Extreme left activist and former Sydney University academic Jay Tharappel, who once wore a jacket bearing slogans that declared “Curse on the Jews” and “Death to Israel”, has been allowed to join the Labor Party.
Mr Tharappel, a fervid supporter of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad and Iran’s despotic religious regime, was granted membership of the NSW Labor Party this year, documents prepared for the party’s State Conference reveal.
Previously a tutor in human rights at Sydney University, Mr Tharappel has written approvingly of Stalin (“most of the claims against him are exaggerated or false”) and espoused the virtues of Kim Jong-un’s North Korea (“a highly organised, egalitarian and energised society”) after a sponsored tour of the country.
The 33-year-old is also a regular “political commentator” for Iranian state television.
In his submission to join the Labor Party, Mr Tharappel says he was previously a member of the Greens “but I literally never turned up to an event. I’ve given them $10 in membership fees.”
Under Labor Party rules a person applying for membership who has been “a member or active supporter of another political party” must provide further information to be considered by the Administrative Committee before a decision is made. It is not known if Mr Tharappel disclosed his political affiliations when applying.
Read the article by Stephen Rice in The Australian.