David Renton, ‘Labour’s Antisemitism crisis: What the Left got wrong and how to learn from it’, Routledge, 2022 – reflection by Philip Mendes, September 2021

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Firstly, let me say this is not a conventional book review. It is more so an ongoing critical reflection on what the anti-Zionist Left (i.e. those who reject Israel’s continuing existence as a Jewish state even within the Green Line borders, and instead advocate so-called universalistic solutions which in the current political culture of the…

NTEU wins right to intellectual freedom in Tim Anderson appeal, Green Left, 4 September 2021

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A Federal Court decision handed down on August 31 confirmed that University of Sydney staff have a legal right to be protected from disciplinary action when exercising intellectual freedom. The decision resulted from an appeal brought by the National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) and Dr Tim Anderson, a former Political Economy academic, against the University of Sydney. Anderson was sacked…

University of Sydney lecturer Tim Anderson backed by court in swastika dismissal case, The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 August 2021

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A controversial University of Sydney lecturer who was sacked after superimposing a swastika on an Israeli flag has won a key victory in his battle to be reinstated, with the federal court declaring academics at the institution are entitled to convey even offensive views in their area of expertise. The decision reverses a previous court…

Albanese slams ‘counterproductive’ Labor motion calling for boycott of Israel, The Age, 15 July 2021

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Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has slammed a Labor motion backed by former NSW premier Bob Carr calling for a boycott of Israel over its treatment of Palestinians, saying it is counterproductive and is not supported by anyone in his party room. Mr Albanese also pledged an “ongoing opposition” to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS)…

By calling out anti-Semitism on the Left, Albanese has created room for himself, Sydney Morning Herald, 15 July 2021

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Anthony Albanese has shown he is no Jeremy Corbyn. For those who have been paying attention, he has never showed any signs of behaving like the former leader of the British Labour Party. Albanese has a long history of standing up against the more extreme elements of his party’s Left, including campaigning against the former…

Sing me a ditty about Palestine | Adam Slonim | The Spectator Australia, 16 June 2021

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There is something profoundly disturbing and morally challenging in the way many view the Israel-Palestine conflict. The chant “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, once buried because of its unadulterated implication that Israel should be eliminated, is currently in vogue, doing the rounds of social media. In a recent Facebook post…

Israel-Palestine conflict: Labor’s factional havoc over land international affair, The Age (Rob Harris), 11 June 2021

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It was a little-seen social media post that sent a major wave of panic through federal Labor. The Melbourne University ALP Club posted a photo of a handful of its members alongside Labor MP Ged Kearney, at a May 22 rally in solidarity for the people of Palestine. It was accompanied by the phrase “From…

Chris Minns a ‘strong friend to Jewish community’ – The Australian Jewish News (Gareth Narunsky), 10 June 2021

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Chris Minns, 41, was elected leader of the Labor Party unopposed last Friday following the resignation of Jodi McKay. THE state’s new Opposition Leader is a “strong friend to the Jewish community”, has rejected the anti-Israel boycott movement in Parliament and has been “very supportive” of the synagogue in his electorate. Chris Minns, 41, was…

Federal ALP slams Qld motion, The Australian Jewish News, 10 June 2021

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Macnamara MP Josh Burns said the motion was “disappointing and blatantly one-sided”, but insisted, “it in no way represents federal Labor’s balanced policy in support of Israel”. A MOTION passed by the Queensland branch of the ALP panning Israel’s “systematic injustices meted out to the Palestinian people” has drawn condemnation from leading Labor politicians and…

Bob Carr rejects anti-Semitism inside ALP, The Australian (Greg Brown), 10 June 2021

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Mr Carr, an influential supporter of Palestine in the NSW Right, said there was nothing wrong with Labor being critical of Israel “for its settlement expansion, its evacuation of Palestinians, (and) its nation-state law which creates two categories of citizenship”. His comments come after Jewish groups and opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong condemned a…