealing with through diplomacy and not unilateral action, which is ironically counterproductive.”
Dr Lamm continued, “The essence of the issue is that the NSW Labor as well as State Labor Parties in Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania, are attempting to reward a criminal, fanatical, hate-inciting Palestinian leadership with recognition, without any sort of requirement on that leadership to demonstrate peaceful intentions. It is incredibly disappointing that fellow Australians led by the ALP should see this as a reasonable approach to the only democratic state in the Middle East, which has tried repeatedly to resolve the conflict to no avail.”
The ZFA noted that there have been a number of agreements between Israel and the Palestinians to work towards the goal of a two-state solution, and the Palestinian Authority has received a number of offers from Israel towards resolution of the conflict without any proper response.
While many are applauding the addition of the line that Labor “supports the recognition and right of Israel and Palestine to exist within secure and recognised borders”, Dr. Danny Lamm said, “The wrong headedness of the motion and those die-hards who supported it despite all of the evidence that suggests any such State would be an abject failure is hardly ameliorated by the well-worn sop of recognising Israel’s right to exist. Israel has existed for nigh on 70 years and its “right” to do so is not in question by anyone other than the Palestinian lobby that continues to chant for a State from the (Jordan) River to the (Mediterranean) Sea and thus seek Israel’s destruction. That will never occur and the sooner that they accept that fact the sooner they can expect to fulfil the necessary pre-conditions of recognition of their much longed for State.”
