From: g87
Sent: Sunday, April 13, 2014 12:31 PM
Subject: Stewart Mills #2 April 12, 2014 inc M burd
etc
BOB Carr has done a great service to our
country and to the Middle East through his diary and his time as foreign
minister. Carr has championed a liberal Israeli human-rights view — albeit a
minority view in Israel today — and courageously criticised factions who seek to
justify the greater Israel settlement and expansionist view such as promoted by
various sections of mainstream Israeli politics, and its Australian
supporters.
Carr
supports the right of pro-Israel lobbyists to push their perspective. However,
Carr’s point is that the pro-Israel perspective being most forcefully pushed is
unhealthy and contrary to a pro-Israel, pro-Palestine, pro-peace view that
ensures the end of settlement expansion, the end of occupation, and a viable
resolution that allows for Palestinians and Israelis to live as
neighbours.
Stewart Mills, Balmain,
NSW
IF it isn’t
obvious that Bob Carr is having a go to see who bites, the national sense of
humour is in a grave crisis. The trouble with political correctness is people’s
reactions are now skewed: should we chuckle or go the default umbrage
route.
A note to
Malcolm Turnbull: to say nobody should generalise is a generalisation in itself,
because of course we can. Whither empirical thought without a good
generalisation based on experience and the ability to prove something not
completely self-evident to the average bear? Viva Carr’s cerebral
humour.
David Hall, Labrador,
Qld
BOB Carr
says his book is a self-parody, and some commentators lament the public’s lack
of humour about Carr’s witty turn of phrase.
I do not
need to read a book to be reminded that Julia Gillard was a shocking prime
minister who did not listen and whose judgment has been shown to be terrible.
The country will pay the price for her ineptitude for many years to
come.
And I do
not care about where Carr went to school, or what bullying he may have suffered
for being bookish. A lot of us were brought up in low socio-economic areas and
were bullied for being bookish and lacking sporting prowess. Despite all that,
we have made a good life for ourselves and our families, and without the use of
a forked tongue and a poison pen to justify our achievements.
Colleen Walker, Mt Louisa,
Qld
LABOR must
have a new public relations guru who is good at getting media coverage. We have
Bob Carr’s “minister without pyjamas” diary, not to mention a Wagner opera
without English subtitles on his first-class flight.
Then we get
Labor’s top Senate candidate in Western Australia, where the unions that
promoted him are now demanding that he resign before he even gets to Canberra,
just because he called the rank and file “mad” and questioned the sexual
proclivities of his running mate. Forget about bringing on the clowns — they
already have.
Steve Kessell, Willetton,
WA
OF course
there is a pro-Israeli lobby within the Australian Jewish community. It’s
powerful, effective and its activities are entirely appropriate within the
Australian democratic system. By contrast, the pro-Palestinian lobby is nowhere
near as well organised. Bob Carr may whinge about the power of the pro-Israeli
lobby but he can’t deny its success.
Brian Sanaghan, West Preston,
Vic
BOB Carr
describes the Jewish lobby as being an unhealthy influence when it comes to
Middle East policy. Notwithstanding that Palestinians have lobbyists who visit
Canberra regularly, the so-called influential Israel lobby under Labor hasn’t
been as successful as Carr will have us believe. Under Labor, Australia’s
support for Israel at the UN diminished.
It is
ironic that Carr is fixated on Israel and accuses Melbourne’s Jewish community
of using its wealth and influence to promote Israel’s interests. Last April,
Gillard was asked why Carr was hostile to Israel. Gillard replied that the
Jewish community had a lot of work to do and urged us to lobby Labor MPs to
bolster support for her position. We Jews can’t win.
Michael Burd, Toorak,
Vic
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