NSW Greens right to back Israel boycott

In the aftermath of the NSW election, The Australian and right-wing politicians have mounted a witch-hunt against the NSW Greens over their support for the campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against apartheid Israel.

Greens Senator-elect Lee Rhiannon has come in for particular abuse for rightly saying that The Greens should have defended the policy more strongly during the election campaign. Support for BDS was adopted as NSW Greens policy in December, but when Marrickville Greens candidate Fiona Byrne was attacked over it during the campaign she backtracked over her support for it.

Shamefully, both federal leader Bob Brown and Victorian Greens leader Greg Barber have distanced themselves from Lee and the policy.

BDS is not an “extreme” or “radical” policy. Israel is a state that systematically defies international law. It has occupied Palestinian territories in defiance of the UN Security Council for over 40 years, expanding illegal settlements. The International Court of Justice condemned Israel’s apartheid wall in the West Bank as “illegal” in 2004. A UN investigation of the 2009 Gaza war condemned Israel for “grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention” in targeting civilians, and its lethal raid on the humanitarian aid ship, Mavi Marmara, last year was condemned by the UN Human Rights Commissioner.

We need to stand by Lee Rhiannon and those in the NSW Greens who are backing the global movement against Israel’s injustices against the Palestinians.

Australians for Palestine are requesting emails be sent to Greens leader Bob Brown to show support for the NSW Greens stand over BDS at senator.bob.brown [at] aph.gov.au

Magazine

Solidarity meetings

Latest articles

Read more

Labor ramps up missile production as part of US war plans

The recent brutal suppression of protests against the Land Forces Expo in Melbourne shows Albanese’s Labor government is deadly serious about preparing for war on China and ramping up arms manufacturing in Australia.

Cops run riot to defend warmongers’ profits

About 1500 Palestine and anti-war activists gathered from early morning on 11 September to protest the Land Forces military expo in Melbourne.

Why the West hates Iran

US and Australian hostility to Iran is not driven by concern at the regime’s repression at home but by competition for influence in the Middle East, writes Miro Sandev.