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Old November 17th, 2017 #1
alex revision
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Default Greens accused of anti-Semitism after ‘30 pieces of silver’ slur

Greens accused of anti-Semitism after ‘30 pieces of silver’ slur

A leading Jewish organisation has accused the Greens of harbouring anti-Semitic attitudes after an alleged party member goaded a Jewish local government councillor with a parcel containing 30 silver coins — an inflammatory and racially offensive act symbolising *betrayal.

Melbourne’s Port Phillip Council will update its security for public meetings after the incident on Wednesday in which a man *approached Deputy Mayor Dick Gross during a recess to urge him to open a parcel that had been placed on his desk.

A review of CCTV footage has since established that the man, who regularly attends council meetings and is also understood to be a Greens donor, and another member of the public were *responsible for placing the coins on Mr Gross’s desk before the meeting began.

The incident, which has been widely condemned, comes after a recent mayoral race in which Greens hopeful Katherine Cop*sey lost to Bernadene Voss.

Ms Copsey later took to Facebook to complain that Labor and Liberal-aligned councillors had “teamed up to block me”. Mr Gross is a Labor member.

While the Victorian Greens yesterday distanced themselves from the incident, promising to investigate whether a member had been behind the “offensive gesture”, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry condemned what it described as an “overt” display of anti-Semitism.

The phrase “30 pieces of *silver” — the price for which Judas betrayed Jesus, according to the New Testament — is often used to accuse politicians of selling out their principles or ideals, however it has also been deployed throughout history to smear and stereotype Jewish people.

“We all know that politics can get heated at times, but there is no excuse for anyone to deploy discredited racist stereotypes, or *engage in bullying, racist behaviour, to try to advance their cause,” AEJC president Anton Block said.

“This incident illustrates all too clearly that anti-Semitism is not confined to the far right. A toxic anti-Jewish culture has *become well entrenched in the far left of the Greens.

“We welcome prompt condemnation by the local Greens councillors … but until the Greens as a party address the problem of anti-Semitism within its ranks in a serious and systemic way, I suspect that it will continue to be *embarrassed by more incidents of this kind.”

The statement comes in the wake of ructions between the NSW Young Greens and the Australasian Union of Jewish Students over their opposing views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Australian Greens leader Richard Di Natale yesterday condemned “unequivocally” the incident at the Port Phillip Council meeting. “These kind of blood-*libels have been used throughout history to vilify Jewish people and are deeply hurtful to the community,” Senator Di Natale said.

“I personally condemn in the strongest possible terms this kind of hateful action.”

Ms Copsey and her fellow Greens councillors, Ogy Simic and Tim Baxter, did not return calls yesterday, however the council issued a statement saying all nine councillors unanimously condemned the behaviour.

After the incident, the mayor confronted the man, who witnesses said left the meeting laughing. “I expressed my disgust,” Ms Voss said. “As councillors we need to be free to make decisions without fear or favour.”

She said Mr Gross had been *affected by the incident: “He’s taken it hard.” Mr Gross did not return calls.

Councillor Andrew Bond said Port Phillip was an inclusive community with a large Jewish population, including many Holocaust survivors. “For this to happen, it’s just unacceptable, he said. “And for it to happen inside the council chambers, it’s reprehensible.”

Port Phillip Council chief executive Peter Smith said: “Generally, we do not ban individuals from attending public meetings. However, we are considering our options in this case.”

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/nati...6c2d2ae033611c
 
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