In the light of the AJDS’s overt support for the Nakba Day rally on May 19th in Melbourne a censure motion has been passed at the JCCV plenum meeting that was held Monday July 2nd at Kehilat Nitzan by a margin of 17 votes to 2 with one abstention noted. The two who voted against the motion were the AJDS and Doodie Ringelblum, a Kadimah representative.
This is the wording of the motion that was passed:
The Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV), consistent with our mandate which includes working for a “more sophisticated public understanding of Israel’s efforts to achieve peace and security” and for “effective counteraction of misinformation on Israel, the Middle East and the Arab/Israel conflict”, notes with deep concern the following actions by the Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS):
- in its public statement dated 17 May 2018 opposing Israel’s military action to prevent Gaza border incursions, the AJDS sought to undermine Israel’s ability to defend itself by stating that:
“there has been no provocation, no move by this subject Palestinian population, which justifies – either legally or morally – Israel’s violence“
- on 19 May 2018, via its FaceBook page, the AJDS posted material which promoted attendance at the ‘Free Gaza’ rally in the Melbourne CBD on the same day. The rally, organised by ‘Solidarity with Palestine – Melbourne’ alleged ‘Israeli Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine”; and
- on 8 June 2018, in response to the JCCV’s call for condemnation of Hamas military action against Israeli civilians, the AJDS made a highly qualified statement and reasserted its false view that the Hamas-led protests in Gaza were a form of “non-violent protest”.
In light of the JCCV’s mandate, the JCCV:
- strongly rejects the ongoing public campaign by the AJDS to denigrate Israel and to misrepresent the Hamas-led border incursions as “non-violent”;
- deplores the AJDS’s consistent refusal to acknowledge Hamas’s rejection of Israel’s right to exist as the primary obstacle to peace between Israel and its neighbours;
- censures the AJDS for its refusal to condemn unconditionally the ongoing Hamas military campaign against Israel, including indiscriminate military action targeting Israeli citizens, when commenting on the conflict between Hamas and Israel; and
- reaffirms the JCCV’s:
(a) solidarity with Israel and her people; and
(b) our direct opposition to public statements by any of our affiliates designed to undermine Israel’s safety and security.